Office Stories: home by holly
Posted on
We all know the saying ‘home is where the heart is’—and for most of us ‘home’ means our house. However, in Holly Komorowski’s case, that saying rings true for a much broader definition.
Since launching six years ago, Holly and her team of 19 staff provided real estate services to Canberra and the region from their office in Braddon; originally a house, it was repurposed into a cosy working space filled with classic mid-century-inspired furniture. Instead of exuding a corporate style, the living space, separated rooms and the kitchen were very homely and made visitors feel at ease—as if they were seeing friends to discuss their property needs. This type of warm experience reflected the agency team’s genuine personal connections with their clients, giving home by holly a real point of difference.
But by the end of 2021, Holly’s team had outgrown its home and needed to find a new place to call ‘office’. It was sad to leave the familiar location, but the opportunity to redesign the home by holly working environment really couldn’t have come at a better time. It turned out to be the perfect excuse to reach out to a group of Canberra creatives to contribute to the design and fit out.
Heavily involved in local art and design events such as the Design Canberra Festival, Holly is a huge supporter of the city’s creative scene. So, it’s not surprising that as soon as an office space became available in Turner, she already had a long list of designers, makers and artists to reach out to for inspiration, creation and celebration.
From the moment Holly saw the inner north space, she had a good idea of the interior aesthetic she wanted to achieve—an office that would celebrate mid-century-inspired design, support Canberra’s design community, give staff the freedom to be in both shared and private areas, and ensure that clients feel…well, at home.
Holly’s first step was to enlist the help of Sarah Welsh and Shannon Battisson from The Mill Architecture + Design to detail the architectural and interior solution. Designing a welcoming lounge space with an expansive kitchen (which connects with a dining space in the front section) and a sun-filled communal workspace with surrounding break-away offices in the back section, the flowthrough guides the visitors to meet at the terrazzo bench or move to the offices without the usual interruption of a reception desk.
For a mix of form, function, style and comfort, Holly reached out to award-winning industrial designer Tom Skeehan to source chairs for the lounge space via local supplier Stylecraft. Beautifully complementing the simple and inviting layout of the office created by The Mill team, Tom’s contribution extended to the ‘loop’ print e-coustic wall panelling, which he originally designed for Instyle.
Next, Holly commissioned a custom table to perfectly fit the dining space nestled behind the two breeze-block-inspired feature walls. Pete Bollington from Curious Tales stepped up to the challenge, designing and building a stunning dark walnut solid timber wooden table that measures 2.7 by 1.2 meters. Commanding attention, you can sense every minute of the 30+ hours he put into its creation. Pete also produced the kitchen overhead unit because—as with all creative types—it was hard to stop at just one thing.
Uniting the interiors with neutral and crisp white tones that feel very fresh, the team from local office furniture specialists, Nine Two Five Interiors, assisted Holly in fitting out the rear office space with ergonomic office chairs, desks and storage. Comfortable yet stylish, it’s the perfect fusion of function and fashion for Holly’s team.
From there it was onto the lighting. Holly wanted to make sure that lighting would not only align with the aesthetic of the furniture but also provide a relaxed home-like mood. She started with her go-to—Fink pendant lights (if you’ve seen Holly’s home then you would remember how much she loves these iconic designs). The space above the kitchen bench also needed lighting, so Holly reached out to Netty Blair, who delivered a series of original pendants that seek attention and admiration, no matter if they’re switched on or off. Something about the hand-blown glass creates a unique softness and colour that brings beauty to the space, without the type of strong shadows hard shades usually cast.
With the signature home by holly pink neon sign shining in the entry, combined with the warm and earthy tones of pink, plum, dark timber and brass, as well as the cream of the brickwork and the pink of stone benchtop, it was all really starting to feel like home.
But Holly wasn’t done yet, asking long-time collaborator Kirstie Rea through Craft ACT to produce glass pieces in the shape of a home—gifts for clients at settlement—because nothing says ‘thank you’ like a piece of local art.
After six months of collaborating, creating, building, installing and moving, the team settled into their new office. Their first guests? The creatives that made it possible, enjoying their collaborative efforts over a bottle of local wine brought over by Hamish Young from MADA wines. The evening was alive with banter about architecture, creativity, evolution and Canberra; it was the first of many conversations that home by holly’s relaxed and stylish surroundings will play host to. After all, Home is where the heart is, and Holly’s heart is in her work, this city and its people.
Photography: Adam McGrath
