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FIVE MINUTES WITH … HOLLYHUNT I n a year's time since she sold her sleek, luxury home furnishings showroom to Knoll for $95 million, Holly Hunt has rolled out new showrooms in London; Washington, D.C.; Dallas; and Houston. "I feel no more guilt, no more seller's remorse," she says, laughing. The four new showrooms join six others in Chicago, L.A., Minneapolis, Miami, New York and Brazil, all repositories for some of the industries chicest names: furnishings by Jean- Michel Wilmotte, Ralph Rucci, John Hutton, Christian Astuguevieille, Paul Mathieu, Tristan Auer, McCollin Bryan, Alison Berger, Chrisophe Pilet and Solis Betancourt lighting among others, as well as Hunt's own Holly Hunt Studio, Great Outdoors and Great Plains textiles and Holly Hunt Leather. We caught up with the Lubbock-born Hunt at her showroom in L.A., where she was introducing the new collections at West Week. Rebecca Sherman Have things changed since your company was purchased? Not a whole lot has changed, because Knoll didn't want it to. They didn't want to mess up a good thing. But, I am probably traveling more than I'd like and don't have as much focus as I'd like; opening new showrooms takes a lot of time and energy. But for the first time, I don't have to worry about the numbers side of the business; someone else does that. I can focus on the creative side, the products and the relationships. There will be other showrooms, but we're taking a breather for now. We don't want to dilute the brand and open on every corner. So, you have more free time now … I had at one time a pretty major art collection, much of which I sold in the '80s when I moved to a smaller home downtown [in Chicago] when my oldest child left for college. But I still have a high-quality abstract expressionist collection — a couple of Diebenkorns, a Motherwell, a Gotleib, some Stellas. I would like to add to it, now that I have less anxiety about the business and more time to think about art. What new ideas are you seeing in furniture? High-end furniture has gotten closer to fashion than ever. People are redecorating so much more frequently. What used to be in the line for 10 years now only has a life of four to five years, and we're turning the looks in the stores every six months now. But there is no real trend at the moment — it's a very interesting period. Everything is mixed, anything goes — much like in fashion. Everyone wants to be different. In furniture, they want something just for them, maybe something that's from a limited edition. The evolution of the Holly Hunt collection. We're doing more curves than ever before. We're going more contemporary modern than classic modern, using more metals like cast bronze, aluminum. No one was using aluminum in high-end furniture until we did. We're also using more glass and cast glass. We used to have a big outdoor collection, but we let that slip, so I'm working on creating a bigger selection for outdoor, which we'll introduce in 2016. We're still working on it, but I can tell you it'll be metal, but not heavy. It won't blow away either. What's striking your fancy now? I'm in a gold mood. I think that burnished gold is coming back. I just bought a fabulous Columbian art piece in Paris, a 6-foot-tall wall hanging in woven leather that's finished in burnished gold. I've got it in my bedroom in my Chicago apartment, and it's gorgeous. Oh, and I'm doing my dining chairs in a burnished-gold leather with our black aluminum table. I'm not usually a gold person, but it enriches everything. It adds a little casual shine to things. There's still a hint of Texas … I loved growing up in West Texas. People always ask if it influenced me, and looking back, maybe it was the wide open spaces. You can be anything you want to be in Texas if you work hard, have a little talent and are curious. Clockwise from top: Black Cat pendant Laredo cocktail table in cast glass Channel lounge chair Holly Hunt Showroom, Dallas Holly Hunt Melinda Obenchain Pam Kelley Shelly Rosenberg MAY | PAGE 48 | 2015 GRACIOUS ROOMS AND GRAND HOSTS BY JANE ROZELLE. PHOTOGRAPHY KRISTINA BOWMAN. S outhern charm prevailed at ID Collection showroom in Dallas Design District as Atlanta-based interior designer Barbara Westbrook addressed her fans at a salon presentation of her new book, Barbara Westbrook: Gracious Rooms (Rizzoli). Westbrook, fresh from a jaunt to Houston where she was a judge for the PaperCity Design Awards, signed books and peppered conversation with her trademark Southern style. Picking up a copy: Sarah Brannon, Dunhill Partners Pam Dawson, Tess Hutchinson, and Rachel Hutchinson; Jeannine Bazer Schwartz; Irv Schwartz; Matt Humphrey; Cathy Kincaid; Alex Montana; Cindy Edwards; Rachel Buxcamper; Jo Bryan; Ashley Hightower; Maggie Kincaid; Davon Robinson; and ID Collection's Jim Williamson, Bonnie Martin, and Joe Demoruelle. Chris Redden Jim Williamson Joe Demoruelle Josh Harrison Robert Solache Davon Robinson Alton LaDay Jane Rejebian Jeffrey Johnson Carol McEvoy Suzy Childress Adrienne Bullard Cindy Edwards Lisa Luby Ryan Whitney Sprouse Elle Cole Pat McEvoy Barbara Westbrook Bonnie Martin Tess Hutchinson Rachel Hutchinson Pam Dawson