Recognition
The IDAK Digital and Online Membership Directory helps interior designers build visibility, credibility, and trust across the Kenyan design industry.
Who We Are
The Voice of Interior Design in Kenya
The Interior Designers Association of Kenya (IDAK) is the professional voice of interior design in Kenya, dedicated to promoting excellence, innovation, and human-centered environments. Through advocacy, collaboration, and professional development, IDAK seeks to elevate design standards while advancing quality living through thoughtful and impactful interior spaces.
Education
IDAK collaborates with partners to create learning experiences, tours, and professional development opportunities for members and their guests.
Legislative Leadership
IDAK advocates for stronger standards, professional recognition, and policy frameworks that support the future of interior design practice in Kenya.
Our Purpose
Mission & Vision
IDAK exists to give interior design its rightful place — as a serious, strategic and indispensable profession within Kenya's built environment.
Mission
To unite, empower, regulate, promote and advance interior designers and the wider interior design industry ecosystem through advocacy, professional standards, education, technology, research, innovation, collaboration and public awareness.
Vision
Africa's leading authority advancing interior design excellence, professional recognition, regulation, innovation, sustainability and human-centered environments for quality living.
Our Story
Born From Research, Built on Purpose
IDAK was established in 2012 by Dr. George Washington Karani, whose Master of Arts in Design research on teamwork in Kenya's construction industry revealed a striking gap: on project signage boards across the country, architects, engineers and quantity surveyors were listed — yet the interior designer was nowhere to be seen.
That observation raised a fundamental question — why were interior designers excluded from the construction team? Why was a profession that directly shapes how people live, work, heal and learn treated as an afterthought?
Dr. Karani gathered fellow designers and shared a bold vision: a unified professional association that would bring interior designers together, advocate for their recognition, push for regulation and position them as essential stakeholders in Kenya's built environment. That vision became IDAK.
2012
Year Founded
Why Professional Interior Design Matters in Kenya's Growing Property Market
Kenya's property market is expanding fast, but better interiors still decide how homes, offices, and hospitality projects perform for users, investors, and long-term brand value.
How IDAK Supports Interior Designers Across Kenya
From recognition and mentorship to policy advocacy and market visibility, IDAK is building stronger support systems for interior designers working across Kenya's design economy.
The Future of Residential Interior Design in Kenya
Residential interior design in Kenya is moving toward wellness, flexibility, local material intelligence, and better use of space as urban living patterns continue to change.
Commercial Interior Design Standards Every Kenyan Business Should Know
Commercial interiors in Kenya need more than finishes and furniture. Performance, safety, circulation, accessibility, and brand experience all depend on sound design standards.
How to Choose a Qualified Interior Designer in Kenya
Choosing the right interior designer in Kenya means looking beyond style alone and assessing process, project fit, communication, credibility, and professional discipline.
Interior Design Trends Transforming Nairobi Homes and Offices
Nairobi interiors are shifting toward warmer materials, wellness-led planning, flexible work zones, and more confident local design expression in both homes and offices.
The Role of IDAK in Building Trust in Kenya's Design Industry
Trust grows when the public can identify credible professionals, understand design value, and engage a profession supported by standards, visibility, and accountability.
From Concept to Completion: What Clients Should Expect from Interior Designers
A good interior design process moves from briefing and concept development to specification, coordination, and implementation with clear communication at every stage.
Our Philosophy
The Authority of Human-Centered Interior Environments
Interior design is the discipline that transforms buildings into places of life, work, healing, learning, hospitality and social interaction. Good interiors are not luxuries — they are essential to human dignity, safety, wellness, productivity and quality living.
A well-designed hospital supports healing.
A well-designed classroom improves learning.
A well-designed workplace increases productivity.
A well-designed home improves family life.
A well-designed hotel strengthens tourism.
A well-designed public space promotes inclusion and dignity.
IDAK positions interior design as a public-interest profession, an economic driver, a creative discipline and a human-centered development tool — essential to how Kenya lives, works and grows.