Donald Nxumalo is easily one of the most vibrant people I have had the pleasure of meeting. Born in Tshwane and trained at the Tshwane University of Technology, the interior designer founded his design practice in 2012 and quickly rose to national prominence after winning the inaugural “Win a Home” interior-design competition on Top Billing in 2014.
Since then, Nxumalo has built a reputation for designing elegant residential, hospitality, and commercial interiors that prioritise heritage, modernity and personal narrative. But it is his compassionate and unerringly optimistic perspective that makes him magnetic.
Where do we find you creatively and emotionally?
The creative industry is really trying to keep up with the current mood in Joburg, but sometimes, it can be quite depressing, [so] I’m looking towards art and optimism to balance that. Last week, I went to Bridge Books, and [it] was so exciting finding this gem in the middle of Joburg. So that’s where I’m at. Not only, how do we not support people who are doing cool things, but also, how do we show up? How do we fight back? Fighting back against degradation is visibility.
What is the most rewarding aspect of your work?
Realising you are part of people’s aspirations; it’s not just about things. The most incredible moment was when I did a project in Bryanston, and the [client] phoned me and said, “You have to come to my house.” His mother had baked me cookies. I had tea with her, and she told me she had been a domestic worker, had worked very hard to take her children to school, had done it all on her own because their father had died young, and she had baked me cookies. I still think about that moment. It goes into why I do this. As we transform spaces, people’s inner worlds are also transforming. There’s a metamorphosis, and it cannot leave me unchanged.
Your favourite destinations?
Dakar, Senegal. The entire city is based on what it means to be Senegalese. It’s so rooted in who they are. The other place is Morocco; it’s the same concept.
Where do you find your greatest power?
In immersing myself in this beautiful ecosystem of creatives who are just doing their thing. The fabricators, furniture manufacturers, fabric suppliers, artists.
What are your essential grooming products?
Chemical peels: I do level 2, a light peel. Retinol at night. Sunscreen every single day. And a great haircut.
What are you reading/listening to right now?
The Gipsy Kings and Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker. When you’re designing a house, you’re creating a fantasy [and] music helps you feel what you want a space to look like.
What is a great gift you received recently?
A pair of Gucci pants. They’re so rich and textured that it feels like a piece of upholstery.
Your all-time favourite places to eat?
At the Dubai Mall, there’s a little Lebanese restaurant overlooking the Dubai Fountain. If you sit there for an hour, you can catch three water shows. It’s like a ballet. Locally, Che Argentine Grill. They’ve got a great wine list and make really good steak.
What advice would you give your younger self?
It’s going to work out. It will always work out. And even the things that you don’t think are working out, and you really wanted them to, are working out for your good. And don’t beat yourself up about the client who didn’t call back. Focus on the one who did. Choose the people who choose you.
Your favourite clothing brands?
My friend Raheem Rawgee (of Row-G) makes the most incredible bespoke suits. I also love Mmuso Maxwell.
What is something you recently unlearned or let go of in your creative process?
For a long time, I believed that if I made a mistake, it was a blemish on black designers, on young designers. In doing that, I denied myself my own humanity. I do really cool work, and I also make mistakes. It doesn’t make me unprofessional; it just makes me human.
The most challenging aspect of your work the past year?
How quickly things move, and how clients have been embracing AI. There’s this saying: revolutions happen with or without your permission. So, we had to jump on it. Back in the day, interior designers were the point of contact [but] now, with Instagram and Pinterest, everything has come closer to them. So, we’re there to affirm their style, to distil it. The process has become more collaborative and more rewarding.
How do you stay creatively charged when life gets busy?
When I need to rest, I switch off my phone, go to Exclusive Books, and just look at books. Other people’s inspiration can recharge you.
Your most treasured possession?
A crocheted tablecloth that I grew up with, and a picture of my father standing next to his first house in Soweto. This is a man who put himself through school by doing gardens. And there he is with three children, and he’s bought a bank-financed house. That was upward mobility. That represented optimism.
Favourite scent?
Louis Vuitton Ombre Nomade.
Your design icons?
The biggest one is David Collins. He died in 2013. Typically, when [it’s] a personality-led business, when you die, the whole thing closes, but the David Collins Studio has been able to outlive [him]. His ethos still remains. It means he did something right. He had a purpose bigger than himself.
A building everyone should visit before they die?
The Duomo in Milan.
Your top interior-design tip.
Lighting. As far as possible, custom-make your lighting. It can make an ordinary interior extraordinary. Modern interiors are all LEDs and downlighters, and if you create something custom, you add focus. You add soul. And wall coverings. I love rooms with wall coverings; they make a room into a hug.
From the July issue of Wanted, 2026.
