Beautiful homes lining Pacific Palisades streets often attract the gazes of passersby, but for resident Holly Surya, they also beckon an artistic touch–and perhaps a sledgehammer or two.
As owner of the design firm Evolve, Surya lives for renovating homes and businesses into masterpieces of form and function. With a wide array of projects ranging from single apartments to modern hotels, her specialty, and favorite aspect of design, is total transformation–which means that Surya is usually happiest when she guts a place.
“My husband jokes, ‘I can’t go on a walk with you without hearing about all the houses you want to knock down or doors you want to knock on,’” she admits with a chuckle. “I’m ready for my own community now.”
Since graduating from the University of Hawaii in 1997 with a B.A. in art and design, Surya has pursued her career in several cities on both sides of the Pacific Ocean, from the modern Aqua Bamboo Hotel in Waikiki to the ultra-chic Nirvana lounge in Beverly Hills.
A move to the mainland several years ago found her focusing her artist’s eye on nearby Santa Monica, Brentwood, Malibu and the San Fernando Valley, but now Surya is finally turning her sights on her own neighborhood.
“There are a lot of people from the East Coast and Europe here, and they are looking for an East Coast vibe, like the Hamptons or Cape Cod,” she says.
It’s a departure from the Asian-influenced Craftsman and progressive styles she’s accustomed to in Santa Monica and Hawaii, or in the Valley, where clients tend to favor contemporary Mediterranean and Spanish-style homes.
But Surya says she’s welcoming the opportunity to evolve as a designer, and perhaps assist some clients in their own evolution.
“Americans like a lot of stuff, but I’m trying to create an experience that’s not so chaotic. You don’t need stuff,” Surya explains. “I do what clients want, but I try to guide them.”
A childhood spent in exotic countries like Bali, Singapore and Japan means that Surya brings a little bit of everywhere when she creates spaces for people. But it’s her affinity for a Japanese approach to aesthetics– which encompasses a “less is more” attitude and emphasizes quality–that has led her to infuse space with meaning.
From the foundation to the furniture and even the final touches, the self-described art aficionado considers how every aspect of a home will function for her client.
“My goal as a designer is to help people evolve by creating a space that works for them now,” she says. “We all evolve every day. Spaces need to evolve with us.”
For Surya, that entails utilizing stone, granite and wood in neutral tones–elements that are earthy, timeless and grounding. Textiles are secondary, she says, adding that she steers people away from color toward splashes of color to allow for change.
“I like guts, the hard materials: solid surfaces, wood, furniture…and good tile that also functions as a piece of art,” she says. “A lot of designers want pretty but not function, or they want timeless, not current–I want all of those things.”
To achieve this, Surya determines not what clients want, but who they are. She finds out their hobbies and incorporates them into the design, an exercise practiced in her own home, where she says she has brought the outside indoors.
An avid surfer and nature enthusiast, the four-year Palisadian homeowner and her family moved from the Valley to be closer to her husband David Tishbi’s jewelry studio (located in the Atrium building on Via de la Paz) and the ocean.
Nature’s simple forms and textures are echoed in each of the couple’s trades, from Surya’s variant themes ranging from rustic to industrial, to Tishbi’s collection of “spinner” rings, noted for their unique addition of unfixed gold bangles encircling sterling silver bands.
“He’s got an engineer’s mind,” says Surya, and the two have often relied on each other in their professions. After their daughter was born, Surya took a hiatus to assist with her husband’s jewelry designing, and says it was the best thing she ever did.
“It reminded me of where I need to be. Designing is what I love to do and when you do what you love, things become automatic.”
Surya returned to work full force and says she couldn’t be happier. She’s currently overseeing the renovation of a 21-unit, $1.5-million townhome building on San Vicente Boulevard and Ocean Avenue, her favorite type of project.
“I love transforming a space, I love the process, but when people see what I’ve done and are happy with the result–that’s the best part.”
View examples of Surya’s work by visiting her Website at houzz.com/pro/hsurya. She can also be reached at (310) 745-1887.
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