Savanna Nicole
& Marina Kelsea

My Local List

• Favorite Restaurant: Trani’s Dockside Station
• Favorite Coffee Shop: Aventurero Coffee
• Favorite Glow: Shaded Mobile Tanning
• Favorite Poke: Jus’ Poke

Nicole Kelsea Interiors is a full-service home staging and interior design studio serving the South Bay and surrounding areas. Owners Savanna Nicole and Marina Kelsea specialize in interior design, remodels, investment property flips and interior styling. They both earned bachelor’s degrees before pursuing advanced education, then gained hands-on industry experience working alongside a contractor for several years. The sisters launched Nicole Kelsea Interiors in 2022.

What is your current passion project?

Right now, our passion project is Nicole Kelsea Interiors. We’re in such an exciting stage of figuring out what the next version of the company looks like—expanding our inventory, growing our team, taking on larger design projects and dreaming about where the brand could go beyond staging and design.

What inspired you to pursue a career in your field? Any Words of advice for women just starting in this industry?

Funny enough, neither of us originally pursued careers in design. Savanna became a licensed marriage and family therapist, and Marina earned her teaching credential. But for years we dreamed about building a business together. Eventually, we decided to take a chance on ourselves. Our advice is that it’s never too late to change direction, and you don’t need to have everything perfectly figured out before you start. You learn so much by doing, and confidence tends to come after you take the leap … not before.

What keeps you going on difficult days?

Our family, without question. Our dad passed away when we were young, and he was a business owner himself. We think about how proud he would be to see his daughters building a business together today. A huge part of why we do this is to create a life where work and family can exist together—and hopefully build something meaningful that one day we can pass down to our own children.

In what ways do you stand out in your market?

We specialize in thoughtfully preparing homes for market through vacant and supplemental staging, as well as creating beautiful, livable spaces through interior design. We approach staging through the lens of interior designers, so our goal isn’t simply to fill a home with furniture—it’s to create a space buyers can genuinely envision themselves living in. We can also help prepare a home for the market earlier in the process, offering guidance on fixtures, finishes and other selections rather than only stepping in once the home is complete. We’re intentional about every layer—from the scale and placement of the furniture to the art, textiles and finishing touches.

What’s the most unconventional piece of business advice you’ve ever received?

Sometimes you have to say “no” to grow. It sounds backward when you’re building a business and your instinct is to take every opportunity that comes your way, but learning that not every project, client or opportunity is the right opportunity has been a game changer for us. Protecting your time and your brand leaves room for the things you actually want to build.

What strategies have you found most effective in growing your business locally?

Relationships, without question. So much of our growth has come organically through referrals, repeat clients and relationships with local agents, homeowners and other professionals. In a community like the South Bay, doing great work for one person has an interesting way of leading you to the next five.

Tell us about your team.

Nicole Kelsea Interiors really is a family affair. We’re sisters and business partners, and our mom is part of our team. Behind the scenes are our incredibly supportive husbands, who trusted us when we decided to take a leap of faith and build this business. Now, with Joelle, 4, and Nolan, 2, watching along, we’re building something that we hope gives us the best of both worlds: a career we love and a life centered around family.

What belief have you completely changed your mind about—and what caused the shift?

Early on, we thought being good at what we did meant we should be able to do almost everything ourselves. As the business grew, we realized that growth actually requires the opposite: building a great team, creating systems and learning to let go of things so you can spend more time doing what you do best.

Photographed by Shane O’Donnell