Today we’d like to introduce you to Jeffrey Osborne and Amanda Hark.
Jeffrey and Amanda, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Amanda & I worked for a larger interior design firm together and quickly realized we were kindred spirits and decided we would go out on our own together later when we felt ready. After Amanda left our employer to have her second child we planned and decided to start our own firm when she was ready to come back to work. We started our business in 2009 in a small office on Harrison Avenue before moving to our current location on Waltham Street.
We started with a few key clients, mostly in the city, We still work with one of our first clients who is part owner of a restaurant group that we now design restaurants for. Another initial key client of ours that we have worked on multiple projects for has recommended us to many jobs as well as connected us with a builder that we now work with regularly and recommends us to many of his clients. We have found that word of mouth is the best way to build our business. We now have projects in New York City, Cape Cod, Vermont, New Hampshire, Greater Boston and Metro West among others.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Knock on wood we have loved the road! The only struggles we have really encountered are contractors! We have discovered we are only as good as our contractors as they can make us look really great if they execute our work well and in a timely manner. If not, it can be tough!
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Hark + Osborne Interior Design – what should we know?
Hark + Osborne is primarily a fine residential interior designer but we also work on select commercial projects that interest us. We have designed rooms and a restaurant at a country club in Weston, MA, Aquitaine restaurant in Boston and now in Chestnut Hill, La Motta restaurant in Boston and renovated Metropolis restaurant in Boston. In our earlier years on our own Jeff designed G Spa on Newbury Street and GrettaLuxe clothing stores in Copley Place and the Westin so we are looking to design more retail spaces! We are most proud of our ability to design a wide range of spaces, from super-modern penthouses in the city to large estates in the suburbs to casual weekend houses at the shore or the mountains. We feel that lots of firms can design beautiful homes but our eclectic point-of-view sets us apart from the pack.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
We try to really listen to our clients and think about how they currently live and how their new space will enrich their daily life. We believe layout and function come first and try to think like architects as well, combining our knowledge of interior design with on-the-job architectural training that now allows us to easily change and optimize room layouts for a home. Often on whole-house, building projects where an architect is not contracted to work on a project thru completion we change entire floor plans that will work better for a client’s lifestyle. We feel that our ability to function on almost an architectural level and our ability to do full CAD elevation and plan design of entire homes, including lighting and AV plans, sets us apart from other small firms.
Contact Info:
- Address: 46 Waltham Street
Boston, MA 02118 - Website: www.hpluso.com
- Phone: 617.504.1767
- Email: info@hpluso.com
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