Talk Shop: Hillary Taylor // Hillary Taylor Interiors
Photo by Nathan Schroder Photography
ABOUT HILLARY
Hillary Taylor is one of our absolute favorite contemporaries – her neo-traditional portfolio is infused with natural light, and is filled with gorgeous details, sumptuous layers, and an edited eye that has been honed over time. Hillary loves the process of creating beautiful surroundings for her clients and their families, and it shows – her spaces always begin with a strong founding concept created alongside every client. Her unique and unwavering direction results in a home filled with meaning and lasting pieces.
Raised in Menlo Park, California, Hillary learned the art of designing the home environment from her mother. She is a wife and mother of four (!) busy and wonderful children. Hillary graduated cum laude from Princeton University, worked for an investment banking firm, and received a J.D. from J. Reuben Clark Law School, before founding her business, Hillary W Taylor Interiors in 2003. We sat down with the jack of all trades to chat design – check it out below!
Describe your style in three words or less:
Fresh, authentic, traditional.
What have been the three biggest influences on your aesthetic in your life:
Growing up in Menlo Park, California informed my love of indoor/outdoor living in a very relaxed way, my time as a student in Princeton, New Jersey, and observing French aesthetes take care of all the small details- whether in a meal, wrapping up a humble purchase in incredible packaging, or adorning doors and windows with just the proper hardware.
How did you start your company, and/or what is your favorite thing about what you do:
I love finding solutions and saying yes! My job often has dead ends or difficult obstacles- and I relish in finding the best version of every space. I think there are always multiple “bests”- but solving for the best a space can be is magical to me.
Do you have a mentor in your career, and if so, how have they helped to shape your trajectory:
My mother has mentored me since the beginning ;) and she continues to do so! She has taught me that people are more important than things, and it’s so fun to surround your people with pretty, useful, and lasting things.
What does your home say about you:
I designed our home, and every space was carefully considered for the life my husband and I wanted to create together for our children. I wanted every space to be used and “abused” by friends and family! We have a formal dining room — which is used every Sunday for dinner, holidays and birthdays. I have a music room where my children practice their string instruments (2 violinists and 2 cellists), located just off the front door of the house. In the summer, my girls often put up the window and neighbors have commented how they love the sounds of Bach wafting across the street. I’m sure they didn’t love all those screechy violin sounds in the early years! My kitchen is relatively small but it really fits in right and allows for great circulation throughout the rest of my home. My family room off the kitchen is conducive to teenagers and kiddos watching movies and sports — if you design a comfortable space — the kids on the block will come to your house!
Where do you find inspiration:
Travel is always inspiring. We lived in Paris for two summers when my children were young and we spent a ton of time in Parc Monceau (with cotton candy, pony rides and the carousel!). The incredible 18th century Collonade in that park inspired a piece of furniture I designed for The CEH Capsule Collection. Everyone loves Paris! But I really gravitate toward 18th century neoclassicism, and that city is so chock full of it! I love Budapest, Copenhagen, Florence, St Petersburg — all such lovely places to drink up details. This year I’ve found so much inspiration while on a trail run through a park nearby.
Who are your style icons:
Grace Kelly, Ines de la Fressange, dress designer and client @courtneykate .
What are your key ingredients for entertaining:
I think planting a little cutting garden outside your door makes any kind of entertaining special. There is nothing like the joy of cultivating your own fresh floral! I cut a few delphiniums from my garden and throw them in a pitcher for a kitchen buffet. It’s not fancy but gives import to a simple meal and elevates dinner time meaningfully. I also think that really organizing your table linens helps you to use them more often. I use stackable clear shoe boxes from the container store (a trick from @organizewithtracy) that hold 6-12 napkins perfectly. We try to use pretty cloth napkins every Sunday dinner — I think it makes my food taste better!
Do you collect anything:
I collect Crèche scenes and Christmas ornaments from places I’ve traveled. Decorating for the Holidays is something I take quite seriously! I absolutely love it! It’s a joyful, giving, gratitude-focused time of the year and I relish every minute. The first decoration we put out every year is an olive wood carved Crèche I bought while on a study abroad in Jerusalem. It’s the harbinger of the season for me!
Favorite Instagram accounts to follow for inspiration:
OH how I love @beataheuman @dianedorranssaeks @acroterion @randlesiddeley @asselin.inc @benpentreath @paolomoschino @rosestoryfarm @feauboiseries @lamaisonplisson @ensemblierlondon @maisontaillardat @skyemcalpine @theceh @andrewjhow @carllarssongarden
What design “rule” do you always follow, and which is made to be broken:
Gosh rules were made to be broken! I just try not to be too careful when decorating and embrace imperfection. But I don’t hang art above 66” off the finished floor (unless it’s a huge gallery wall) and I very much dislike shoe moldings. Even worse is when a painter caulks the baseboard to the floor. That doesn’t work in freeze/thaw conditions like Utah.
What are you working on right now:
A ranch home in Idaho — I visited the site with the client and architect this summer and it is breathtaking. We just received the first go at the floorplans last week! I love working on projects from the very beginning where we think about how the light moves through the building, where the dishwasher is, and detailing the structure with millwork. And nothing is more fun than adding color and soft furnishings at the “end” of a project. We are working on a new home in the Hudson Valley, NY, a renovation in Salt Lake City, a “freshen-up” in Deer Valley, a new ranch “toy barn” outside of Deer Valley, and a renovation outside of Baltimore, MD.
Wardrobe staples:
Denim every day. Mother works for me and I purchase from a local fav store Koo de Ker. I love everything from The Sill – like Tish Cox — but I live in thin cashmere sweaters that can layer in the winter and softened popover button downs from Ann Mashburn in the summer. Love structured dresses and Ulla Johnson tops for summer. I’m a shoe addict. But I most often wear old varina Ferragamos, soft flats from The RealReal that I won’t feel bad about ruining on a job site…and in the winter I wear Sorels and chelsea boot style doc martens on job sites.
Favorite fabric/wallpaper:
Gracie makes my day every day. It’s in my bedroom and yes, it took me 20 years to work on my own room, but it was worth the wait and consternation. It’s a little indoor garden really. I am a sucker for crunchy silk taffeta. But I also love a good heavy bleached grain sack texture or wool boucle.
Best interior advice you ever received:
Buy what you love; there will always be a spot for it if you truly love it.
Best career advice you ever received:
Put it in the contract! and invest in great photography.
Types of home purchases you invest in, and save on:
Good upholstery feels great on day 1 and day 2920. It really is worth the investment. I save on things that are made of great forever materials, like Ariel’s Bobbie Wicker Ottoman. And then hopefully save by reusing family hand-me-downs and pieces that just need a wax or new coat of paint.
Your greatest extravagance:
A painting by Jonathan Linton of my children and our dog Tucker. It was a splurge at the time, it came before curtains actually ;) but it is also my most prized possession.
Favorite places to shop for home:
Jean Luc Ferrand — I love incorporating their lamps and shades into a special project. Wisteria Home and Garden, I have one of their big directoire style antique armoires in my studio- and their gardens inspire me every single trip. New Orientation @new_orientation in Salt Lake City for keeping table top alive and well! La Petite Maison Antiques, Authentic patina found by a darling couple with a dream. Heirloom Art Co.- I love the artists and makers they represent. And we have used several March pieces in our projects for the handmade and lasting quality they bring to the kitchen, hearth and pantry.
Most prized possession and why:
(portrait painting of my children by Jonathan Linton) It is my most prized because of the subject and the ages they are- the way they are running in the yard and the girls are wearing dresses given them by my mother. It speaks joy to me.
Your interiors motto:
Keep it natural, authentic, and comfortable for you and yours.
Your life motto:
Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”
Advice for someone looking to define their own interior style:
The best spaces have great meaning and purpose. Read books, watch artists, learn the differences, similarities, history and themes of things you love — and then collect as you go. Don’t rush your interiors! Don’t compare yourself or your space to anyone else’s — let yourself be inspired by Instagram not trapped by the style echochamber. Keep your own experience close at hand when choosing. And you will choose well!
Take Ten: My Favorite…
Food: Mexican
Drink: Pellegrino and Lime
Film: Out of Africa
Hotel: Belmond Hotel Caruso, Ravello Italy
City: Tough! Gordes, FR or Paris, FR
Bedding: Julia B
Tea or Coffee (and how do you take it): Tea, Mariage Frères Menthe Poivrée, HOT!
Playlist: eclectic! Kreisler’s Praeludium and Allegro to T Swift, 80s and anything that sounds like bubblegum
Weekend Activity: We have lovely open space in Utah and I love trail running, hiking, gardening, skiing, watching my kids play sports in the sun, sleet and snow! We have all the seasons in Utah and occasionally, in the spring, we have all the seasons in one day!
Design Book: Decoration by Pierre Levallois and Mario Buatta: Fifty Years of American Decoration
