Words By, Lindsey Mather
Clever, Architectural Digest
When virtual decorating app Hutch was given three months to move offices last spring, a unique opportunity presented itself amid the frantic real estate search: The staff could use their very own decor tool to decorate the new Hutch HQ. Sure, it was designed to help people make over their homes, but who said the app couldn’t be used to design conference rooms and communal spaces, too?
CEO and co-founder Beatrice Fischel-Bock ended up signing the lease on an industrial space in Culver City, California, within one week of seeing it. But rather than full steam ahead, it was hurry up and wait. At the time, there just wasn’t the proper budget for a full redesign, and ‘I was given very clear instructions that I wasn’t allowed to touch anything until the tech was in a great place,’ VP of design and brand Aisling Mittman explains. Finally, when summer arrived, it was go time—they had closed their latest round of funding and the app had been updated.
A post shared by Hutch(@hutchapp) on May 11, 2018 at 9:27am PDT
Although the building checked off both of Beatrice and Aisling’s major requirements—an open floor plan and great natural light—there wasn’t much else to look at when they first saw it. Since it was still under construction, it was essentially just one big, empty space save for some breakout rooms separated by industrial steel-and-glass walls. As luck would have it, Beatrice and Aisling were able to influence a bunch of the last-minute design decisions. ‘We were able to keep some of the ductwork open and keep the brick unpainted,’ says Beatrice. On top of that, they chose to hang big round pendants throughout the space and told the landlord to leave the concrete floors untreated.
A post shared by Hutch(@hutchapp) on May 10, 2018 at 5:20pm PDT
Once the office was move-in ready, it was time to play on the Hutch app. ‘We used the dining room template and living room template to design the conference rooms and living spaces,’ says Aisling. (Standard-size dining tables and chairs happened to be the perfect fit.) While using the tool like any other person, Aisling discovered a missing feature she desperately wanted. ‘We actually just released paint, because that was a big thing—we wanted each room it to have its own vibe, so we were picking different paint colours. We did the whole paint-on-the-wall old-school thing, but now we have it on the app,’ says Aisling. Beatrice adds, ‘Nothing gives you clarity like actually doing it yourself.’
Everyone pitched in to pull the space together. ‘When you work for a furniture and design company, you’ve got to know how to build furniture!’ says Beatrice.
Featured Image: Mia Baker, Unsplash
