When Cathie Hong bought her first home, she quickly discovered her natural proclivity toward interior design despite having no prior training. Following that intuition worked out—she’s now the founder and Principal Designer at Cathie Hong Interiors.
With a passion for fine art and an approach she credits to her heritage, Cathie excels at designing clean, modern spaces that radiate warmth. We chatted with her about her inspiration, best design tips, and her favorite Fireclay Tile colors (sample them all here). Keep reading for the full interview!
Meet Cathie!
Can you tell me a bit about yourself and your firm?
I'm a self-taught Korean-American interior designer and mother of four middle- and grade-school children. I was born and raised in California, and I believe my approach to design is heavily influenced by my American upbringing and Korean heritage. I started my own boutique design firm just over five years ago, and now am so proud to have a solid team with a slew of exciting projects throughout the Bay Area.
Tile: 2x6 Feldspar Gloss | Design: Cathie Hong Interiors | Image: Christy Quiambao
When did you first become interested in design? How did you get your start?
I've always been a design enthusiast, and fine art was my favorite hobby from as early as I can remember. I wish I had gone to school for interior design, but I only discovered the field later in life after purchasing our first home. I started exploring the field by taking a couple classes at a local college and helping out some friends with small design projects here and there. That quickly snowballed into a full-blown career designing full home remodels, additions and ground-up builds.
Tile: 2x8 Sand Dune | Design: Cathie Hong Interiors | Image: Margaret Austin Photography
Can you tell me about your design process? What is your favorite part?
Surprisingly one of my favorite parts of the design process is space planning. I love to sit and stare at a floor plan, imagining the different ways to lay out the space to maximize function while maintaining form. I also love the last few months of a project when all of the finishes that we've carefully selected and drawings that we've meticulously put together, start to become a reality.
Tile: 2x4 Lark Matte | Design: Cathie Hong Interiors | Image: Margaret Austin Photography
How would you describe your aesthetic?
I think I fall somewhere between Scandinavian, Asian, and midcentury. I love pairing the cleanliness of modernism with warm materials and textiles.
Tile: 2x6 Feldspar Gloss | Design: Cathie Hong Interiors | Image: Margaret Austin Photography
Where do you draw inspiration from?
Nature, old architecture and iconic designs, books, and travel. I also love studying the work of international designers. Often there are so many fresh and inspiring ideas from abroad that aren't used widely in the States, and it helps to keep me from getting stuck in design ruts.
Tile: 2x6 Feldspar Gloss | Design: Cathie Hong Interiors | Image: Christy Quiambao
What are your 3 best design tips?
1) Design holistically, keeping in mind the overarching design direction for the entire house or the architectural style of the house, instead of choosing things you like individually that may not match or enhance the overall design goal.
2) Choose warm materials - wood, natural stone, linens, parchment. Warm materials make your space feel cozy and comfortable, as a home should feel!
3) Don't be afraid of taking a little risk. Sometimes people are overly concerned about timelessness and resale value that they opt for all the "safe" choices, and that can result in a "cookie cutter" home.
Tile: Summit in White Motif | Design: Cathie Hong Interiors | Image: Margaret Austin Photography
How do you factor sustainability into your designs?
We love to source from brands that value sustainability (like Fireclay!). We also encourage keeping and reusing furniture pieces that still have great bones, but just need a little refinishing or reupholstery.
Why do you like using tile in your designs?
Tile is one of the most fun design elements in a space! The shape, color, texture, variation, and even grout joint, can completely transform a kitchen or bathroom. There are endless opportunities out there, and we love to infuse personality into a space with our selections of tile.
Tile: 4x4 Calcite Gloss | Design: Cathie Hong Interiors | Image: Margaret Austin Photography
What made you want to work with Fireclay Tile?
Fireclay has always had a great reputation, both for their always-evolving product, and also for what they stand for and how they treat their team. We love partnering with companies that we believe in and that have similar values! Fireclay also has an incredible selection of different colors, glazes, and types of tile. I love pushing the boundaries with their colorful tile at my fingertips.
Cathie's curated Fireclay palette includes Hunter Green, Peabody, Red Rock, Sand Dune, Sandstone, Mustard Seed, Feldspar, and Vintage Leather.
Do you have a favorite tile moment from all of your projects?
I love the way the guest bathroom at our Potrero Hill project turned out with the 2x8 Salton Sea in a vertical stack offset pattern. I also had a lot of fun peppering in 2x2 Mustard Seed into a white grid kids shower at our Midcentury Caribbean project. Lastly, I loved using the Summit handpainted tile on a modern fireplace application last year!
Tile: 2x8 Salton Sea, Hexite Calcite | Design: Cathie Hong Interiors | Image: Christy Quiambao
Which of our tiles would you love to use in future projects?
I'd love to create a fun pattern with the Dot Dash handpainted line someday! I also want to play around with more matte glass tile in different colors and sizes!
Tile: Dot Dash 6 in Plein Aire Motif
If Cathie's warm and inviting interiors are calling your name, sample her favorite Fireclay colors to get her look—your first five color samples are free through a rep!