EL Design Studio
Hicksville, NY

Sometimes things that happen by chance happen for a reason. Diana Rojas discovered this in 2018 when she left the “corporate New York City world” behind—she’s a Brooklyn College graduate with a degree in Broadcast Journalism—and found herself suddenly jobless. A freelance opportunity doing social media for a friend’s mother’s business, Hicksville, NY-based EL Design Studio (ELDS), seemed like a great way to occupy her time—until it seamlessly transitioned into a full-time career. Four years later, Diana is a Designer & Project Coordinator for the award-winning kitchen-and-bath remodeling company.

“I was always intrigued by the interior home design industry, but never would have pictured myself making a career of it,” says Diana, who quickly became a crucial member of the ELDS team. In 2020, she was tasked with overseeing the company’s largest renovation project to date: a multimillion-dollar new build in Northport, NY that took almost two years and included designing a kitchen, pantry, laundry room, office, bar and six bathrooms. And in her role as Project Manager, Diana has implemented numerous practices designed to better plan and coordinate projects, from simple organizational processes to the use of proper software to best communicate with the team and complete jobs efficiently.

“My personal design style is transitional but with warmth and charm—so I love mixing clean and warm tones, but adding vintage pieces that add character to a space.”

Colombia-born Diana describes her own personal design style as “transitional but with warmth and charm—so I love mixing clean and warm tones, but adding vintage pieces that add character to a space.” It’s a far cry from her childhood vision of a teal bedroom with a bold black stripe across the center of all four walls (her dad was a painter and she was allowed to change the color of her room every three years). She also constantly rearranged her furniture—a missed clue perhaps to her true calling.

Diana currently lives with her boyfriend of three years, Joaquin, who is an electrician she met in the field. While they do talk shop, they also take time to escape for mini-weekend trips to wine-taste, hike or try a new restaurant. But she has something loftier in mind for her ultimate getaway: a hot-air balloon ride—preferably over Cappadocia, Turkey.