MEET NAYOKA SIMONE

Nayoka Simone, recipient of the prestigious 2024 Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award, is a renowned author, Principal Interior Designer, and CEO of NyRai Interior Designs, LLC. She’s also an author and award-winning Interior Designer featured on the cover of LWL Magazine, Essence, Business of Home, Forbes, Shoutout Atlanta, iHeart Radio, Pandora, The Elegant Journal, Medium, she has walked the red carpet for events such as Essence Magazine and featured on the Billboard in NY Times Square. Her work has graced prestigious platforms like FOX 5 DC and CIAA X LOWES collaborative event showcasing the Lowes Origin 21 furniture collection. Nayoka Simone is also the CEO and Founder of NyRai Interior Designs,LLC, Black Design Magazine and Noir by NyRai luxury candles and scents featured at the MGM National Harbor. Nayoka strives to design unique interiors that will have a positive impact on her clients’ lives. She possesses a desire to create and design interiors that exceed clients’ expectations. With an eye for quality, a superior sense of style, and a client-centered approach to business, Nayoka Simone has proven herself as an innovative designer and certified general contractor. She offers a balance of creativity, collaboration and forward thinking. She also a home organization and declutter advocate who believes that physical clutter is sometimes a correlation with a mental clutter. She’s extremely passionate about helping individuals and organizations declutter both their physical space and mind to increase productivity.

Nayoka serves as the Vice President of the United Women in Business (UWIB) Washington DC chapter, a non profit organization where she leads initiatives and dedication to empowering and supporting women in their professional careers. She is dedicated to fostering an inclusive and supportive environment where women can thrive personally and professionally. With a passion for equality, she leads initiatives that champion diversity, mentorship, skill development, and empowering women to break barriers and excel in their chosen careers. Nayoka Simone strives to create lasting impact, driving positive change for women across the organization.

Nayoka Simone brings a wealth of experience from her diverse background in Interior Design. Her journey, led her to Durban, South Africa, where she embarked on her first movie project, “ A Wesley South African Christmas,” collaborating as a set designer with a talented South African Interior Designer under Octet Productions, headquartered in Washington DC. This immerse experience not only honed her craft, but also infused her designs with the rich cultural tapestry of her travels. Now, Nayoka applies her unique perspective to create evocative designs for both residential and commercial spaces, weaving together elements from her global adventures into every project.

In 2016, she discovered her love for designing residential spaces, that’s when she embraced her entrepreneurial spirit, founding NyRai Interior Designs. Her goal is to assist both residential and commercial clients in creating timeless spaces. Whether classic or contemporary, across a vast range of styles, Nayoka Simone hosted events in collaboration with McCormick Paints on color theory and textures and host design workshops. She is steadily interested in working and teaching others how to live comfortably in their home.

In her previous role as CEO and Wedding Planner with her previous business Exquisite Weddings by Simone. Nayoka Simone partnered with many mid-scale organizations. Overseeing the complete design of the wedding, organizing and personalizing each wedding throughout the entire planning process. She also implemented the full design concept for the wedding and reception location. Weddings are unique to each client’s vision for their dream wedding. Therefore, she ensured to personalize each wedding while maintaining continuity of each client.

Nayoka Simone’s ability to develop client relationships based on respect, trust, and confidence has been the key to her success as a designer. Skilled at creating beautiful designs under a variety of budgets, styles, timeframes, and requirements, Nayoka Simone guide her clients through every phase of the design process. She remains committed to cultivating valued relationships and helping clients reach the best version of their overall vision.

With a Bachelor's Degree in Business Management, Nayoka balances her professional endeavors with cherished moments spent with her daughters, indulging in travel for inspiration.