“When I was young, my mother subscribed to Architectural Digest Magazine,” recalls designer Holly Hollenbeck of HSH Interiors. “I don’t think she ever read it, but I certainly did! When other girls were drawing horses, or dresses, I was drawing buildings. I have always loved art, fashion and architecture, and interior design marries all three.” Today Holly is sharing a recently completed project for a young family that is effortlessly elegant yet accessible. 

Who was the client for this project and what were their requests for the space?
This is an active family with a child in middle school, a child in grade school and exuberant golden retriever. The home was new to them, and they did not bring any furnishings from their prior home. The clients are originally from the East Coast and bring a bit of that preppy East Coast feel with them, but they also wanted bright cheerful colors and patterns as well.

What was the space like when you started the project?
The home was designed and built by a contractor for his own family. There were some uneven finishes throughout, such as an overly formal onyx sink in the powder room, that did not mesh with the rest of the home. We remodeled the powder to bring it stylistically into line with the rest of the home. There was also quite a lot of wood going on, one wood on the floor, a different one on the doors and windows and another one on the ceiling. Too many mis-matched woods! We ended up painting out the interior of all the doors, windows and all the door and window trim to a dark charcoal gray (Benjamin Moore’s Cheating Heart), which reduced the wood and upped the chic factor immediately.

What was the biggest design risk you took that paid off?
I would have to say the custom pattern paint in the breakfast nook. The husband really wanted a patterned wall in that area. I was hesitant because their view is so expansive and stunning, I really did not want to detract from it. We worked on a few design ideas and I think came up with a pattern that captures a bit of boho, and echoes the view of Mt Tamalpais out the window but fades out as it goes up, so it doesn’t compete too much with the view.

See the full home in the slideshow!