Meet the New York Judges

Interior Designer Tara Seawright
Interior Designer

Tara Seawright

Since beginning her design career over twenty years ago, Tara Seawright has grown to become one of New York’s most sought after and prestigious interior designers. Over the years, she has designed countless apartments, offices and country houses for some of Manhattan’s most successful entrepreneurs and executives, all with a distinctly elegant touch. Before starting her career as an interior designer, Seawright received a Bachelor’s degree in Art History and honed her skills working in numerous art galleries and at Christie’s Auction House. Celebrated for her knowledge of art and antiques, she brings not only talent but a deep understanding and awareness of the industry to every project. Seawright’s aesthetic is characterized as casually elegant while never compromising comfort or functionality. Her designs feature unique vintage pieces and beautiful antiques with unexpected details which make each piece one of a kind, reflecting her clients’ personalities. Seawright also finds inspiration and influences from her artist husband, Sam Seawright. Her work has been published by InStyle Magazine, Hamptons Cottages & Gardens, New York Spaces, Traditional Home and The Huffington Post. Seawright was named by New York Spaces as one of the “Top 50 Names You Need to Know in New York Design” for two years in a row and is frequently asked to appear as a guest speaker for her design expertise.

Interior Designer Shawn Henderson
Interior Designer

Shawn Henderson

I create interiors that feel comfortably sophisticated, rich and relaxed . . . interiors that inspire you daily through nuance, harmony and contrasts . . . interiors that reflect your needs and spirit . . . interiors that truly feel like home. I grew up knowing exactly what I wanted to do for a living and where I wanted to live. After receiving my bfa in interior design from the Rochester Institute of Technology I headed straight for New York City to pursue my dream. My education in interior design started at home. As the youngest of six children, I loved to rearrange our living room furniture in our home in upstate New York near Albany. My parents owned a popular local tavern, and family life was all about creating welcoming environments. During the summers, I camped in the nearby Adirondacks and the magnificence of the mountains and deep dark lakes inspire me to this day. Today, as an interior designer, I believe I have a responsibility to inform my work with integrity. That means respecting the environment in every sense of the word: using craftsmen whose work is true to their art forms, working with sustainable materials, using vintage furnishings and choosing products that are honestly produced and made. My creative process begins by listening to my clients then contemplating how design can make their lives more beautiful. The beauty is in the details: lightness, flexibility and cleanliness. I see newfound beauty in old materials and furnishings, and often reclaim them in fresh new ways. The furniture that I design reflects familiar forms, but the lines are pared down and more pure. Often I am drawn to serene palettes punctuated with rich splashes of color. No one element stands out – the layers and unexpected mix achieves a harmonious balance. Building from these principles, putting a home together is a joy.

Sandra Nunnerley
Interior Designer

Sandra Nunnerley

New Zealand-born interior designer Sandra Nunnerley and author of INTERIORS, (published by powerhouse Books) is the founder of Sandra Nunnerley, Inc., a design studio specializing in high-end resident projects. She is known for her careful attention to architecture and the integration of art into the work. Her graceful vision presides over by Hollywood producer Jack Warner. Projects range from Manhattan apartments to beach home in the Hamptons, Bahamas and her native New Zealand. She has been profiled in numerous publications, including The World of Interiors, Elle Decor, Vogue Living, and Departures Magazine. W Magazine has called her one of the most fashionable designers today, House & Garden (UK) named her in their international guide of leading designers and Departures Magazine named her to their 2015 Design Council. Most recently Sandra debuted on the Architectural Digest International List 2015, a listing of the 100 talents worldwide who define interior design today.

Antiques Designer Bernd Goeckler
Antiques Designer

Bernd Goeckler

Born in Germany, Bernd Goeckler was raised and educated in Switzerland. After a successful early career as a retailer of design furniture and antiques at Galerie Heuberg 24 in Basel, Bernd left the retail industry to apprentice with the renowned Hofstætter Restoration. At Hofstaetter, Bernd gained understanding of the look and construction of antique furniture, an understanding which he further developed, taking classes at the Le Musée des Arts Décoratifs at the Louvre in Paris.Over the next few years, Bernd amassed a large antique collection and began exhibiting in antique fairs in Zürich, Basel, and Lausanne.  In 1990, Bernd moved to Manhattan, where he first opened his antique shop on University Place. The following year Bernd Goeckler Antiques relocated to its current location, renovating and expanding in 2006 to its present look and space. While from the beginning the inventory of Bernd Goeckler Antiques, Inc. has been a diverse mix of fine furniture, lighting, and accessories, in recent years the gallery has increasingly focused on 20th Century design. Since the mid-nineties, when Art Deco pieces began commingling with the gallery’s primarily Louis XVI and Neoclassical inventory, the demand for modern furnishings has grown considerably. The gallery, in turn, has adapted its inventory accordingly. Bernd has become a recognized authority on 20th century European furniture, furnishings, and decorative arts.

Interior Designer Alan Tanksley
Interior Designer

Alan Tanksley

Mr. Tanksley is among America’s leading practitioners of residential design and of detailed interior space planning and custom furniture and fixture design. Renowned as an expert colorist, Mr. Tanksley creates shimmering palettes that ultimately manage to make every interior space both exciting and relaxing simultaneously. His day-to-day working relationships with such leading architects as Maya Lin, James Dayton and Harry Elson give the firm the unusual ability to draw on expert talents to implement a wide range of architectural renovations for each project that it undertakes. Prior to founding his own firm in 1993, Alan Tanksley was a partner in another firm and was previously an associate with the distinguished designer Mark Hampton. He worked closely with Mr. Hampton on the design and supervision of many of the company’s most notable residential projects.

Mr. Tanksley’s work has been widely seen in such publications as Architectural Digest, Interior Design, House & Garden, Art & Antiques and Metropolitan Home in addition to Elle Decor.