Home & Design

Hot Talent: Charles Almonte As a child growing up in the Philippines, Charles Almonte kept his Lego and crayon collections close at hand. “I always knew I was going into the creative field,” he explains.

He studied architecture in Manila and earned a master’s degree in historic preservation at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Almonte then landed in DC at an architectural firm, where he specialized in preservation as well as interiors.

“I guess my boss saw something in me,” he recalls. “I kept getting interiors work from her, so I figured I should take exams for architecture and interior design.”

After a stint at Thomas Pheasant, in 2008 Almonte decided to venture out on his own. He says that in his practice today, most projects involve both interior design and construction.

Almonte sees his role as design arbiter. “People know what they like,” he says. “It’s a matter of us helping them execute it. I tell clients, ‘We’re here to guide you and apply principles of design—color, symmetry, and balance—but you have to tell us what you like. Because in the end, you’re going to be living here, not me.’”

Interior Design: Charles Almonte, AIA, ASID, Silver Spring, Maryland.

Hot Talent: Kate Ballou Ever since she fashioned “rooms” in the bamboo forest near her childhood home in Silver Spring, Kate Ballou knew she wanted to be a designer. Her mother, a ceramics artist, encouraged her to take art courses at the Corcoran during high school and build a portfolio. “I was lucky to have that push from home,” she recalls.

Ballou studied textile design at the Rhode Island School of Design before earning an interior design degree at Parsons. After college, she landed prestigious positions at Matthew Baird Architects in New York and, following a move back to DC, Jacobsen Architecture and Robert Shields Interiors. “I couldn’t have asked for better experience,” she reflects. “I learned very quickly what to do and what not to do.”

Since launching her own studio in 2013, Ballou has completed residential projects and is also designing The Avery Georgeton, a boutique luxury inn opening this fall.

Working with Baird and Jacobsen, both minimalists, shaped Ballou’s design process. “I’ve been trained to look at furniture in a very specific way,” she explains. “I like basic forms and that definitely stems from those influences.”

Interior Design: Kate Ballou, Hendrick Interiors, Washington, DC. Photography: Aboudi Kabbani.

Hot Talent: Nicole Lanteri When Nicole Lanteri first began dating her future husband, she waited a month or two before helping him fix up his New York apartment. “I got him new furniture too and, unbeknownst to him, matched it to mine in case things worked out,” recalls Lanteri, who was a corporate lawyer at the time.

Things did work out. But after practicing law for five years, Lanteri decided to make a career change and dove into interior design. “I’ve always been into design and spatial arrangements and had an appreciation for how good space can make you feel,” she says. The couple moved to an Arlington loft which Lanteri decorated, and in 2009 she founded her eponymous design firm.

She did her first job for free. “It was an amazing feeling to help someone with their space,” she recalls. “My client cried, just like on TV.”

Lanteri brings a playful, modern aesthetic to her work. “I make each space feel like the client,” she reflects. “One of the best compliments I can get is when someone says, ‘This doesn’t look a designer came in and did my house. This looks like the best version of me.’”

Interior Design: Nicole Lanteri, Nicole Lanteri Design, Arlington, Virginia.

Hot Talent: Suzanne Manlove Designer Suzanne Manlove traveled a storied path before founding a boutique firm with a mission to create “fresh, livable interiors, respecting tradition while embracing the new.”

After earning a graphic design degree at the University of Maryland, she landed at a Baltimore agency, creating award-winning ad campaigns, and later became an art director at Time Life. But it was a stint selling real estate—which she pursued while raising two young children—that led Manlove to her ideal profession.

“When in real estate, I was drawn more to the houses, the architecture and the people—helping them prepare their homes for sale—than I was to the actual selling,” she explains.

During her real estate days, Manlove also remodeled her own home, gaining further in-depth, hands-on experience. In 2008, she finally founded her firm to help others navigate the home-design process.

“Graphic design gave me a great sense of color and balance, as well as spatial awareness,” says Manlove of her journey. “The real estate experience lit the switch and then it was all about learning the vendors, where to get things and making it happen.”

Interior Design: Suzanne Manlove, Arlington Home Interiors, Arlington, Virginia. Styling: Charlotte Safavi.

Hot Talent:Liza Holder entered the design field almost by accident. It all started when the former lawyer and healthcare-policy consultant began decorating her family’s new Bethesda home. “Oddly enough,” she recalls, “I became obsessed with Etsy when we moved and I was buying artwork for our home.”

Holder saw an opportunity and started to sell her curated Etsy finds at trunk shows. Customers loved her taste and asked her to help them fix up a room or two in their homes. Before she knew it, she had quit her day job and launched Homegrown Decor.

Two and a half years later, Holder helps clients design interiors that reflect every member of the family. “I go in wanting to understand who the family is—not just the person who called me,” she explains. “And I design for reality, understanding what people’s busy lives are like but also that they want to love where they live.

“When you walk into your home, that’s your refuge and your escape,” Holder continues. “That’s where you should be the happiest and the most comfortable. It has to be able to be dressed up when you have people over, but live for real life every day.”

Interior Design: Liza Holder, Homegrown Decor, LLC, Bethesda, Maryland.

HOME&DESIGN, published bi-monthly by Homestyles Media Inc., is the premier magazine of architecture and fine interiors for the Washington, DC, Maryland and Virginia region.

The company also publishes an annual H&D Sourcebook of ideas and resources for homeowners and professionals alike. H&D Chesapeake Views is published bi-annually and showcases fine home design and luxury living in and around the Chesapeake Bay.

The H&D Portfolio of 100 Top Designers spotlights the superior work of selected architects, interior designers and landscape architects in major regions of the US.

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