Quick Takes With: Hollie Velten-Lattrell

“Interior designer Hollie Velten-Lattrell has a unique way of getting to know her clients,” Fan wrote in this kitchen tour. Specifically? “She doles out a deck of cards with prompts like ‘I left my heart in . . . ‘ and ‘the first thing I do in this space is . . . ‘ to sleuth out what what makes their souls soar and how they live their lives.”

Today we’re turning the tables and asking Hollie to fill in the blanks. Hollie, who runs SPACES by Hollie Velten in Maplewood, NJ, writes: “I grew up in California watching my mom study interior design at night and my dad in real estate—early notions of home. I started as a dance major at UCSB inspired by the Ballet Russes, then had a line of jewelry and dresses in LA before my career in merchandising took me to be a senior buyer for accessories at companies like Forever 21, Anthropologie, and West Elm…all of which led me to start SPACES by Hollie Velten: a compilation of all the places I have been and the pursuit to bring creative expression into the home.”

Ahead, Hollie takes *our* questionnaire and reveals her can’t-live-without-them books, go-to design shops, and design pet peeve. Here we go:

You’re invited to dinner. What’s your go-to gift?

Fresh flowers in a vintage vase or Junk Vessel.

What’s on your bedside table?

Lots of water, a stack of books, and a notebook for middle-of-night ideas (never legible by the morning!).

What’s your desert island design/art/architecture-related book?

The Omega Workshops by Judith Collins or Omega and After: Bloomsbury and the Decorative Arts by Isabelle Anscombe; any of the Way We Live books by Stafford Cliff Gilles de Chabaneix; Pierre Yovanovitch: Interior Architecture; Marc du Plantier; or the stacks of vintage World of Interiors I have collected on eBay.

What podcast or playlist do you put on when you need inspiration?

We make a playlist for each project as part of our research, hitting on each sensory note of the project.

What’s a film or TV show whose aesthetic has stuck with you?

Anything by Luca Guadagnino, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, and Eric Rohmer films.

Which Instagram account do you go to for design inspiration?

@remodelista of course, @theworldofinteriors, @interiorandfilms.

What has been your best house upgrade?

My own home is waiting for its time…but sometimes just updating an outdated fireplace surround is transformative as a singular standout, especially in these older center-Colonials where they take focus. We’ve tiled, marble-cladded, created a new bespoke mantle, etc.

A simple or budget-friendly design move you wish you’d known sooner?

We do this now but wish we had done more earlier: Make small cuts of extra countertop stone for powder room backsplash or other little spots. It’s sustainable, a cost savings, and a fun chance to play with unique shapes with extra stone.

My favorite sheets are…

Morrow Soft Goods Organic Matte Sateen in the limon color.

My favorite paint color for the bedroom is…

Skimming Stone by Farrow & Ball.

My unpopular design opinion is…

There is no right or wrong.

I also have an aversion to most standard kitchen island and bathroom vanities on the market.

Your design pet peeve?

Fear or paralysis: clients feeling they need to see certified perfection instead of following an emotive momentum and throwing a little excitement and openness for improvisation into the wind.

My go-to kitchen utensil is…

My amazing studio director Victoria raves about the Thermomix and I wish I had one! She is a pro in the kitchen, so I’ll trust anything she says!

Three words that describe my design style:

Conversation Of Contrasts.

First design love?

In college studying for my BFA in modern dance and ballet, all the rule-breaking collaborators of the Ballet Russes period. Pablo Picasso’s Cubist sets and costumes of Parade (1917, choreography: Léonide Massine), Le Tricorne (The Three-Cornered Hat) (1919, choreography: Massine), Coco Chanel’s costumes for Le Train Bleu 1924, Bronislava Nijinska’s austere choreography and stage design of the long, long braids of Les Noces 1923.

What is the last thing you purchased for your house?

Art Deco glass candle holders and a naive-studio-pottery piece from a thrift store. Finally getting some window treatments made out of Howe fabric.

Something you’re coveting?

Italian Art Deco nightstands, Swedish Romance Lights, and a Gustavian dresser.

Favorite design shop to visit (online or in person)?

There are so many lovely curated brick &andmortars that present collections for you, but I love the thrill of the hunt, so local NJ thrift stores and estate sales are the best over here. The usual 1stDibs and Chairish and eBay and Etsy for a wider global marketplace never to let down, and flea markets like Brimfields and Roundtop. Nickey Kehoe, Gem Home, Giancarlo Valle showroom….all written about and photographed on Remodelista!

What item from your closet do you have on repeat?

Loafers.

Thanks so much, Hollie! Follow her work @spacesbyhollievelten and hollievelten.com.