In This 950-Square-Foot Space, You’ll Never Believe the Solution for the Ugly Rental Kitchen

The bespoke design studio of Nomita Joshi Design is located in the Lower Garden District of New Orleans. The firm run by Nomita Joshi-Gupta has made a name for itself through the team’s innovative approach to design and creative solutions.

“I believe in feeding your eyes and your soul,” says Nomita, who explains that the studio space is intended to be artful and gallery-like. The medley of artist-made objets d’art and modern vintage furniture that dot the studio’s landscape all come with a rich backstory. “I want us to feel inspired and also represent the artists and makers who are modern creatives,” she shares. But in the midst of her creative display was an unfortunate and outdated kitchen that was certainly not complementary to her array of furnishings and art. So what did this designer decide to do with an eyesore of a kitchen in this rental space? Make it an architectural eye-catcher, of course.

“The mirror cube hides an unsightly kitchen in our studio,” Nomita says. “I wanted to create something that was visible and invisible at the same time.” After exhausting a series of ideas, from walls and partitions to curtains and murals, she landed on a rather unexpected course of action. She enlisted an event production approach, inspired by a space sporting large ballet mirrors, which resulted in a bit of an aha moment for the designer. “The structure itself was not hard,” she says. “It was built by an event production crew, and we used a mirror-like skin that is reflective to cover the surface.”