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EDGEMOOR SUNROOM
November is filled with anticipation as the holidays quickly approach and designers clamour to wrap up design projects. At Huntley & Co., we have labored long and hard for one Bethesda client in particular and are eager to put the finishing touches on their remarkable sunroom renovation. Our goal was to create a sculptural, textural space that elegantly captures the spirit of indoor/outdoor living. We will be featuring work product and site photos for this sunroom-cum-lounge in the next several posts. And we’ll reveal the installation around Thanksgiving, so just a little more patience! To give you an idea of the inspiration behind our design, we’ve shared the Edgemoor Sunroom concept board below. Wrap yourself up in the luxe imagery and escape.
xo, Huntley & Co.* Subscribe to our newsletter or find us on Bloglovin’ and you wont miss a thing.
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POM POMS
You wouldn’t think there would be any commonality among design, fashion and a dog’s tail. Pardon? My beloved pup had surgery on her tail recently and her gorgeous, fluffy appendage turned into something of a pom pom. Sad? Yes. Adorable? Absolutely. It reminded me of how delightful pom poms are. It’s something about a shape so perfectly simple encased in fluff. Whether it’s a detail on shoes, trim on drapes or something more unexpected – pom poms just make me happy.
The indefatigable Iris Apfel gets it.
(L) Rebecca de Ravenel wearing her celebrated Les Bonbons earrings; (C) a fanciful canopy by Olive Juice Interior Design; (R) happy yellow Billy Button flowers c/o Lisa Tharp
(L) Ulyanna Sergeenko’s fur “ballerina tutu” purse from F/W 2015; (C) Nina and her post-op tail; (R) Camille Styles’ beautiful berry ice cream cake
My idea of ensemble perfection! Chloe embroidered bomber jacket, jeans and pom pom pumps.
Nina Seuss’ to-die-for, über fashions can be found on her eponymous blog
(L) En Shalle pom pom bag at Pink Chicken NY; (C) Snowball Chandelier by Helen Foot; (R) Shop La Lune baby hat
(L) Mode de Vert seafoam green Summer heels; (C) an unexpected mirror detail at the State Department; (R) black pom pom trim detail in a Huntley & Co. living room
We adore the ice princess charm of this room — a wonderful mix of playfulness, restraint and drama.
This is Glamorous via Flickr
(L) a favorite Jeffrey Bilhuber bedroom; (C) garnet and neutral pom pom iPhone cases; (R) purple alliums in a Huntley & Co. den
(L) winter glamour from Jimmy Choo; (C) a transparent sculpture at The Phillips Collection in DC; (R) a fuschia Robert Allen trim
Winter is right around the corner. That means jackets (hooray!) and the holidays (gasp!). Time to start shopping!
a magical winter cover up from Ralph & Russo
(L) a wreath at chez Huntley; (C) Mingo and Tinks garland; (R) the perfect holiday giftwrap from Anastasia1977
(L) It’s alive! Jung Puppy club cuteness; (C) Elsie Marley DIY Christmas garland; (R) Cox & Cox Cloud Pom String Lights
The pom pom tail has been fun for me, but my furbaby is looking forward to having her fluffy rear back to normal …
The [tail] End!
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show-house // faux-client :: the reveal!
We know you and our fabulous faux clients have been waiting for our big reveal. The design process is nothing, if not, an exercise in patience. From concept to installation, interior design requires vision, tenacity and know-how. It’s a labor of love, but labor nonetheless. So when the time finally comes to present our clients with their dream home, our excitement is hard to contain. This particular dream home is ‘faux show’, but the thrill of the reveal remains the same … So without further ado!
— THE 2016 FAUX HOUSE REVEAL —
[ Our clients seem pleased ]
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— DESIGNER Q&A —
Our Huntley & Co. clients and room may have been crafted from imagination,
but they do speak to the real methodology and design vernacular of our firm’s work.
Here, principal Tricia Huntley, opens up about her influences, the importance
of breaking the rules and the best song to get a party started.
1. What are some of the things that influence you, aside from furniture and décor?
Museums, music, fashion, history, parks/nature, architecture, poetry … those things that are thoughtful, provocative, moving. I like to start with a feeling or mood before I pivot to the tangible aspect of things.
2. What qualities of a room do you most admire?
Substantial hardware and appropriate, expertly executed millwork. I would rather live in an empty house with those two qualities than a shoddy new-build with the best furniture.
3. Design rule you love to break?
Symmetry. I was classically trained so I believe in building a space according to the rules of symmetry. But I also believe that breaking that symmetry in clever, nuanced ways is what brings a room to life.
4. You know these clients will be having many a fete, what’s a good hostess gift?
I love to give sophisticated, unusual candles and fragrances. Aedes de Venustas, Joya and Santa Maria Novella all offer intriguing scents in stunning vessels. And of course, good booze and wine never go out of style. Add a beautiful ribbon with a handwritten tag and you’re done.
5. Rapid Fire!
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It’s been fun, but we need to dash! Our clients told us to get out so they can enjoy their new home ; )
If you want another glimpse at the process, simply click on posts Part I, Part II and/or Part III. And special thanks to our “faux clients” Justin O’Shea and Veronika Heilbrunner. They are the coolest couple on the planet and dream clients fo sho!
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SHOW-HOUSE // FAUX-CLIENT :: PART III
Sourcing goods and materials for our interior fuels our creativity, but drawings take the design to the next level. After all, a room is only as good as it is functional — we aren’t aiming for beauty just for beauty’s sake. Working out our ideas in AutoCAD ensures that we are on target with scale, proportion and spatial relationships. A well-trained designer can evaluate whether a piece will work in a room or not simply by looking at it. Still, transferring its dimensions to paper (or the computer as in our case) ensures down-to-the-1/8” accuracy. Huntley & Co. is a business built on mindfulness and our drawings are the technical backbone of our work.
The Floorplan___________________________
We start with a floor plan, which guides the flow and circulation of a space. With our clients’ penchant for entertaining, it was important to think outside the traditional box and get creative with furniture placement. Our ‘star’ is the four sided bench that beautifully anchors the room. Varied seating arrangements offer opportunities for independent conversations and debate for our clients’ guests who come from a wide range of cultures, professions and political views. The room is meant to be as warm, interesting and thoughtful as the clients are.
The Elevations___________________________
Elevations reveal how a room’s architecture, furnishings and art will work together. A space won’t look or feel good if there are too many masses, it’s too ‘leggy’, everything is at the same level or the values are off-balance. Deep-diving the millwork, fenestrations and other details gives us the platform we need to make good decisions. Not to mention that “pulling the design up” and seeing it come to life happens to be pretty exciting ; )
The Presentation Board____________________
The presentation board is our opportunity to showcase the tactility of a room. Ambience is affected by the ratio of soft vs. coarse, understated vs. luminous and natural vs. refined materials and textures. We wanted this space to feel glamorous, but totally approachable with an air of intelligent wit. With that in mind we combined fibers like linen, seagrass and rushing with velvet and damask. Then we took it a step further by incorporating lacquered leather, eelskin and electric-colored cowhide. This is a luxurious space where you can kick up your feet and have fun!
The Response___________________________
And because these are the dreamiest of clients, they love everything and will TAKE IT ALL! Orders are placed and construction begins. This next phase is about site visits, management, coordination, follow-up and a lot of patience. But we’re getting our hands dirty and seeing our workrooms do their magic — so we love it!
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Tune in next week for a fun Q&A and the FINAL REVEAL! We will be sharing more insights about our process and the why’s and how’s of a successful design project.
Subscribe to our newsletter or find us on Bloglovin’ and you won’t miss a thing ; )
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SHOW-HOUSE // FAUX-CLIENT :: part II
Like the early stages of a romance, the onset of a new design project brings lots of excitement, energy and anticipation. Now that we’ve “gotten to know” our Faux Clients better and have defined a visual narrative for their space, we are ready to start deep-diving the design. It’s time to measure the room, pull our materials and find our gorgeous furnishings — let’s show this showhouse what we’re made of!
Prep Work______________________________
Preparation and foresight are the secret weapons behind a good design. We always arrive well-prepped for site visits and measures. Camera? Check. Tape measure? Check. Comfortable shoes? Definitely check.
Scouting for Furnishings____________________
Scouting for hidden treasure is one of design’s greatest thrills. Fortunately, we are blessed to have access to a rich variety of vendors and shops from which to source our goods. We let serendipity play a part in our work, so it’s usually one or two really special discoveries that drives our designs. This part of the process is not about “shopping”; it’s about having an informed concept, an open mind and a great eye. Our goal at Huntley & Co. is always to curate an interior that is both timeless and forward-thinking — to evoke an emotional response that inspires and nourishes the spirit of the client.
Pulling Together the Scheme_________________
Besides hunting for furnishings during this phase, we pour through our office library for fabrics and finishes. We strive to use materials that enhance a home’s architecture and complement the lifestyle of our clients. A thoughtfully selected mix of light and dark, textural and refined, beautiful and odd are what make a room interesting and livable.
Next week we’ll bring you Part III of our Show-house/Faux-client series where we’ll dive into the technical aspects (drawings!) of the project. Subscribe to our newsletter or find us on Bloglovin’ to stay tuned.
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SHOW-HOUSE // FAUX-CLIENT
A showhouse is unique in that it provides a designer with the freedom to create a space that is bound only by her innovation and talent. With a project that lacks a scope of work and a flesh-and-blood client, we find it important to invent a narrative to guide our design concept. At Huntley & Co. we create a “faux client” to serve as muse during the showhouse process. We have been blessed with some pretty wonderful clients throughout the years, but our Faux Clients 2016 definitely have us crushing hard!
dc interior designer
Concept Development______________
Washington DC is a city filled with people of varied and interesting backgrounds. Our Huntley & Co. “clients” are an art dealer wife with an international childhood (thanks to a father who was Ambassador to Peru) and a west coast-born husband with a Renaissance spirit. The couple shares a love of art, music and philanthropy. Both travel frequently to New York, California, Europe and South America. With that in mind, our goal for these busy and passionate entrepreneurs was to create a true LIVING space that reflects their personal histories and nurtures the lifestyle of their young family.
Already inspired? Fantastic! Because Huntley & Co. will be sharing more insights into our showhouse process as well as a final ‘reveal’ in forthcoming Luxe & Lucid posts. Subscribe to our feed or follow us on Bloglovin to stay tuned!
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25 Signs You May Be Working Too Much
Greetings from Switzerland!
Huntley & Co. is in Montreux this week installing a residence on Lake Geneva. Yes, I’m a lucky girl. But as is often the case, leaving town for a week requires a lot of overtime at the office prior to departure. You have to get your ducks in a row (see item 4 below) for your employees, your other clients and your personal life. And there is never enough time. Rather than looking for sympathy, you might as well find a little humor in the situation. I started generating the list below on Friday thinking it would be ten items long. By Monday, I was up to twenty-five and completely delirious from a lack of sleep. It was all worth it though. All is going well here in Montreux and I know everything is running smoothly back home in DC as well. Now if I could just get some sleep!
1. Your to-do list is 4 pages long, has a table of contents and an addendum.
2. You don’t know what day (or month, or year) it is.
3. You can feel your eyeballs scraping the inside of your eyelids.
4. You use phrases like “ducks in a row” ad nauseum.
5. You are aware of DC’s disturbingly high nocturnal rat population.
6. Coffee has replaced one of the four main food groups.
7. At least 3 times a day you walk across a room and can’t remember why once you get there.
8. Your keyboard has developed a strange film on it.
9. You looked better when you had the flu last winter.
10. Your dog has abandonment issues.
11. Your laundry pile resembles Mount Everest.
12. Eating dinner at midnight seems reasonable.
13. Bathroom breaks are a nuisance.
14. Your communication skills have regressed to the first grade level.
15. Your significant other thinks there may be someone else.
16. Walking out of the house and leaving something behind incites tears.
17. The beautiful weather pisses you off.
18. Friends are mad at you because your emails of late have been “curt”.
19. You catch a little shut-eye by closing your eyes as you walk.
20. “Twitchy” is an understatement.
21. You would sell your soul for a few extra hours.
22. A sisal floor is surprisingly comfortable for napping.
23. You realize you have no business operating a motor vehicle.
24. You miss the good ol’ days of the recession.
25. You create entertaining lists like this so you can cope.
See you back in the states!
Tricia xo
THE MUSINGS OF DESIGNER TRICIA HUNTLEY
