At Home in California’s Wine Country with Hommeboys Design Studio

Rip & Tan: Tell us about the journey to Hommeboys—when did you know this was a professional venture you were both equally excited by?

Hommeboys: Hommeboys was always something in the back of our minds. We were both working with Alex’s father designing and building investment homes in Northern California and noticed that some of the work we were subbing out, staging for instance, was really ruining the vision we had for our projects. We took it upon ourselves to really design every inch of the project from the finishes to the furnishings. Once we pivoted Hommeboys evolved into what it is today; a multi-disciplinary design studio. 

Rip & Tan: As residents yourselves, what are some of the defining characteristics of a life in wine country—or even just Sonoma-influenced design? How is that reflected in your interiors?

Hommeboys: We tell ourselves almost every day that we are lucky to live in such a beautiful area. The rolling hills and the oak groves nestled between open fields and vineyards are quite an inspiring sight. We get a lot of our design inspirations from natural color combinations of the surrounding landscape. From the riotous spring blooms to the earthy auburn tones of fall, Sonoma has provided us an endless supply of inspiration to draw from.

Rip & Tan: On that note, what kind of life was this home designed for? How did your vision for the space influence your process? 

Hommeboys: We designed this space to inspire, to have fun and to be…clean. Living in the country has its drawbacks and the amount of dust that collects on a daily basis can become overwhelming. We wanted to strike a balance between minimalism and maximalism so that the space has a ton of character but can also easily be freshened up and cleaned.  

Rip & Tan: What’s the secret to achieving eclecticism without kitsch?

Hommeboys: I would say it’s all in the eye of the beholder what is eclectic and what is kitsch but if we were to give advice it would be to edit it down. We used to fill our place with every object, vessel, or piece of art we had and it started to feel kitsch.

Pulling back and identifying what is important to you and being able to highlight each individual piece allows for the space to breathe. This can be done in any style of design, but especially when it comes to eclecticism because you start to appreciate the shapes, patterns and colors of everything without it feeling overwhelming. 

Rip & Tan: There’s a distinct modernity in this home, but no lack of coziness. How do you master that balance? 

Hommeboys: There is a lot of minimalism to what people consider as modern and we take that into account in our designs especially when designing for a wider audience. We love detail and flair but you won’t really find us adding ornate crown moldings.

We find the best balance to create a modern space with a cozy vibe is mixing earthy natural tones and materials in more modern shapes and applications with those minimalist transitions. The natural materials like limestone floors and plaster walls really add the cozy element while the seamless transitions and simplistic shapes really appeal to modernist sensibilities. Sprinkle in some vintage pieces with some more contemporary art and furniture and you have a space that can strike the perfect balance between cozy and modern. 

Rip & Tan: Take a quick moment to brag—what are some of your favorite elements from this particular project? Why? 

Hommeboys: As designers, we can be endlessly picky about how every piece relates and connects to a space. Lucky for us we live above our fabrication shop so we have designed and built a lot of our own furniture in our home. From the Metaphores mohair-covered coffee table to the large travertine table, we can and often do it all.

Rip & Tan: What do you love most about working with each other? What’s one thing you admire about the other’s style or approach? 

Hommeboys: We essentially share a brain! We have been together for over 12 years so we have really mastered the art of bouncing ideas, disagreements, loves and hates off each other without taking it too seriously. We LOVE what we do. We both are extremely passionate about design, and that simultaneous love for it brings out the best of who we are and what we are capable of in each other. 

Austin: Alex is so creative in thinking about new applications and designs for cabinetry. He always surprises me with a design that is incredibly unique and his pure passion for his creative ideas is so refreshing to be around. 

Alex: Austin is also so creative and my most trusted source for what’s cool and what’s not. He has a natural sense of what works and an ambitious approach to design that is truly inspiring. 

Rip & Tan: Is there anything specific in the world of interiors that’s bringing you the most joy lately?

Hommeboys: Monochromatic. We are huge monochromatic fans—you can see it throughout our work. One thing that has become so exciting lately is the vast possibilities with materials and their uses. We are starting to see materials used in unconventional ways of their traditional application and it’s really starting to push the boundaries of what’s possible. 

Rip & Tan: What’s on the horizon for Haus of Hommeboys? Anything in particular we can look forward to? 

Hommeboys: Haus of Hommeboys was built on the foundation of our love for furniture and creating. We were constantly finding ourselves designing custom pieces for our projects and from this, our passion for furniture came to fruition with Haus of Hommeboys.

It is going to be both a launch of two fully realized lines of furniture to start, one focusing on the hand-carved wood notching technique and the other focusing on faceted plaster, as well as a curation of vintage furniture pieces, accessories, rugs and lighting. We are expecting to launch in the Fall of 2023.