Pom Pom at Home is one of our favorite resources for chic home accessories that provide a “luxe, but lived in” look. Founded by Hilde Leiaghat in the early nineties, Pom Pom at Home has seen such tremendous success because of Leiaghat’s own style—shoppers want to emulate the elegantly casual European style she has in her own home. After decades in Los Feliz, a popular Los Angeles enclave, Leiaghat and her husband decided to leave their classic home for a mid-century house in Pasadena. In the new space, she’s incorporated unique antiques with modern, luxurious textiles, giving the new space a swoon-worthy balance between old and new.
The entrepreneur’s ability to incorporate vintage pieces comes from her long-time passion for antiquing, which started during her childhood in the countryside of Belgium, where she and her father would visit flea markets every Saturday. (You can read more about the business here.)
Today, we’re popping into her Pasadena home for a tour + chat. Start the slideshow for a closer look (and to shop a few of the Pom Pom at Home pieces she loves most).
What encouraged the move from Los Feliz to Pasadena?
After 30 years of living in Los Feliz, we were ready for a lifestyle change. We absolutely loved our charming home but thought it was time to mix things up a bit. Although the classic look was always our preferred style, we always wondered what living in something a bit more modern and minimalistic would be like.
After seeing some homes in Pasadena, a neighborhood we always loved, we found a gem that we couldn’t pass on. Pasadena was an area that we spent so much time in as well. For more than twenty years we went every month to the Rose Bowl Flea Market to find vintage finds for our stores and home, our kids went to high school close by in La Canada, and it has great restaurants and shops that we love to visit. Being familiar with Pasadena helped make this transition to a new neighborhood much easier!
The home’s style is quite different from your previous space. How did you adapt your style to lean more mid-century?
It was always a dream to live in a mid-century home but our safe space was our previous traditional home. It had so much of the same vibes as our retail stores at the time and we loved to collect antiques and style them within our 100 year-old space.
When we found this single-story modern home, we saw the potential to mix some vintage and antique pieces with this beautiful open floor plan surrounded by large windows. The idea of mixing old and new has always been exciting to me.
The biggest difference is having a large open space where the kitchen and living area are being anchored by a double faced fireplace and the bedrooms are on the same level. Our previous home was a two story house with all the bedrooms upstairs and the living area and kitchen downstairs.
The similarity between the homes was the ability to still have a yard. At our old home, we spent 30 years creating an outdoor space that was our blissful escape. For our new home, we were left with a blank canvas and now have the opportunity to work to add our touch while still keeping the look modern and minimalistic. We are currently working on adding a pool and deck area so we can enjoy the backyard to the fullest!
What were some of the first pieces you brought in? Any flea market finds or vintage treasures you love?
We had a few vintage Danish mid-century chairs which we already owned and were some of the first pieces we brought into the house. For everything else, we started from scratch because the owners of our previous house wanted to purchase all the furniture with the home. Although our old house had furniture that we collected for the 30 years we lived there, it was important to sell the house mostly furnished because the buyer fell in love with the look of the home and we didn’t want to take that away from them. Although, we did have to take some of the pieces we truly loved and couldn’t part with!
The exciting thing is that we are now starting the process over. Now we live less than a mile away from the Rose Bowl Flea Market where we are still friends with vendors we bought from years ago for our stores. Only now we are looking more for mid-century style furnishings.
Tell us a bit about how you used Pom Pom at Home in your own space?
Pom Pom at Home products really bring the texture and earthy colors that I was looking to add to our home. Naturally, each of the three bedrooms are filled with Pom Pom at Home bedding! The primary bedroom is great because it gets so much light with all those windows! I opted for the June Duvet Collection this time of the year. It is simple and the subtle florals in muted grey gives it a summery look. On the foot of the bed, I used one of our newest throws being introduced this summer, the Camille oversized throw. It is a lightweight chenille which gives it a nice texture. I really wanted to create a calming, zen-like space. On the bench I used our new Capistrano throw and some Fiona accent pillows for coziness. To ground the room, I finished it off with our Brooke Light Grey rug.
For the 2 guest rooms I used our Jackson and Blake Collections. It’s fresh and light. And since we recently became grandparents, I added a crib in one of the guest rooms with some “vintage” Pom Pom at Home crib bedding from several years ago that I kept for myself!
In the living space, on our very simple armless sofa, we used our Hendrick hand-loomed linen pillows with our Oulu throw as decorative accents. I had two identical custom rugs made by our factory which I fell in love with. Now I plan to introduce these rugs into our line this Summer as the “Manford” rug.
Sometimes a change is just what you need to get inspired and I can say that this home is already influencing many future designs.
What have you loved most about your new home?
What really made us say “yes!” to this home was the gorgeous canyon views the moment you walk-in. It’s like living in a tree house. I also love the comfort of living in one big open floor plan. The kitchen and living area are centered around one big fireplace and flanked with floor to ceiling windows giving a feeling that combines warm, intimate spaces with vast natural landscapes.