Chelsie Butler, Executive Editor at Kitchen & Bath Business Magazine, spoke with Saeed on her design career.
By Elisa Fernández-Arias
At KBIS 2024, Chelsie Butler, Executive Editor at Kitchen & Bath Business (KBB) Magazine, interviewed the 2023 KBB Person of the Year Nureed Saeed, Owner and Creative Director, Nu Interiors and NKBA | KBIS Northern California Chapter President. During the discussion held on the NextSTAGE, Butler dove into questions for Saeed about her work in the industry, her involvement with the association and the inspiring efforts she has made in various communities.
The interview began with Saeed talking about her work in diversity, equity and inclusion, which was in large part why she was awarded the KBB Person of the Year Award.
“For me, design equity and inclusion work is not just an interest, it is a reason for all of us to want to be a part of our communities,” said Saeed. “It’s something I feel deeply about in terms of how I go through the world and how I have always lived my life.” She also discussed the movement to address residential segregation, which she is also involved with. Speaking on the history of a lack of homeownership among traditionally underrepresented groups, which was in large part due to government housing policies, and how wealth is required for a kitchen and bath renovation, she explained how these efforts were important to her because they created a way to make both housing and renovations more accessible.
In addition to advocating for social change, Saeed is passionate about sustainability. During the interview, she discussed her “holistic design process,” which covers not only the project itself as a whole but the much larger goals her clients may have as a whole — for their children, communities or families — and the impact of products used. “It’s the thought that everything touches everybody, and that we should be thinking about things in that circular way.”
After Butler asked whether clients brought up sustainability, Saeed said that her clients did ask about eco-friendly solutions, and that she brought up the topic, too. “I have a questionnaire I give my clients before we start the project,” she added. “I’m already pre-prompting for where they’re at. For sure, they’re asking questions, and I’m encouraging my clients to think about their appliance and plumbing choices, and to think about brands here in the U.S. with a lower carbon footprint.” She also said she has shared international brands with her clients that practice sustainable methods of production. Additionally, Saeed talked about respecting a home when making changes. In her own Bay Area home, which she renovated, “it was not so much about tearing it all apart and putting it in new. I kept a lot of it the way it was, and just put a polish on it, because that is truly more sustainable than tearing everything apart.”
Saeed also went into her involvement in the NKBA | KBIS community. Describing her role as Northern California Chapter President, she said, “Being chapter president is about the chapter and what we can give to the chapter during this little period. Each person comes in and gives their gifts to the position, the role and the chapter. It incrementally gets bigger and better because of all of the people who volunteer their time to do it.” Additionally, she discussed her local involvement with Make It Home, part of her chapter’s NKBA | KBIS Community Cares program, an appliance donation program sponsored by Ferguson Bath, Kitchen & Lighting Gallery, which currently provides the Marin Foster Care Association with appliances.
She also spoke about her experience at NKBA | KBIS’ Women to Women (W2W) Conference, which helped her create important connections in the industry. “I’m on this stage because of that program, because of someone I met at W2W who nominated me for KBB Person of the Year,” she explained. Following this, Butler asked about the importance of connections to Saeed as a designer. Saeed replied: “I think it’s everything. Community is everything. For me, I could not have survived moving to Northern California from New Jersey without my NKBA | KBIS community. Everything to me is about the connections.” She went on to describe that at W2W she made a connection that led to the German Haus Fair Tour, and how the night before at the Bash she saw people she knew from the tour abroad. “It’s amazing how one little thread of a sincere authentic genuine connection can turn into this blooming flower of unbelievable connections and moments, and I’m grateful for them all.”
About the trade show itself, Saeed shared: “I love KBIS. There’s so much inspiration everywhere. And, again, there’s the community. It’s an amazing experience to be able to be here.”
This interview was one of the many events held at the KBIS NEXTStage at the trade show this year. Join us for KBIS 2025, in Las Vegas, February 25 – 27, 2025.
