Designer Profile: Holly Hollenbeck designs rooms for function and expression
To Holly Hollenbeck, all design is relational. Objects in a room — from wall treatments to furniture, lighting to window types — must complement one another and provide context to the home itself. A room’s design not only reflects the inhabitant’s tastes, it sets the tone for how one will live and function in a given space.
Hollenbeck, who holds a bachelor’s degree in communications from UCLA and studied interior design at the University of California Berkeley Extension, started HSH Interiors in 2002. Before that she worked in the financial sector as a recruiter for an investment bank. Now she serves as principal for HSH Interiors, her high-end interior architecture and design firm based in Laurel Heights.
Married with a family, Hollenbeck has lived in and remodeled several homes in Mill Valley and San Francisco over the years. She recently put 701 Scott St., a Victorian at the edge of Alamo Square Park, on the market, and she’s looking for her next live-work project.
In this interview with SFiSHomes, Hollenbeck talks about ongoing projects, product lines she’s designing and striking a balance between contemporary and classical.
Q: What are some of your curiosities and interests related to design?
A: I am influenced by fashion, art and interiors around the world. I spend much of my day consuming images, whether of the latest runway show, the newest products from our favorite manufacturers or an art exhibit at SFMOMA.
I’ve always loved older homes and purchase and remodel them for my own family. My goal is always to give a vintage home a modern twist to keep them current. Much of my work for clients in recent years has been modern, either remodels to update an older home or new ground-up construction. Our open floor plans and the newer window and door sys-
tems allow us to create giant operable glass walls, which contribute to that ideal California indoor-outdoor living.
I adore vintage lighting and furnishings from the 1960s and 1970s. Milo Baughman, Vladimir Kagan, RAAK, Sciolari, Stilnovo, de Sede and Zanuso are a few favorites. I try to work a blend of vintage and new furnishings and lighting into every project. Older pieces give a home depth, warmth and soul.
Q: What’s a typical work week like for you?
A: There’s no “typical” week because there’s always something different going on. It feels like a circus act at times and you have to keep the plates spinning. But generally we gather every Monday morning for status updates and to meet vendors while everyone is in the office so they can see the products at the same time.
The rest of the week we’re bouncing from clients’ houses and our design center. Everything is done with a close eye to the production schedule, so we’re always watching deadlines and collaborating on what needs to be done for the client, builder and/or architect.
Basically, we never want to be the choke point for information or production speed. You never want to be the one holding up a project.
Q: How many people work at HSH Interiors?
A: There are five people total, including me. We have an office manager and one who is part-time, so we basically have three-and-a-half people working on the design side. All together we do 10 to 12 projects in a year with budgets ranging from a quarter-million to $15 million apiece.
Q: What projects are you currently working on?
A: We have about eight or nine projects going on right now in various stages of the design process. Right now we’re finishing a big remodel in Mill Valley that focuses on the entryway, kitchen, living and dining rooms. For that one, we removed a wall, reconfigured the interior and painted.
Then we have several that are about to start con-
struction or are already under construction. One in Mill Valley’s Middle Ridge starts in June, and we have designs in Tiburon and Sonoma that are currently being built.
Q: What project are you most excited about?
A: There’s one in Jackson Hole, Wyo., that I’m very excited about. We’re doing it for one of our Mill Valley clients, who is building a second home on 35 acres out there. The design is a mountain contemporary-type home that we’re working on with Carney Logan Burke Architects. It’s a main house, a couple of guest houses and a party barn and we’re designing all the interiors for all those spaces. From design planning to the end of construction, it’s expected to be a four-year project. We’re hoping to break ground around September. If we don’t break ground before winter, the ground will be frozen and we’ll have to wait until 2019 to get started.
Q: What technological innovation has made the biggest impact on your work since you started as a designer?
A: Three-dimensional rendering, without a doubt. The rise of photo-realistic, 3-D modeling completely changed the game for us. The Jackson Hole project, for example, the architect builds the digital shell and we can add layers of interior finishes like leather tiles on a wall or stone backsplashes in the kitchen. We can do this while sitting with the client or working remotely. The best part is it’s easy for the client to visualize the end product. It can be hard to translate a two-dimensional drawing into a client’s mind, but these digital renderings effectively put them in the middle of a room.
Q: Last time we talked you were selling your family home, a Victorian across from Alamo Square Park that you had remodeled. What’s next for you in terms of where you will live and what are you looking to personally restore?
A: It’s still not decided if we are going to move back to Marin County or stay in San Francisco. Either way, I’m hoping to move into something from the 1960s or ’70s — something overtly modern. I love the wood and glass structures from that period. And I’ve never lived in anything from that period before, and it would be fun to do it.
Q: How are you expanding your personal brand?
A: I co-designed a fine jewelry line with Ashley Morgan, as well as a custom-stitched cashmere line designed in collaboration with the San Francisco School of Needlework and Design. We’re also working on developing a line of rugs with the Rug Establishment and artist Victor Reyes.
Q: What’s on the horizon for HSH Interiors?
A: We always have a number of projects going on, and we just opened a store at our design studio on Clement Street. It’s open Tuesday through Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. We sell a variety of objects ranging from ceramics, barware, decorative objects, vintage furnishings, mirrors, jewelry, sweaters and soaps. BTW Ceramics, Studio Cue, Material Lust, Slowdown Studios, Vincenzo Cutugno and Huldra of Norway are among the brands represented at the store. We’re launching our new website next month and it will include an e-commerce store.