Travel

  • West End Process :: Concept

    One of our favorite Huntley & Co. projects this year was for a young couple who hired us to design and renovate their newly purchased townhouse in the West End neighborhood of Washington.  Much to our delight, the duo brought a combination of sophistication and excitement to the endeavor.  Translating that into a concept and then into a finished product was a multi-step process — and worth every minute.   * * * |  THE CONCEPT  | Our clients inspired a decidedly cosmopolitan aesthetic.  Accordingly, we imagined an eclectic mix of vintage and antique furnishings, unexpected stone and tile, and layers of complex colors and tones.  As shown below, the mood board we created conveyed our idea of an elevated yet spirited home…

  • antique mirror Magazine Street

    Looking Back / Looking Forward

    2017 was quite a year.  Despite all the drama, trauma and homegrown insanity in the world – there was plenty of good to celebrate at Huntley & Co.  Leave it to design to keep our spirits up.  We’re looking back at a great year and looking ahead to even bigger and better things in the 12 months to come.  Stay tuned! Spring – Traditional Home Designer Panel – I talked design, business and keepin’ it real with Traditional Home at the Washington Design Center’s Spring Market.  Sharing the stage with 3 smart, sassy blondes – Tori Mellott, Liz Levin and Maria Crosby – was a treat.  #blondedesignmafia     Photos by © 2017 Kaz Sasahara…

  • THE BEST OF LA // DESIGN

    I was in LA recently.  It’s the perfect getaway and has everything my heart desires — a warm climate, a cool vibe, a lush and luxurious urban landscape and all the shopping a girl could want.  It’s not called the “city of angels” for nothin’ people.  For designers, the LA scene offers gorgeous settings, lovely laidback staff and some of the best furnishings in the US.  Key streets are Highland, Beverly Blvd, La Cienega, Melrose Ave and Melrose Place.  Head to Blackman Cruz, JF Chen, The Window, Harbinger, Hollyhock, Nicky Kehoe, Kelly Wearstler, Galerie Half, Garde, Lief … to name just a few.  The east coast is unseasonably cold and Legends of…

  • THE BEST OF LA // FASHION

    I recently spent some downtime in LA.  And when I travel, I shop.  That’s just how I roll.  Shopping at home feels like a chore to me and I almost never do it (save my visits to Hu’s in Georgetown).  And it’s just so damn easy in LA.  You get in your car, you park RIGHT IN FRONT of the store, you peruse and chat with the nicest of people.  Then you walk out with a half dozen bags that you drop into your trunk.  So lovely … and um, possibly a bit too easy?                                         Beverly Hills :: Maje, Perrin, Etro, Barbara…

  • The Truth About Romance

    Romance for me is all about atmosphere.  It’s not necessarily defined by luxury and indulgence (although that works too).  It’s more about a warmth that is at once alluring and thoughtful.  And it can be found anywhere … Listening to a sexy mix on Pandora; alone on a cold night next to a roaring fire; at a breathtaking art exhibit; overlooking a misty river; in a tiny shop tucked away in a gritty part of London; or, of course, cozied up with your loved one in a hotel suite for the weekend.  The misconception about romance is that it’s exclusive to those with a black Amex or a wedding band.  It may smack a bit of  “personal…

  • HAPPY 10-YEAR ANNIVERSARY HUNTLEY & COMPANY!

    Behind the scenes, spearheading a design firm is not all glamour and bon-bons.  The photos below illustrate how often I shift gears and how drastic those shifts are.  In a single day I may be generating spreadsheets, drawing in Autocad, conferencing with colleagues, hauling furnishings to a job site and attending an industry event in the evening.  9-5 and consistent this job is not.  But it’s always interesting and always challenging.  I exercise both my left brain and right brain on a daily basis (not to mention my biceps, quads and glutes!).  Problem-solving, schlepping, creating, collaborating … it’s all in a day’s work and a gift to those who love to hustle!                        …

  • Dark and Inky

    Halloween always inspires me.  I relish the drama and suspense of the holiday, not to mention the excuse to go a little goth and watch scary movies.  It’s always good to embrace one’s darker side, especially if you lean a little type A.  So with all my clean and tailored design tendencies comes a need for what I call “dark and inky”.  If you’ve worked with me or for me, you’ve heard me use this term.  I am always on the quest for the perfect murky green, garnet or ebonized-blue (and of course black).  Whether it’s a lacquered leather chair, a kick-ass pair of aubergine boots or a smokey eye for…

  • Shark!

    Sharks are certainly newsworthy these days.  Shark Week is in full swing on Discovery, JAWS  just celebrated the 40th anniversary of its release, and on a less inviting note, Carcharhinus have made the Outer Banks their summer vacation destination.  Yikes!  Surprising as it may seem, I am loving every minute of it.  Despite my lifelong fear of sharks, I am obsessed with the movie Jaws.  I admit this seems a bit odd for a land lover, professional aesthete and enthusiast of all things cute and fuzzy.  First, I love a good thriller.  Second, the cast is perfection.  Third, the cinematography (Spielberg, of course) is inventive yet convincing.  And fourth, the…

  • Gifting

    Shopping for Christmas (Hanukkah, etc.) can be a blast when you find just the right gift for your special someone.  I’m sharing some of my best finds for those of you who are still on the hunt.  Happy holidays!  *   Scroll to the bottom for LUXE & LUCID gifts that give back   *   |  FOR THE AESTHETE  | Male or female, the key to buying a gift for this type is finding a functional object that is executed beautifully.  Shagreen matchstriker (L); custom knife from Rockin’ One Knives (C); UrbanEars headphones (R) |  FOR YOUR MAN  | He is no doubt handsome, but with these accessories, he will…

  • Light it Up

     I enjoyed some exceptional work days last week.  I was in Charleston visiting The Urban Electric Company.  Urban Electric is a lighting company with a distinctive vision, brilliant products and a stellar team.  I have been using their light fixtures in my designs for nearly a decade.  In recent years, I started to design custom fixtures for them to produce.  In an exciting development last year, UECo chose to select one of those designs for their permanent collection.  The “Huntley” was born as a sconce for a client’s Bethesda home and can now can be found in residential and commercial projects in the US and abroad.  As part of their…