Passionate about design since childhood, Melissa Oholendt founded her Minnesota and Colorado-based studio after discovering the joy of creating a beautiful home that reflects the functional needs of her own family. Selected as part of House Beautiful‘s Next Wave Class of 2025, which celebrates talented up-and-coming designers, Melissa puts a fresh twist on traditional style and conjures warm and elegant spaces made to be lived in.
Photography by Taylor Hall O'Brien
Can you tell us about your background and the origins of Oho Interiors?
I have been obsessed with interior design since a young age. I distinctly remember picking out the perfect navy paint colour for my childhood bedroom, including the pinnacle of style in my youth (or so I thought), a Ralph Lauren quilted bedspread with the Polo Bear stitched into every quilt square. I found my way into interior design courses in high school and started college with the intent to get an interior design degree, but was talked out of it by a well-meaning professor who could see that my ambitions were entrepreneurial in nature in an industry that hadn’t quite made it there yet in 2001.
I pursued a career in finance and then started my entrepreneur journey in photography, eventually finding my way back to interior design in late 2019. After experiencing the life-changing, soul-renewing benefits of creating and living in a home that reflects the functional needs and beauty inspired by my own family, I knew I needed to find a way to do that for others.
Photography by Judith Marilyn
How would you describe the Oho Interiors aesthetic?
Traditional design that is heavily influenced by English and European design. While each of our projects are fully bespoke, we have found that all contain five grounding principles that truly define who we are – crafting new traditional design using classic materials in fresh applications; creating functional, bespoke design specific to our clients and their needs for the way they live; a detailed, form-meets-function mentality of English and European design; pops of whimsy and playfulness via pattern; and a belief that the details matter and are worth advocating for.
The unabashed use of colour in English design, the warmth and natural materials of Belgian design, and the unexpected and delightful curves of French and Spanish design—you can see bits of each influence in our designs.
Photography by Judith Marilyn
What has been one of your favourite projects to date?
A Cotswold-inspired farmhouse in Iowa with the most incredible and trusting clients. They were up for anything and joined us on the creative journey to find the perfect design elements for their home. When sourcing furnishings, we found a great antique glass-topped coffee table that had been converted from a door. It had the perfect amount of patina and metal straps, and the hand-turned legs were a work of art, but we knew the glass top was not the most life-friendly decision for a family with three small children.
We worked with a local custom furniture maker who we love to create a solid wood top for the piece that matches the antique base in patina, and create something they could spend evenings playing board games around. It became such a moment, balancing the old and new of their family room. And the best part is that if, one day, they want to convert the piece back to its original form, they only need to remove the solid wood top, and everything else is still very much intact from the original piece.
Photography by Judith Marilyn
What drew you to Hale Mercantile linen for your projects?
One of our guiding principles at Oho is the belief that nothing is too precious. We believe in a home that can handle the elegant moments alongside the casual ones, and Hale Mercantile is exactly that to us. We love textiles that feel elegant but aren’t too fussy and look even better as they age – and directly out of the dryer, which can be a challenge! The linen gets softer over time and with laundering.
Photography by Judith Marilyn
What are your favourite pieces and hues from the collection?
I absolutely love the Flocca hand and bath towels and use them every day! Believe me when I tell you I have a deep love for Rosa, the perfect rosy-mauve that goes with literally everything. I also dearly love the Kristine Linen Guest Towels for a bit of flair. Armee and Fonda are my favourites, and they are the perfect addition to the guest bath (or kids' bath!).
I also love the Basix Stripe Linen Napkin in the Nox/Sable colourway and have a few that I rotate through as kitchen washcloths at the sink. It’s the perfect drying towel and looks the right amount of rumpled out of the dryer.
Photography by Ashley Sullivan
Click here to view more projects by Melissa Oholendt of Oho Interiors.
