Great ideas flourish with creative collaboration. One dynamic partnership between two Dallas-based interior designers is fostering a fresh and inspired approach to design.
Marissa Marmolejos and Hugh Scarbrough just celebrated their first anniversary together as H & M Interior Design. They were brought together by a shared love of design, a love for others, and an honest desire to make a difference in their clients’ lives.
Marmolejos and Scarbrough specialize in high-end residential design, new construction, and remodels. The firm’s projects span diverse designs, approaches, and styles because of their steady focus on client lifestyle.
“Lot of designers have a particular style and you can walk in and know exactly who did it,” Marmolejos said. “Hugh and I feel it’s important to listen to the client and design for the client in their space and their home. Residential design is so personal—we put an emphasis on our client’s lifestyle and how they live with their family.”
This approach resonates with clients and H&M Interior Design is thriving. Marmolejos and Scarbrough have completed design jobs around the country, including a nursery in New York City, a highrise condo in Denver, and a contemporary desert home in Palm Desert, California. In North Texas, they’re engaged in both commercial and residential projects, doing everything from a Richardson remodel to helping a client downsize to a new home in Preston Hollow.
Marmolejos earned an interior design undergraduate degree from the University of North Texas, and design is in her blood.
“I wanted to do it since I was a young girl—my mom is one and I grew up around it,” she said, noting that she gained industry insights and practices from her mother that she still uses today.
After college, Marmolejos went to work for a luxury home builders in Dallas, earning certifications as a Certified Aging in Place Specialist and a Certified Graduate Builder through the National Home Builders Association. She also took the NCIDQ to become a Registered Interior Designer in Texas.
Scarbrough’s passion for design began with flowers: he is a certified Master Florist in Arkansas. IN addition, he earned a bachelor of interior design degree from the University of Arkansas. This education led him to work at the Dallas design studio Robb and Stucky, where Scarbrough and Marmolejos first met many years ago, and formed a friendship.
The pair bonded over their enthusiasm for the field, and belief that their expertise, experience, and education are meant to serve clients by reflecting the clients’ lifestyle needs.
“Designing for clients is so rewarding, versus just sticking our style on it,” Marmolejos said.
Both Marmolejos and Scarbrough are active participants and leaders in the interior design industry through the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID). Marmolejos has been actively involved with the ASID since 2001, serving two years as chair for the Dallas Design Community. She is currently president of the ASID Texas Chapter for 2015-2016.
Scarbrough served as the Financial Chair for the Dallas Design Community and Communications Chair for the ASID Texas Chapter. He is president-elect for the ASID Texas Chapter, 2015-2016.
This volunteer work helps them give back, as well as building relationships within the community.
“We’ve been doing this for so long, we have a lot of connections and past referrals,” Marmolejos said. “Dallas does have lots of interior designers, but there are lots of homeowners out there, too.”
Scarbrough explained that interior design is a lot of project management and event planning.
“It’s all organization and pulling everything together and there are a lot of moving parts,” he said. “Clients know it all looks good in the end, even if they may not know why it does. It’s very rewarding.”
One remodel in Richardson was for clients whose parents were moving into the house.
“The clients’ parents moved in downstairs and they moved upstairs,” Scarbrough said. “We redid that whole [upstairs] area, transforming the guest bedroom into a huge walk-in closet, and taking the Jack-and-Jill bathroom and making it part of the master suite.”
Another project was for clients with homes in California and Preston Hollow who were ready for a change.
“Our clients decided to downsize to more of a brownstone and the challenge was to get the existing furniture from a 3,000-square-foot space to something smaller,” Marmolejos said. “We designed the home, everything from countertops, wall color, a plan for the furniture, what was going into storage, and what was going into the home.”
Currently, Marmolejos and Scarbrough have several projects going on around DFW.
“We’re partnering with a large custom builder in the area and are working on a couple of new build-to-suit starting in the new year,” Marmolejos said. “We see ourselves going a bit toward new construction.”
But no matter what they do, Marmolejos and Scarbrough aim to create interiors by leading clients through the design process and managing every detail along the way.
