Your space, your story: Hallie Rose Design

From her formative years at the school of design to her journey as an entrepreneur and owner of Hallie Rose Design studio, Hallie’s passion for design has always been deep-seated. Inspired by her mother’s love for mid-century modern style and fueled by her own travels, she brings a unique perspective to her designs. She embraces sustainability and repurposing vintage pieces to create environments that resonate with her clients’ stories. Join us as we delve into Hallie’s world of design, where every space tells a story and every detail is thoughtfully crafted.

Tell us a bit about your beginnings. Did you always want to be a designer? Do you remember the moment when you realized that’s what you should do for a living?

I’ve been a designer in New York City for over 15 years, working across the realms of fashion and interiors with some of the industry’s top companies as creative director. I have always wanted to be a designer, from the time I was young. In high school, my mother sent me to a top art program at the Rhode Island School of Design to make sure I was serious about studying Design in college.

I’m so grateful for that experience because it was the moment that I realized being a designer was the only career path for me. I think I bring a really unique perspective to my clients as I span fashion and interior expertise. It may seem so different, but so many of the skills transfer seamlessly to interiors. The use of color, textures, fabrics and materials, and how they all work together is the same. I find interior design to be so impactful since you are allowed into someone’s home. It’s a gift to be able to help clients find a sense of joy and calm in their home, and see the impact it has on the lives of their family.

My mother was also a huge source of inspiration for my love of interior design and furniture. She is a die-hard midcentury modern fan, and would collect vintage furniture in our home growing up. Every year she would attend the Brimfield Antiques Show and bring me with her, and looked forward to it for months. She loved the thrill of the search, and passed that down to me. She was constantly hunting and reupholstering the furniture she would find, and little did I know how much that would have an impact on my own knowledge and point of view as a designer. My mom was always so creative, although not a designer by trade, she could see the potential of old vintage furniture, and would teach me about all the great mid-century modern furniture designers. We had so many pieces in our home, and little did I know how much I was being taught about history and quality.

Where do you get your inspiration from?

Almost always I am inspired by my travels. It is perhaps my greatest true love, besides my family and design. I love learning about the food, culture and history of each place I go. There is always a story to be told. And that impacts my design decisions. I’m always looking to recreate that inspiration in my clients' homes. I am a storyteller at heart, and travelling allows me to hear others stories and bring it into my designs.

What does sustainable design mean to you?

Sustainable design is at the core of what I do. For me, using and incorporating vintage furniture and accessories is crucial to not only making the space come together, but also repurposing and giving new life to those items. It’s incredible how reupholstering a 1950’s chair can completely change the way the space it’s in feels. If there’s a family heirloom that we are using in a project to make that space feel uniquely the client, that’s sustainability. It can be as small as an antique bowl that I use in the finishing touches of a room. I never want to go into a project using all new furniture. That to me is one note, and you don’t need a designer to do that.

Thinking about how we can reuse items my clients already have and care about, and making them feel completely different in a space that's sustainable. Those items have a story to tell, and I love incorporating those stories in the new one we’re writing. This for me is at the core of what being a sustainable designer means.

In your opinion, why does design matter? How can it change an average person’s everyday life for the better?

For me, design is the emotional connection to spaces. This is always something I aim to achieve when designing a new space. When my clients walk through the door after a long day, I want them to feel something, whether it’s calm, happy, warmth – that’s what I am after for the impact on a space to have. There is so much power to what I do. When you walk into a home and it feels like the physical manifestation of your past, present and future; it changes how you move though the world, how you see yourself, and how others see you. There is so much impact in that, and that’s what I aim for in every project.

The experience and impact of living in a well-designed space is massive. Your health improves, your mindset improves, and that’s what we aim to deliver to every client; to help them live a better life. For me design is about creating spaces that reflect people and their stories.

What project(s) are you most proud of?

I am most proud of my own home. It’s where my love for interior design blossomed, where I take and where I’ve learned so much about who I am as a designer. It’s as if I am a student in my home.

You’re also a mother now — do you want to share your love of design with your kids, exposing them for beauty and functionality? What is your way of developing good taste from an early age?

Yes, I love that my children will grow up in a home that is thoughtfully designed for them and us. They get to be around beautiful furniture and art everyday, to them it’s just home. Eventually I will teach them about the history of the pieces in our home, and how we are building on that history. I think getting to grow up in a thoughtfully designed space, being surrounded by art and vintage furniture, will teach them the importance of quality and good design. When you are surrounded by this every day, I think you innately start to develop good taste from an early age and learn to appreciate quality design.

Has having children changed the way you look at space, both domestic and public? What would you pay special attention to when designing a children’s room or a home for a family with children?

Yes absolutely. I think before I had my daughter (and now expecting a second in the fall!) I designed in a much more precious manner. Spaces have different meanings when you add children to the mix. Especially in apartment living, there usually is no “children’s playroom”. And since I am a designer living in New York City, most of my clients' homes are apartments. The entire apartment has to be thoughtfully designed to include children. I also think my design sensibility has become more playful as well since having children. You have to be so thoughtful about materials, shapes and proportions as a designer, and that has become even more apparent to me after having my own children. My absolute favorite spaces to design are children’s rooms because it allows for endless creativity and fun.

Imagine the impact a fun well designed room can have on a child! I think the most important things to keep in mind when designing a children’s room or space, is to design with growth in mind and keeping it fun and whimsical. Even when doing a nursery for example, that child’s needs are going to drastically change in just a year. And so I want to always make sure that the design, colors, materials and pieces can grow with the child, and that the family will get years out of the same space. I also think it’s crucial to have furniture pieces that are both functional and playful. To invite the child to explore and engage with the pieces in their room, for example I love adding a Montessori table and chair set to a space. Children’s spaces are where I am not afraid to play, try new ideas and have fun. The more fun the better!

Our home is not precious. There are no rules. And I think that’s such an important lesson to teach children: that beautifully designed spaces are there to be enjoyed. One of the things I love most about interior design is that you are designing real spaces for real life. I never want my designs to not work for the family that lives there. If there are children in the home, I welcome that and design with them in mind. Long are the days of making our children stay out of certain rooms. The homes I design are there to be loved and enjoyed. I love that my two year old daughter redecorates, moving furniture around to make the space work for her. I like to think her design sensibility is already growing!