Holly Hunt Builds Two Villas Inside Its Sprawling New L.A. Showroom

When the time came for Holly Hunt to bring the flagship showroom experience to California, the high-end furniture purveyor and design brand set its sights on L.A.’s Sycamore District. Nestled at the foot of the Hollywood Hills, the neighborhood attracts a creative-minded crowd with its presence of world-class art galleries such as Jeffrey Deitch, Tanya Bonakdar, and Regen Projects. Design-world heavyweights Apparatus, Ralph Pucci, and Galerie Ground are also based nearby.

Before long, the brand eyed transforming an expansive warehouse at 945 North Highland Avenue into a “house within a house”—or, more aptly, two villas within a warehouse. The flagship space now showcases furniture, lighting, and wallcoverings from its eponymous collection and esteemed roster of collaborators like Draga & Aurel, Jeremy Maxwell Wintrebert, and Assemblage. 

Holly Hunt executive creative director Jo Annah Kornak enlisted local firm Johnston Marklee to realize her vision of a monumental space representative of the brand’s values and that would serve as a cornerstone of the client experience. Having executed interiors for Knoll and Maison Margiela, as well as the Kunstmuseum Basel, the firm knows a thing or two about showcasing high-octane works of art and design. “Our new L.A. location is more than just a showroom,” she says. “It’s an expression of our core values of design, quality, and craftsmanship.”

Below, Holly Hunt studio shares the references of inspiration they pulled from L.A.’s past and present, and how they worked with Johnston Marklee to raise two freestanding villas in their new showroom.

Project Description: We transformed a ’40s-era corner warehouse in L.A.’s burgeoning Sycamore District into our newest showroom. It feels palatial yet intimate thanks to Kornak’s “house within a house” concept, which the team achieved by erecting two freestanding villas that create intimacy, provide scale, and contrast the warehouse’s expansive interior. This theme of juxtaposition is further explored through materiality; raw surfaces and exposed concrete walls and beams from the building’s original structure were preserved and emphasize luxe finishes like honed marble, bronze, oak, and leather, which are foundational to our studio’s design language.

Project Inspiration: In designing Holly Hunt Los Angeles, Kornak drew inspiration from the surrounding urban landscape and its multifaceted architectural history, with its references to the grandeur of Hollywood, gritty studio backlots, and industrial factories. Our intentional use of contrasting materials, such as honed marble set against exposed concrete walls, oak wood contrasted by terrazzo flooring, for example, strikes the perfect balance between the showroom experience and the dichotomies at play in L.A.’s design landscape.

The design also takes inspiration from Holly Hunt’s four-decade history. The execution of the two villas within the original structure nods directly to our roots in luxury interior design. This element not only communicates the brand story, but it also carves out multiple spaces within the larger structure to showcase Holly Hunt’s offerings on a more intimate scale.

Project Blueprint: Spanning half a block on the corner of Romaine St and Highland Ave, Holly Hunt Los Angeles fills the ground floor of a two-story building. Inside, the North Villa serves as a gallery space to display iconic pieces across our portfolio.

Opposite the North Villa, the South Villa presents a series of curated residential interior rooms with our own product as well as pieces by Vladimir Kagan, CASTE, Christian Astuguevieille, Mark Albrecht Studio, Pouenat, McCollin Bryan, Draga & Aurel, Pagani Studio, Kevin Reilly, JMW Studio, and Moss & Lam. A large circular atrium at the center reveals the upper mezzanine level, which is home to an extensive swatch library made up of textiles, leather, trim, and rugs, along with window treatments from Conrad Shades, wallcoverings from Holly Hunt Walls, Assemblage, and Carlisle & Co.

The vaulted and coffered ceilings, signature lighting, and illuminated wall niches within the villas contrast with the open volume of the surrounding promenade, with its high ceilings and exposed concrete beams. Along the showroom’s eastern façade, the interior promenade is flooded with natural light, framed by tailored Holly Hunt drapes. The open space is punctuated by two bronze- and brass-clad entry vestibules, custom millwork niches, a lighting gallery tucked under a bronze-wrapped staircase, and furniture compositions that showcase our offerings. A monumental 24-foot Vladimir Kagan Omnibus Sofa, designed specifically for the L.A. showroom, anchors the space, and a custom Elizabeth Lyons chandelier illuminates it.

Project Takeaways/Uniqueness: Our first standalone showroom in Los Angeles has created an opportunity for the brand to reach and engage with the region’s design community like never before, by drawing visitors from near and far with impressive interior architecture that reflects our design ethos and reinforces our authority as the leading destination for luxury furnishings.

With a one-of-a-kind design that takes cues from the surrounding neighborhood, Holly Hunt Los Angeles is highly customized for the local design community and creates an elevated client experience that we hope inspires visitors to imagine how the luxury furnishings on offer might fit into their homes or projects.