Hotels. Hospitality. Places people come back to.
Dunedin | Central Otago | Christchurch
Selected projects throughout New Zealand
Design that creates exceptional guest experiences and makes commercial sense.
Riah McLean Design is an independent interior design consultancy focused on hotels, hospitality and select residential projects.
I bring together design thinking, commercial understanding and over a decade of hospitality ownership and operation.
I understand what makes people choose a place, what makes them return, and why the right design decisions matter to the success of a business.
What gives a place its identity, and what makes it endure?
These are design questions, but they’re also commercial ones.
My work starts well before the selection of furniture and finishes. I consider the building, the people who use it, how the business operates and what will make it worth coming back to.
The ambition is simple. To create places with character, places that work, and places people remember.
Hotels. Hospitality. Places people come back to.
Dunedin | Central Otago | Christchurch
Selected projects throughout New Zealand
Who I work with.
I work with hotel owners, hospitality operators, developers and homeowners who understand that good design is an investment, not simply an expense.
Hospitality and development
Hotels, restaurants and places people want to return to.
With twelve years of hospitality ownership and operation, I understand what makes a place work, both for the people who experience it and the business behind it.
My approach brings together design, guest experience and commercial understanding from the outset.
Good design isn’t about what’s impressive today. It’s about creating places that still feel right and that owners are proud of for years to come.
Residential
Home is where your life happens.
It should feel entirely your own.
I work on significant new homes and renovations where there is an opportunity to create something exceptional.
Good design should make everyday life better, reflect the people who live there and still feel right years from now.
The decisions made at the beginning shape how a home looks, feels and functions for decades.
Sourcing
Beautiful pieces, chosen with purpose.
The right pieces change how people experience a space.
They encourage people to stay longer, return more often, spend more confidently, and remember.
I source custom, vintage and hard-to-find pieces that give each project a distinct identity.
They’re often the details people remember the most.
Residential
Home is where your life happens.
Good design should make every part of it feel better.
It should reward you every single day and still feel right twenty years from now.
Building or renovating is a major investment- the decisions you make now will shape how you live for decades.
Hospitality and Development
Whether it’s a boutique hotel, restaurant, workplace or residential development.
I design spaces that people remember for the right reasons.
Experience matters. So do the decisions behind it.
Designing and owning successful hospitality businesses for more than a decade taught me how thoughtful design creates loyalty, strengthens brands and protects long-term value.
Good design isn’t about what’s impressive today, it’s about what still feels right ten or twenty years from now.
That’s how thoughtful decisions become lasting value.
Sourcing
The details that quietly increase value.
The right pieces change how people experience a space.
They encourage people to stay longer, return more often, spend more confidently, and remember.
I source custom, vintage and hard-to-find pieces that give each project a distinct identity.
They’re often the details people remember the most.
Hospitality and development
Hotels, restaurants and places people want to return to.
With years of hospitality ownership and operation, I understand what makes a place work, both for the people who experience it and the business behind it.
My approach brings together design, guest experience and commercial understanding from the outset.
Good design isn’t about what’s impressive today. It’s about creating places that still feel right and that owners are proud of for years to come.
Residential
Home is where your life happens.
It should feel entirely your own.
I work on significant new homes and renovations where there is an opportunity to create something exceptional.
Good design should make everyday life better, reflect the people who live there and still feel right years from now.
The decisions made at the beginning shape how a home looks, feels and functions for decades.
Sourcing
Beautiful pieces, chosen with purpose.
The right pieces change how people experience a space.
They encourage people to stay longer, return more often, spend more confidently, and remember.
I source custom, vintage and hard-to-find pieces that give each project a distinct identity.
They’re often the details people remember the most.
Who I work with.
work with hotel owners, hospitality operators, developers and homeowners who understand that good design is an investment, not simply an expense.