Eleven stunning pictures of homes decorated by a Preston interior designer nominated for international awards

35-year-old Alisa Bowen, who runs Inside Studio, has been shortlisted for two SBID Interior Design Awards 2023, an internationally recognised awards programme which celebrates design excellence across a broad range of interior sectors.

A Fulwood home Alisa and her team have done the interior design for has been shortlisted for the best house with a ‘Budget up to £50k' and another home in Bolton has been shortlisted for the kitchen design category.

Commenting on the nominations, Alisa said: “It’s a big deal! It feels amazing to be recognised. I know they get hundreds and hundreds of applications so being a finalist in these global awards is a huge achievement for a small company based in the north west of England.”

Originally from Cyprus, when Alisa looked at UK universities to study interior design, she settled on the University of Central Lancashire as Preston had a direct train to Edinburgh, where her sister was expecting to move at the time.

Although her sister did not make the move to Scotland in the end, Alisa still arrived in Preston aged 22 and now lives in the area with her husband and three children.

Alisa said: “I came completely on my own, I’d never have been to the UK before. I arrived from a very sunny Cyprus into a very cold and rainy Preston with nothing but a suitcase… It was never meant to be a long term thing but I met my husband at the university and we got married before I finished my degree.”

Alisa formed Inside Studio in 2013 with her product designer husband, Jonathan, and the company has gone on to complete numerous interior design projects across the North West in that time.

Describing her style, Alisa said: "We create custom, comfortable homes that are timeless and fully designed with the client and their families at the forefront of the design. So it's completely customised to how they live, how they use the space, what makes them feel relaxed. Home is your safe place, it's your refuge, it's also the place you entertain from so it has to meet a lot of different needs.”

Alisa will find out if her two designs have won the SBID awards next month, but for now take a look at scenes from both houses below: