When they moved into their Mill Valley home after relocating from the East Coast, Benjamin Dhong's interior design clients had a lot of baggage, both physically and mentally.
They had a house full of things, of course, all of the boxes and furniture that come with any big move. They also brought the sentimental attachments that came with a lot of that stuff.
"The clients were this young, preppy sort of East Coast family from New York," recalled Dhong, a prominent Bay Area designer. "Like a lot of young couples, they were saddled with antiques that they had inherited, and they felt they couldn't give them away because they would feel guilty."
By culling their collection and using only select pieces, Dhong assuaged his clients' guilt and provided them with an integrated living space, blending their belongings with new pieces for a perfect balance.
In the living room, for example, the solid bulk of a decidedly modern coffee table blends surprisingly well with the curves of a rustic antique side board nearby. Just across from the coffee table, two antique wooden armchairs flank a blue marble fireplace with a white mantle. The niche above the fireplace bears a decorative wood cutout design. This simple circle design is played up in the bright blue-and-white pattern of the reupholstered chairs, which are family relics.
"I used a few key pieces, but paired them with new modern ones, creating a sort of high-low, old-new mix," said Dhong, who rose to prominence as a respected Bay Area designer under the tutelage of Martha Angus and quickly struck out on his own, opening his design firm in 2007.
Since then his designs have been featured in "House Beautiful" and "California Home+Design," among numerous publications.
Informed by extensive travel, his interest in history, and the stylized grandeur of classic films he caught on TV reruns as a kid, Dhong's style and taste are highly eclectic and original. Among his style inspirations, he has mentioned Audrey Hepburn, Coco Chanel and John Saladino.
Dhong gives most of the credit, however, to his mother. He laughs today looking back on childhood visits to the homes of friends and relatives with his mom, during which she would spontaneously re-arrange their furniture.
Dhong, whose clients actually invite him to rearrange their entire homes, simply molds and directs his design vision from project to project based on each client's needs. In this case, that meant keeping enough of the couple's most cherished family pieces, but showcasing them in a way that gave them .
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