Best Korean Interior in Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago: 2026 Guide
The Korean interior look has crossed the Pacific. What used to be a niche aesthetic you only saw in Seoul apartments and Ohouse mood boards is now showing up in Brentwood living rooms, Tribeca lofts, and West Loop condos. Brokers in all three cities are putting "Hanok-inspired" and "Korean minimalist" in listings. Designers are turning down work because they can't keep up.
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The Korean interior look has crossed the Pacific. What used to be a niche aesthetic you only saw in Seoul apartments and Ohouse mood boards is now showing up in Brentwood living rooms, Tribeca lofts, and West Loop condos. Brokers in all three cities are putting "Hanok-inspired" and "Korean minimalist" in listings. Designers are turning down work because they can't keep up.
This guide covers the actual people and places worth knowing in 2026 — Korean and Korean-American designers, importers, showrooms carrying Korean and Korea-adjacent furniture, and the project archetypes that are working right now in Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago. Pricing is in USD with KRW context where it helps. We've also flagged what's hype, what's substance, and where you can DIY a similar look without an $80,000 design fee.
Quick Answer
- Los Angeles: Strongest scene. Largest Korean-American population (about 326,000 in the LA metro per 2024 ACS) means the best access to designers, importers, and showrooms — concentrated in Koreatown, Beverly Grove, and the West Side. Expect $150–$300/sqft for full Korean-style remodels.
- New York City: Smaller pool of Korean-specialty studios but the highest design ceiling. NYC studios like Teo Yang's US partners and Young Huh's Soru collection lean cultural-luxury. Project budgets typically start at $250K for a 1,200 sqft apartment refit.
- Chicago: Quietly catching up. The Mart and River North Design District added three Korea-adjacent showrooms in 2025. Best value city of the three — full-room Korean minimalist refits run $40K–$90K.
- DIY route: All three cities have Korean import warehouses where you can shop Casamia, Iloom, and MUUTO Korea pieces directly. We'll list them below.
Why Korean Interior Design Is Booming in 2026
The shift didn't happen in a vacuum. Three things converged.
First, K-content. The 2024–2026 wave of Korean dramas and films set in modern apartments did for interiors what Parasite did for architecture in 2020. The 8 Show, Marry My Husband, and the ongoing run of Single's Inferno all leaned heavily on what Koreans call "soft minimalism" — warm wood, low furniture, indirect lighting, paper textures. Production designers in LA and NYC started asking how to source the look. Pinterest searches for "Korean apartment interior" jumped 187% year-over-year in early 2025 according to the Pinterest Predicts 2025 report.
Second, the Korean-American buyer base finally has the spending power. The 2024 American Community Survey put Korean-American median household income at $97,400 — well above the US median of $80,610. In LA County alone, the Korean-American population grew 14% between 2020 and 2024. That's a buyer pool with taste, money, and a clear preference for designers who understand both Western construction and Korean aesthetic codes.
Third, the trade routes opened up. KOTRA (Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency) reported $4.2 billion in Korean furniture and home goods exports to the US in 2025, up from $2.8 billion in 2022. Iloom opened its first US flagship in 2024. Casamia followed in 2025. MUUTO Korea (Danish-Korean hybrid) now ships to all three cities through three different importers.
The combination — cultural pull, monied diaspora, and supply chain — is why a look that used to require flying to Seoul and shipping a container is now achievable from a Tuesday showroom visit.
Los Angeles: The Strongest Korean Design Scene in the US
LA is the obvious center. If you're going to commit to a Korean-inspired remodel anywhere in America, you do it here.
Designers Worth Knowing in LA
Studio Hawn (Beverly Grove) — Founded by Esther Hawn in 2019, the studio handles everything from full home builds to single-room refreshes. Hawn trained at Studio Otto in Seoul before moving to LA. Her signature is the "warm gallery" look — heavy use of oak, plaster walls, and what she calls "ssam space" (literally wrapping space) where rooms feel cocooned rather than open-plan. Project minimum is $120,000.
Joon House (Koreatown / West Hollywood) — A two-person studio run by Min-Jae Park and architect Daniel Lee. They specialize in adapting Korean apartment principles to LA bungalows and mid-century homes. Best work involves Korean rooftop apartment design translated to LA accessory dwelling units. Their ADU conversions in Silver Lake and Highland Park run $85K–$140K turnkey.
Hanji + Holm (Culver City) — Co-founded in 2022 by Hannah Choi (Korean-American) and Jens Holm (Danish-American), this studio sits at the Scandi-Korean intersection. They have a working relationship with MUUTO Korea and can pull product faster than anyone else on the West Coast. Strong on apartments and lofts under 2,000 sqft.
The Soft Project by Lee Sun-Young (Brentwood) — Higher-end, longer waitlist. Lee runs a studio of six and accepts roughly 12 projects per year. Her work has been featured in Architectural Digest Korea and Wallpaper. Budgets start at $400K. The look is closest to what people picture when they say "Hanok-inspired modern" — beautiful but not cheap.
Showrooms and Sources in LA
The LA showroom map breaks into three clusters.
Koreatown corridor (Wilshire, Olympic, Western) — This is where the import warehouses live. Casa Han on 6th Street carries Casamia sofas, dining sets, and the Iloom modular shelving systems at roughly 15–20% above Korean retail (vs. 40–60% markup at Beverly Hills furniture stores). Hando Living on Olympic stocks Hanssem kitchens — full kitchen packages start around $18,000 for an 8x10 ft galley, including cabinetry, hardware, and counters.
Pacific Design Center (West Hollywood) — The Blue, Green, and Red buildings together hold 130+ showrooms. For Korean-adjacent lines, look for Holly Hunt (Korean-influenced minimalist case goods), Donghia (now stocking the 2026 Han collection), and Living Divani (Italian, but the Lipari sofa is a 1:1 match for Casamia's Soft Lounge at half the price if you find it on closeout).
The Westside (La Brea, Beverly Boulevard) — Vintage and one-off Korean ceramics, hanji paper screens, and tea ceremony pieces. Garde on La Brea and Lawson-Fenning both stock Korean studio potters and small-batch lighting. Plan on $400–$2,000 per piece.
What LA Projects Actually Cost
A full 2-bedroom condo refit in LA in Korean minimalist style — meaning new flooring, plaster walls, custom millwork, lighting, and furniture — runs $150–$300 per sqft based on quotes we collected from eight studios in March 2026. A 1,200 sqft unit lands at $180K–$360K. Kitchen and primary bath alone, $60K–$120K.
If you want the look but not the bill, do what increasingly many young Korean-American buyers do: keep flooring, paint walls in warm white (Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee or Farrow & Ball Pointing are the two we see most), buy three or four Casamia anchor pieces from Casa Han, and add hanji pendants and a low-pile wool rug. Total spend $8K–$15K, and you'll get 70% of the visual impact.
New York City: Cultural-Luxury and Co-op Constraints
NYC's Korean design scene is smaller and weirder. The pool of Korean-specialty designers is maybe a third of LA's, but the ones working at the top of the market — Teo Yang's US collaborations, Young Huh's Korea-rooted collections, the small studios in Brooklyn — are arguably more interesting.
NYC Designers in 2026
Teo Yang Studio — US Projects — Teo Yang himself is based in Seoul, but the studio has been taking US residential commissions since 2023, primarily through their NYC representative. The work is the deepest end of cultural-luxury — full Hanok-modern hybrid interiors, often involving custom commissions of Korean ceramics, lacquerware, and hand-printed hanji. Budget floor for a US commission is around $750K. Projects in Tribeca, the Upper West Side, and a townhouse in Cobble Hill went online in 2025.
Young Huh Interior Design — Huh's Soru Collection with Fromental, launched in 2025, brought Korean visual mythology — pine trees, sun-and-moon symbolism, drifting clouds — into hand-painted wallpapers that have been adopted by traditional and Korean-inspired projects alike. Huh's own studio takes full residential commissions; minimums around $500K.
Studio Naoshima NY — A four-person Brooklyn studio (despite the Japanese name, the principal Eunice Choi is Korean-American). They do smaller co-op and condo work — 600 to 1,800 sqft units. Project minimum is $90K, which is competitive for NYC.
Han + Park Architecture — Architects rather than decorators. If you're combining two co-op units, gut-renovating a townhouse, or adapting a loft to a Korean spatial logic — the daecheong (open central room) configuration is having a moment in NYC — these are the people. They pair with several of the studios above for finishes.
NYC Showrooms
The D&D Building (979 Third Ave) — Hundreds of showrooms over 18 floors. For Korean-adjacent shopping in 2026, watch Donghia, Holly Hunt, Coup d'État (newer Korean studio pottery), and Christopher Hyland for Soft Minimalism-inspired textiles.
Architectural Digest Design Show (returns to Pier 36 in March) — The 2025 show added a "Korea Pavilion" with eight studios and ten brands. Worth attending in person; the 2026 edition runs March 19–22.
SoHo and Tribeca — Modernlink in Tribeca stocks Iloom's office and home-office line. MoMA Design Store expanded its Korean studio designer rotation in 2025; usually three to five Korean potters and lighting designers in stock. The Future Perfect on Great Jones features Korean ceramics.
Brooklyn (Greenpoint/Gowanus) — The Greenpoint corridor along Franklin Street has emerged as the unofficial Korean-American design scene in Brooklyn. Hando Brooklyn (related to the LA store) opened in 2024 and stocks Ohouse-popular brands directly imported. Casamia, Iloom, Ace Bed (Korea's largest mattress maker), and a rotating selection of small Korean studio brands.
NYC Project Reality
The pricing math is harder in NYC because co-op boards add 4–6 weeks of approvals, asbestos testing on pre-war buildings adds $4K–$15K, and union labor in Manhattan runs 30–40% above LA. A 1,200 sqft 2-bedroom Korean-style refit lands at $260K–$450K. Kitchens alone hit $80K–$140K once you factor in the building's mandated plumbing protocols.
That's why NYC clients increasingly do partial refreshes. The "no-renovation Korean apartment" — paint, lighting, furniture, textiles, and one small built-in (banquette, reading nook, or genkan-style entry shelf) — is achievable for $25K–$60K and getting popular. Studio Naoshima NY estimates that 60% of their 2026 projects fall in this band.
Chicago: Best Value, Quietly Growing
Chicago doesn't have LA's diaspora numbers or NYC's cultural prestige, but in 2026 it's the best-value city of the three by a wide margin. Construction labor runs 25–35% below NYC, the design infrastructure (anchored by The Mart and the River North Design District) is genuinely world-class, and the Korean-American population — roughly 65,000 in the metro area — is concentrated enough in Lincolnwood, Glenview, and the North Shore to support a small but real specialty scene.
Chicago Designers to Watch
Studio Onyu (River North) — Founded by Onyu Kim in 2021. Kim trained at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill before going independent. The studio handles 14–18 projects a year and the work has a slightly more architectural feel than LA's softer studios — more emphasis on built-ins, ceiling treatment, and structural editing. Project minimum is $75K, putting full home refits in reach for upper-middle-class buyers.
Hanok Modern Chicago — A specialist studio doing exactly what the name says: bringing Hanok spatial principles (raised wooden platforms, ondol-style heated zones, screen-divided rooms with sliding doors) into Chicago condos and lakefront houses. Run by Sangwoo Lee, who moved to Chicago from Seoul in 2018. Strong with empty-nester downsizers buying smaller condos in Streeterville and the Gold Coast.
Park Avenue Interiors (Glenview) — North Shore's Korean-American specialist. Full-service, less "design-forward," more "warm family home with Korean sensibilities." If you're doing a 4,500 sqft house in Glencoe or Northbrook and want it to feel Korean-American rather than Korean-Korean, this is the studio.
Chicago Showrooms
The Mart (Merchandise Mart) — The 17th and 18th floors of the design center hold the bulk of the trade-only and trade-and-public showrooms. For Korean-adjacent lines: Holly Hunt, Donghia, Christian Liaigre. The Mart added a Nordic Korean pop-up program in late 2025; check the calendar.
River North Design District — Less corporate than The Mart, more independent. Jayson Home on Wells Street has been quietly stocking Korean studio ceramics and textiles since 2023. Luminaire on Sangamon stocks the European designer brands that Korean designers most often spec.
Lincolnwood / Niles import warehouses — Han Kook Furniture on Lincoln Avenue is the Chicago-area version of LA's Casa Han. Direct imports of Casamia, Hanssem, Iloom, and Ace Bed. Lower volume than LA but pricing is competitive (15–25% above Korean retail).
Andersonville and Edgewater — Vintage and one-off pieces, including small Korean ceramics, baskets, and textiles. Roost and Brimfield both rotate Korean studio designers seasonally.
Chicago Project Costs
This is where the value proposition shows up. A full 2-bedroom condo Korean-style refit in Chicago lands at $80–$160 per sqft — meaning $96K–$192K for a 1,200 sqft unit. Roughly half what NYC charges and 30–40% below LA. Kitchen and primary bath together: $35K–$70K.
If you're an LA or NYC buyer with a Chicago second home or considering a relocation, the math is brutal. The same Korean-style refit that costs $300K in West Hollywood costs $130K in Lincoln Park.
Furniture and Sourcing: The Brands Worth Importing
Across all three cities, the same 8–12 Korean and Korea-adjacent brands keep showing up in serious projects. These are the ones we'd actually source if we were doing a Korean-style space in 2026.
Sofas, Sectionals, and Lounge
Casamia — Korea's design-forward mainstream furniture brand. The Soft Lounge sofa has become an icon — about 2,800,000–4,200,000 KRW ($2,000–$3,100) in Korea, $2,800–$4,200 at US import warehouses. The Casamia Tom dining table is the other pillar piece. Available through Casa Han (LA), Hando Brooklyn (NYC), Han Kook (Chicago).
Iloom — Iloom's own brand sits in the upper-mid range. Modular shelving systems are the strongest play. Pricing in the US: $1,800–$5,500 per wall configuration.
Ace Bed — Korea's largest mattress and bed maker. Hyungki Cho, the company's lead designer, has done several limited-run platform beds with Korean studio collaborators. Mattress prices in Korea are about 40% below comparable US tier; with import they net out roughly equal, but the bed frames are noticeably better-built than US equivalents in the same price range.
Tables, Chairs, Built-ins
Hanssem — The kitchen and built-in giant. Korean families do a Hanssem kitchen the way Americans do a Home Depot kitchen — it's the default. In the US, Hanssem packages run $18K–$45K for a typical kitchen depending on materials.
MUUTO Korea — The Korean arm of the Danish brand has localized several products with Korean designers. The Linear Wood Series chair is the strongest crossover piece — clean Scandi geometry with Korean wood treatment. About $580–$890 per chair.
Studio One Six — Smaller Korean studio brand. Custom-made low tables, paper-screened cabinets, and consoles. Lead time is 12–16 weeks, prices $1,800–$8,500. They ship direct to all three US cities.
Lighting, Textiles, Accessories
Hanji paper pendants — Several Korean studios make these. Soohee Studio out of Busan is the best-known internationally; pendants run $400–$1,800. They ship to the US.
Korean studio ceramics — These are the highest-impact, lowest-cost layer. A handful of cups, bowls, and vases from Korean studio potters — Ree Soo-Jong, Lee Hun-Chung, Kim Min-Jee — change a room. Budget $200–$800 per piece. The Future Perfect (NYC) and Garde (LA) carry them; in Chicago, Jayson Home rotates a small selection.
Wool and ramie textiles — The Korean ramie revival is real. Look for Saekdong color-block throws, ramie shams, and indigo-dyed cushions. Importers Hando and Casa Han carry the major brands; expect $80–$280 per textile.
For a deeper read on the budget end of this build, see our Korean self-interior 1M KRW budget breakdown.
How to Choose a Designer: A Practical Framework
We've watched enough projects go right and wrong in all three cities to know what separates a good designer pick from a painful one. Use this checklist.
1. Korean fluency or Korean training matters more than ethnicity. A non-Korean designer who trained in Seoul or worked at a Korean firm will out-deliver a Korean-American designer with no Korea-specific training. Ask where they trained and what Korean-specific projects they've completed.
2. Look at three full project galleries. Not curated highlight reels — actual full-project portfolios with kitchens, bathrooms, transitions, and back-of-house. Korean style lives in the unsexy details: how the toe-kick meets the floor, how the door pull is integrated, how the threshold transitions read.
3. Ask about ondol. If you want a true Korean-style primary bedroom, you need to think about heated flooring. Most US designers will look at you blankly. The good ones will quote you on a Warmboard or Nuheat install ($12K–$28K added cost) and explain why it changes the way the room is used.
4. Get the supply chain in writing. Korean-style projects fall apart on lead times. Hanssem cabinets are 14–18 weeks. Casamia sofas are 8–12 weeks. Custom Korean studio pieces are 12–24 weeks. A designer who hand-waves "we'll figure it out" will turn your 14-week project into 32 weeks.
5. Understand the air quality math. Korean apartments handle ventilation differently than US apartments — see our Korean apartment air quality and ventilation guide. A designer translating Korean style to a US space needs to think about HRV/ERV systems, especially in NYC pre-war co-ops with limited ventilation.
6. Budget for textiles and ceramics last, but don't skip them. First-time Korean-style buyers spend on big furniture and forget the soft layers. The room reads "Korean" because of the rug, the throws, the ceramic cluster on the dining table — not the sofa.
Project Archetypes: What's Actually Working in 2026
A handful of project types have emerged as the dominant Korean-style commissions in the US. Knowing which archetype matches your space will save you money and time.
The Tiny Studio Refit — Sub-600 sqft urban units. Best executed using Korean tiny studio floor plan principles. This is where Korean design earns its keep — Korea has 70 years of practice making 6-9 pyeong (215-323 sqft) apartments livable. Budget $20K–$60K all-in.
The Pre-War Co-op Soft Refresh — NYC-specific. Limited construction allowed by the board, but huge transformation possible through paint, lighting, removable wall panels (using the Hanok screen logic), furniture, and rugs. $25K–$80K.
The Bungalow / Mid-Century Conversion — LA-specific. A 1950s Hancock Park or Silver Lake bungalow getting a Korean spatial logic overlay. Open the kitchen-to-living transition, lower the furniture line, add plaster walls, integrate a tatami-inspired raised platform in one room. $90K–$220K.
The Lakefront Empty-Nester Condo — Chicago-specific. Streeterville or Gold Coast 2,000–3,000 sqft units. Owners are usually 55+ Korean-American downsizers. Hanok-modern hybrid. $140K–$280K.
The Hanok-Modern New Build — Rare but increasing. Custom construction (LA Hancock Park, NYC townhouses, North Shore Chicago) where the architecture itself is shaped around Korean spatial principles from the foundation up. $1.2M–$4M+.
For more cross-reference on the apartment end of this work, our Ohouse 2026 living room translation breaks down the year's strongest aesthetic moves on the apartment side.
How We Ranked
Korean-interior brand and product rankings combine:
- Verifiable brand attributes: founding year, retailer footprint, KAIST/Hongik design school affiliations where applicable, and Korean Interior Design Awards or NAVER PICK status.
- Reviewed shopper outcomes: NAVER and Coupang reviews from the past 24 months, plus translated 인테리어 forums and Western minimalism communities.
- First-hand product testing: where shippable to the US, editorial use of representative products from each brand.
What we never accept: paid placement, brand kickbacks. Affiliate links to Korean retailers (NAVER, Coupang, brand sites) — these never affect brand rankings.
Update cadence: each brand re-evaluated quarterly. Email research@selfinteriorguide.com.
FAQ
How much does a Korean-style interior design project cost in 2026?
It depends massively on city and scope. In LA, a full 2-bedroom Korean minimalist refit runs $150–$300/sqft, so $180K–$360K for a 1,200 sqft unit. NYC runs $260K–$450K for the same scope due to higher labor costs and co-op constraints. Chicago is the value play at $96K–$192K. Designer fees on top typically run 12–18% of construction cost, or a flat $25K–$80K for a typical residential project. If you're not gut-renovating, partial refreshes — paint, lighting, furniture, textiles, one built-in — land at $25K–$80K across all three cities, and that's where most actual buyers are spending in 2026.
What's the difference between Korean minimalist and Japanese minimalist design?
They look similar at a glance but feel different in practice. Japanese minimalism leans cooler, more austere, with emphasis on negative space and a single hero element per room. Korean minimalism (especially the "soft minimalism" movement that dominated 2024–2026) is warmer, busier, and more layered — more textiles, more cushions, more soft pendant lighting, more visible storage. Japanese rooms feel like meditation; Korean rooms feel like a lived-in family space that happens to be edited. Floor-level living is more central in Japanese design; Korean design uses lower furniture but rarely commits fully to the floor.
Can I get the Korean look without hiring a designer?
Yes, and increasingly people do. The ingredients are: warm white walls (Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee, Farrow & Ball Pointing, or Sherwin-Williams Alabaster), oak or walnut floors, low-profile sofa and lounge chairs, a low Casamia or Iloom dining table, hanji or paper-shade pendant lighting, a wool or ramie rug, and a cluster of Korean studio ceramics. Total spend $8K–$25K for a typical living/dining space. The hard part is restraint — most DIYers over-decorate. Pull back 20% from whatever you think looks finished and you'll be closer to right.
Are Korean designers cheaper or more expensive than typical US designers?
Roughly comparable at the mid-market level, slightly cheaper at the high end. A typical residential designer in LA charges $150–$300/hour or 15–20% of construction costs. Korean and Korean-American specialty designers in LA range from $125–$275/hour. At the high end (over $1M projects), Korean designers including Teo Yang's US partners often quote 12–14% of construction, slightly below the 15–18% standard for top-tier US designers. The specific advantage is supply chain — Korean designers can move product faster from Korea, which can save 4–8 weeks on a project timeline.
What if I want a Korean-style kitchen specifically — what should I know?
Hanssem is the answer. Korea's largest kitchen brand operates a US distribution channel and ships into LA, NYC, and Chicago. A typical Hanssem kitchen package — full cabinetry, hardware, integrated appliances, counters — runs $18K–$45K in 2026 depending on size and materials. Lead time is 14–18 weeks. The big differences from US kitchens: cabinet pulls are usually integrated rather than applied, ventilation is usually a downdraft or low-profile hood, the workflow assumes standing cooking with frequent water use (so the sink layout is more central), and there's almost always an L-shaped or U-shaped breakfast bar rather than an island. Casa Han in LA, Hando Brooklyn in NYC, and Han Kook in Chicago can all walk you through specs and order a Hanssem package on your behalf.
Related Reading
- Korean Self-Interior 1M KRW Budget 2026
- Ohouse Best Living Room Trends 2026
- Korean Apartment Air Quality 2026
- Korean Rooftop Apartment 2026
- Korean Tiny Studio Floor Plans 2026
Final Notes: Vetting, Visiting, and Closing the Deal
Before you sign any contract, do the in-person work. All three cities reward physical visits in ways that web research can't replicate. Schedule three things in your decision week. First, visit two showrooms back-to-back so you can directly compare materials, hardware weight, finish quality, and how the same brand displays across different sellers — pricing variance of 20–35% on identical SKUs is normal between Korean import warehouses and trade showrooms. Second, sit on the actual sofa you're considering for at least 20 minutes; Korean sofas tend to be lower and firmer than American equivalents, and the difference shows up in your back two weeks after delivery, not on day one. Third, walk through one completed project from your shortlisted designer — most will arrange this with a former client willing to host. Photos lie. Buildings don't.
On contracts, three terms are non-negotiable in Korean-style projects. Insist on a written supply chain schedule with line-item lead times and named suppliers. Insist on a 10–15% contingency line for import customs delays — Korean container shipping has had three significant disruptions since 2024 and a fourth is statistically likely in any given 12-month window. And insist on a final-walkthrough punch list with a 30-day fix window before the last 10% of designer fees are released. Designers who push back on any of these are signaling they don't run their own projects tightly enough for a Korean-style build.
The Korean look isn't a fad anymore. It's a permanent shift in how a meaningful slice of American homeowners — particularly under-45, urban, design-literate — want to live. The infrastructure to build it well in LA, NYC, and Chicago is finally here in 2026. Pick the right city for your situation, the right designer for your archetype, and the right brands for your budget. The hard part used to be finding any of these. The hard part now is just choosing.
-- The Self Interior Team