3 min read
Taylor Hill’s design awakening started with a leaf. During her very first internship at an interior design firm, the owner walked in clutching a piece of foliage she'd picked up on her way to work and asked Hill to color-match it for a project. “I remember thinking, How wildly creative is this?” she recalls. “It showed me that inspiration could come from something as small as a leaf, and that design was about observation, interpretation, and imagination.”
Armed with a Master of Science in Historic Preservation, Hill's work at her namesake firm has always centered on looking beyond the surface level, narrowing in on the attributes—the color of a leaf, a remnant of historic wallpaper, trim from a bygone era—that quietly exist in the background. Before committing fully to interiors, she spent more than five years in construction and architecture, absorbing the technical knowledge that would allow her to stand out from her peers.
Her most formative chapter came courtesy of a mentor who saw something in her early on. The owner of her former firm brought her alongside him on multiple multi-million-dollar projects, giving her a front-row seat to how to lead a firm.
“I saw the way he communicated with trades, collaborated with team members, reassured clients, and navigated complex challenges with clarity and confidence,” she recalls. “He was solutions-oriented, innovative, and steady under pressure. I absorbed an immense amount of knowledge while simultaneously managing projects that shaped my skill set and perspective.”
Today, Hill’s firm is doing some of its most interesting and inspiring work, a fact she attributes not to luck, but to relentless refinement of her process and aesthetic. Every installation teaches her something new, whether it's the ideal lightbulb size or the perfect proportions for a piece of custom furniture. “We are constantly taking the opportunity to refine our approach,” she explains. “Every home we complete is better than the one before.”
Get to Know Taylor
House Beautiful: What do clients hire you for that they can’t get anywhere else?
Taylor Hill: Our firm prides itself on flawless execution, expert organization, and extreme attention to detail in every phase of a project. While the creative side is very important, the vision is useless if it can’t be carried out with precision
HB: What emotion do you most want someone to feel when they enter your spaces?
TH: It’s critical that our work represents the clients’ personalities and style of living. I never want someone to walk into one of our projects and not have a sense of place associated with the homeowner.
HB: What’s one design decision this year that felt bold or risky—but paid off?
TH: This year, we’re installing a 14-foot-tall hunt scene mural by Gracie in a historic home, and I am beyond excited about it. At the same time, projects like this naturally come with a bit of nerves. When a piece is that large, that detailed, and that meaningful, the process leading up to installation carries a lot of responsibility. Anytime you ask a client to make a significant investment in a design concept or a singular product, there’s an element of risk. Trust is required on both sides.
HB: What has been the biggest shift in your business in the last year?
TH: We approach initial conversations with prospective clients very thoughtfully, because it’s important to ensure a mutual fit. A successful project depends on alignment, both in vision and in expectations. Over the past couple of years, I’ve spent a great deal of time refining how we communicate our services. This includes clearly outlining our scope, providing sample budgets, and developing materials that better explain our process. That level of transparency helps clients understand the financial investment and time commitment that comes with working with a full-service firm.
HB: What do you think the industry gets wrong about “good design”?
TH: “Good design” is a feeling or experience—it’s not found in a certain item, price point, or style.
