It’s always been a calling. Even when I was very young, around 5 or 6 years old, I was rearranging the furniture in our house. In fact, my family had to make a rule that when we visited other relatives, I wasn’t allowed to move their furniture around. 

Around second grade, I discovered a video game called The Sims, that lets you build environments, and I got completely intrigued. I sat in front of the computer playing for hours, becoming inspired by all the ways I could put together the furniture, color palettes and décor in the game. 

My father was a contractor and developer, and he’s an architect by trade. I inherited his love for architecture, and originally thought that’s what I wanted to do because it felt like the more “masculine” thing to do in this realm of work. I followed my dad a few times as he worked on projects. Although I loved it, I realized I loved the decorating part of the projects much more than the building aspects. 

At first, my dad dismissed my interest. But by the time I reached high school, people would say to him, “Oh my God, he’s so talented. Look how he just rearranged your room.” He started to come around and encouraged me. He told me, “You should go to college, and if this is what you want to do, then study this.”

When I was about 15, I was also discovering how different I felt from everybody else. I’m a gay, Jewish, and my parents are Iranian immigrants. I experienced a lot of bullying at school and always felt out of place. 

At that time, blogging was popular. I’d scroll through blog after blog, discovering designers, and read all the design magazines. Kelly Wearstler, Jonathan Adler, Ron Woodson and Jamie Rummerfield were all coming to prominence, and I was obsessed with them. I was especially drawn to Woodson & Rummerfield’s House of Design firm. 

So I sent Jamie and Ron an email and said, “I’ll do anything you need. I’m only in high school, but I just have to work with you.” They loved that email and asked to meet me, and I landed an internship. My mom would drop me off every day after school, and I would transform. I’d go from feeling invisible to feeling like I mattered, that I had a purpose, and that there were other people like me. That’s why I have such a love affair with my job. Interior design saved me. Any time I’m having a hard moment or going through a difficult situation in my life, I can center and return to myself, tapping into the passion I have for my work. Design is an incredibly good outlet for self-expression, yet it is also a way to connect with other people.