Ep. 479: Designing Homes that Evolve with Anne Hulcher Tollett

We are thrilled to welcome Richmond, Virginia-based interior designer Anne Hulcher Tollett to the podcast! As the founder and principal designer of Hanover Avenue, Anne’s work has been featured in House Beautiful, Veranda, The Wall Street Journal, and Architectural Digest. She is known for designing spaces that feel deeply personal, honoring both the historic architecture of a home and the unique lifestyles of the families who live in them.

Anne sits down with Caroline and Liz to talk about how she uncovers her clients' true personal style—even retiring fabrics after using them to prevent cookie-cutter designs. She shares her secrets for choosing long-term furniture investments with "good lines" that seamlessly move from house to house, how to break out of the Pinterest algorithm trap, and why you should look to your own closet for home color palette inspiration.

Quick Decorating Takeaways:

• Reveal the Client's Aesthetic, Don't Impose Yours: Anne views her job as revealing her clients' personal style rather than leaving her own design stamp on a home. To ensure a custom, couture feel for every family, her firm intentionally retires fabrics once they've been used in a project.

• Break the Pinterest and Instagram Algorithm: Relying too heavily on social media can trap you in a "cookie-cutter" design loop because the algorithm feeds you more of what you've already looked at. To find fresh inspiration, look to fashion designers, historic home tours, local show houses, or museum exhibits instead.

• Invest in "Good Lines": When building a furniture collection that evolves with you, prioritize pieces with beautiful, timeless silhouettes and classic lines. A high-quality piece of furniture with good lines will naturally pair beautifully with other styles and can easily transition from your first small apartment to a larger family home.

• Look to Your Wardrobe for Color Palettes: If you're struggling to find a home color scheme, look at what you love to wear. Your closet naturally holds the tones, textures, and patterns you feel most confident and comfortable around.

• Lower Your Artwork: A common mistake is hanging art too high up on the wall. Bring your artwork down closer to eye level or anchor it closer to your furniture to create a more intimate and cohesive arrangement.

What You’ll Hear on This Episode:

• 00:34 Welcome to Anne Hulcher Tollett of Hanover Avenue

• 01:34 Why Anne loves working across varied design styles to avoid feeling bored

• 02:00 The methodology behind uncovering a client's aesthetic and why she retires fabrics

• 05:00 Breaking free from the social media algorithm trap to find authentic design inspiration

• 10:00 Pulling imagery and grouping ideas onto a physical or digital board to find common threads

• 15:00 Scale, traffic flow, and arranging furniture at comfortable, conversational heights

• 22:00 Why one good piece of furniture will always go with another good piece of furniture

• 27:00 Buying for longevity: Navigating small apartments, first sofas, and prioritizing beautiful lines

• 35:00 How to translate your personal wardrobe style into your interior design palette

• 42:00 Managing complex family dynamics and designing spaces that adapt to kids and lifestyle changes

• 48:00 Lighting lessons: Dealing with fixtures that look pretty but don't emit enough light

• 55:00 Hanging artwork at the correct visual height to anchor a room

• 01:00:00 Decorating Dilemma: Solving layout challenges, awkward dimensions, and hiding cords for off-the-wall floating furniture

Also Mentioned:

• Hanover Avenue | Website

• Follow Anne on Instagram: @hanoveravenue

• Shop Ballard Designs

Please send in your decorating dilemmas to podcast@ballarddesigns.net so we can help you with your space! Don't forget to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts so you never miss an episode.

Happy decorating!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices