As Dallas Fashion Week continues its series of conversations with creative leaders shaping global culture, we are pleased to feature architect and interior designer Nataliya Farnosova. Her work spans Europe, Central Asia, and the United States, attracting influential public figures, leading entrepreneurs, and major corporations who are drawn to the clarity and unmistakable signature of her style.
Born in Kyiv into a family of artists and sculptors, Ms.Farnosova grew up immersed in creativity, making her path toward design feel less chosen than inherited. Today, she is known for crafting spaces that balance functionality, emotion, and timeless aesthetic vision. In this interview, she shares her beginnings, the nuances of working across cultures, and the philosophy that informs her approach to architecture and interior design.
Tell us more about you. How did you get started in architecture and interior design?
My name is Nataliya Farnosova. I come from Kyiv, Ukraine—a city where history and modernity overlap like layers of paint on a timeless canvas. In many ways, my path toward architecture was determined long before I took my first steps. I was born into a family of artists and sculptors, where the scent of oil paint, the weight of unfinished clay, and the rhythm of creativity were part of daily life. In such an environment, escaping the gravitational pull of art was not simply unlikely—it was impossible.
My childhood unfolded in studios rather than playgrounds, among sketches instead of storybooks. I grew up watching pieces of the world take shape under steady, deliberate hands. While other children learned to color inside the lines, I learned that the lines themselves could be reinvented. It became clear early on that my life would follow a similar arc—one defined by form, structure, and imagination. Architecture was not a choice I stumbled into; it was an inheritance, a legacy passed down like a family heirloom, quietly waiting for me to claim it.
What’s the biggest challenge of working across multiple countries?
Challenges, as a rule, arise from people. Buildings behave; people don’t. They bring with them their contradictions, ambitions, insecurities, and unspoken expectations. In my world, blueprints are predictable, materials are honest, but human nature—beautiful and flawed as it is—remains the most intricate puzzle of all. People are the source of both complexity and emotional turbulence, shaping the landscape of our daily lives in ways no architectural plan ever could.
Yet what steadies me, what keeps my spirit anchored amidst the chaos, is the simple truth that everything is temporary. Absolutely everything. Disappointment fades, conflicts soften, emotions settle like dust after a storm. I remind myself that what feels overwhelming today will barely be a memory tomorrow. The frustration, the noise, the uncertainty—none of it is permanent.
Nataliya Farnosova
This understanding has become my quiet armor. When life becomes loud, I retreat into that truth: this, too, will pass. It always does. And in that impermanence, I find a strange kind of peace—an inner stillness that allows me to keep moving forward with clarity, grace, and resilience.
The most persistent difficulty I face is building and sustaining a team. Selecting the right people, aligning them, holding them together — this is always the hardest task and the weightiest responsibility. The success of any project depends on the strength and harmony of the team behind it.
Do you have a signature style, or does your work vary significantly by location?
Although I work across continents — in countries with profoundly different cultures and mentalities — my signature remains unmistakable. You can recognize it instantly, whether the work was created for Europe, Asia, or the United States. That consistency, that clarity of authorship, is something I take great pride in.
How do you balance functionality with aesthetics in your work?
In truth, aesthetics alone are insignificant without functionality. If a person cannot comfortably use what you’ve designed, the object loses its meaning. That’s why functionality and comfort always come first — carefully engineered, thoroughly thought through. Only then do I layer in the aesthetics. It is a symbiosis that must operate as one.
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N.N. How do you balance functionality with aesthetics in your work?
J.L. At the beginning of my career, I’ll confess, I only cared about aesthetics. If it looked beautiful, I was happy. Function? That was somebody else’s problem.
Of course, reality has a way of catching up with you. You quickly learn that a spectacular chair is useless if no one can sit on it, and that a stunning bathroom is less impressive when the door won’t open properly.
Now, I see functionality and aesthetics as inseparable lovers: one makes life possible, the other makes it worth living. I still fight for beauty, but I’ve learned that if a space doesn’t work, it won’t survive, and nothing ages faster than impractical design.
What emerging trends are you seeing in architecture and interior design?
There is, however, an important nuance: I never follow trends — I follow style. One must consider the client, the country, the cultural context, and the purpose of the work. When an architectural or interior project is created with intention, with character, and with a defined stylistic vision, it becomes timeless.
What’s your prediction for the future of residential/commercial design?
We must also look honestly at what is happening to our planet. Humanity has inflicted undeniable harm. I believe that in the future — perhaps a generation from now — architecture and design will simplify; they will evolve toward the bio-oriented and the sustainable. I dream of this shift, of reducing the burden we place on the Earth. Yet I hope that within this future, individuality still survives — the identity of a person, a culture, a country. That authenticity is what gives regions their soul and their truth.
What’s your process for understanding what a client truly wants?
To be an architect is to possess a certain mindset — and without a grounding in psychology, it is nearly impossible to create meaningfully for others. Over the years, I’ve become something of a psychologist myself. I sense people intuitively, and that intuition rarely fails me. I won’t reveal my professional secrets, but I will say this: sometimes a concept arrives ahead of its time or beyond a client’s immediate understanding. In such cases, I allow space — time for reflection and reevaluation — and I’m always willing to compromise. My priority is for the project not to remain on paper, but to be brought to life in a way that serves both the client and me.
How do you handle disagreements about design decisions?
There is a brief quote I return to often — one that strikes like lightning. I always say: “Stay calm. Everything is solvable.”
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Interviewed by Nataliya Nova.
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