The Studio
Located in Nyack, New York, The Whistling Well is a full-service design studio that serves areas in and around New York City, Hudson Valley, Connecticut, and New Jersey. Our standardized process and partnerships with talented general contractors, tradespeople, and craftspeople allow us to deliver high-quality work and exceptional client experiences.
living, by design
The Whistling Well is an interior design and architecture studio grounded in a simple premise: space shapes how we live.
With each space are fundamental elements that subtly influence the lives within. Layout shapes movement, materials shape sensation, and light shapes rhythm.
When the composition of these elements aligns, the effects transcend decoration; calm and joy become structural outcomes.
We work with homeowners across New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, designing residential spaces that support clarity, comfort, and joy.
Life is beautifully unpredictable, and the spaces that hold it deserve intention.
The Founder
Milena Bica-Shibata is an architectural designer and the founder of The Whistling Well, an interior design and architecture studio serving New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. Her work, ground in structure, proportion, and material integrity, spans residential interiors, architecture, and experiential environments.
Milena’s approach to interior design is rooted in the belief that every space should actively support the well-being of the people within it. She treats layout, materials, and light as elements of a single composition, each considered in relation to the whole.
Her practice extends beyond the built environment into fiber, ceramics, and art. The medium may shift from interior architecture to woven form or hand-thrown clay, but her philosophy remains constant: alignment shapes experience.
Her freedom in form and material is guided by intention, not impulse. Color may be bold. Materials may be expressive. Spatial gestures may be dramatic. But every decision is deliberate, and every element serves the composition.
Across disciplines, she returns to a singular belief: beauty is clarity and depth made visible.