SETTING THE SCENE

FORMERLY IN THE MOVIE INDUSTRY, HILLARY STAMM TAKES HER CREATIVITY TO INTERIOR DESIGN.

- MARY GRAUERHOLZ

Creativity is a wellspring that frequently bubbles up where it is least expected. When Hillary Stamm was working in production at Sony Pictures—and wrote a how-to book about her experience there—little did she imagine the skills she honed in movie production would translate to residential interior design.

As it turned out, it was a natural fit. “At Sony, I was surrounded by beautiful places and beautiful people. I took that love of creative set design and aesthetics and applied it to my design,” says Stamm, the principal of HMS Interiors in Manhattan Beach, California. Working with homeowners along the West Coast, Stamm and her crew specialize in beach houses that use space wisely and pack a dreamy mix of high-end coastal design laced with a light beach vibe.

Stamm’s recent project in Hermosa Beach, perched over the Pacific Ocean, projects a breezy, stylish ease. “We wanted to build it as a beach house but with more of a modern sense, fresh-forward and different,” she says. The three-story house was a collaboration with the builder RJ Smith Construction in Manhattan Beach and architect David Watson, also in Manhattan Beach.