feature, recent

Meet… Holly Becker

The past week has very much been focused on the interior of the building, with students running round the house putting their ideas all over the walls. We are inspired and would love to share with you someone who’s work has inspired us and we hope will equally inspire you. Sit down with a cup of Pukka tea and enjoy…

We are so excited to feature an interview with you online! Could you describe what you do to readers who may not be familiar with Decor8 or Haus Maus?

Of course! My name is Holly Becker and I am an American freelance interiors writer and interior design consultant who authors the decor8 blog which has become a resource for decorating and design on the web to over 35,000 readers each day. I’m currently living in northern Germany with my husband and just wrote my first book called Decorate, which will be published in the UK on March 25 and available at book stores and select shops and department stores. My design blog, decor8, is about all of what inspires me along with ideas and tips on decorating amongst other topics meant to inspire creativity in the home. Haus Maus is my personal blog where I talk about living in Germany and my life here in case others are interested in learning about expat life for an American in Germany — at least my opinion of how it is, anyway.

Not only did you travel to a foreign land but you also made a very big career change –  could you explain how and why you made this change?

Yes, I was working as a project manager for several years in the corporate world but in ’04, while working full-time, I decided to go for my childhood passion — to write and decorate — so I enrolled in an evening/weekend interior design certificate program at a local art college and took classes and after 6 months, started to take on clients because I loved decorating people’s homes. I felt confident enough with my business to resign from my corporate job in the Fall of ’05 and launched my blog and continued working with clients though decor8 led me to work with many great magazines, newspapers and my blog grew into a business of its own… It’s been quite an organic journey. I’m very happy I had the courage to make a change in my career life and hope my story inspires others to reach for their dreams too.

How do you make a temporary space feel ‘just like home’?

When I lived in the Boston area, my husband and I would travel back and forth to Germany to see his family once a year — but while here we would stay in a hotel suite for 8 weeks at a time. Upon landing, I’d immediately buy a vase and fresh flowers for the room, and I’d pull out my laptop and set it up on the desk in the room along with some of my sources of inspiration — my journal and a few books (usually an interiors book and a novel). I’d run out to the store and grab food and put it in the room – things that were healthy but yummy – and I’d always bring some personal bits like a travel size candle in a yummy scent, jewelry that I loved and personal photos and leave them out on the table where I got dressed each day so that I could be inspired. I’d also hit the newsstand and put decorating and fashion magazines around the room. Instead of storing my accessories in a drawer, I’d display my scarves and necklaces on some of the hooks in the room. These things made me feel at home and not like I was in a hotel room.

What would you carry with you to the end of the earth?

The love I feel for my husband. I will never love another as much as I love him.

You are a self-employed, full-time blogger; I would imagine that you are tuned in with your job from the moment you wake up till the moment you go to sleep. How do you zone out and what book would you be able to read over and over again?

I like what I do for a living so fortunately I don’t actively seek out ways to NOT think about it but I do. BUT I do try to tune out from the business side of my career from time to time (paperwork, taxes, etc.)… That is when I call for take-out and watch a film at home — particularly one with subtitles — because then I am working so hard to read them that my mind can’t wander back to my business. As far as books that I would be able to read over and over again, anything by Oscar Wilde.

And Finally, you recently came to London as you were promoting your new book Decorate – you must have been quite busy? Where did you hang out and relax?

Yes, I’m very excited about my first book, Decorate – 1,000 design ideas for every room in your home, because it will release on March 25 only a few days after my birthday and I’m thrilled over how lovely it turned out. I also LOVE that my publisher is in London, Jacqui Small, I had to visit frequently as I was working on this book and I have had this love affair with London since I was 12-years-old and an English girl transferred to my school and we became BFF’s. I always loved her accent and tales of life in London. I also visited frequently when I was single, so I have friends and lots of great memories in London. Whenever I’m there, I always try to hit Portobello Road of course but also Liberty, Cocomaya for coffee and cake, Ottolenghi for lunch, Caravan, Atelier Abigail Ahearn, Selfridge’s for pure inspiration, Anthropologie and Susannah Hunter’s leather goods shop.