Charlap Hyman & Herrero
Adam Charlap Hyman is an American designer and a principal of Charlap Hyman & Herrero, a multidisciplinary practice working across interiors, exhibition design, scenography, and furniture. Under his direction, the studio has developed a distinctive approach that moves fluidly between residential projects, galleries, theatrical environments, and cultural spaces.
With a background in Furniture Design and Art History from Rhode Island School of Design, Charlap Hyman brings a strong narrative and historical sensibility to his work. His projects are often characterized by layered references, refined materiality, and an intuitive dialogue between architecture, art, and decoration.
Before co-founding the studio, he worked within major home furnishings companies, further shaping his holistic approach to interiors and design culture. Charlap Hyman was also recognized in Forbes’ “30 Under 30” list in the Art & Style category.
“Drawing on history with intention, humor and creativity, my work is highly bespoke and personal.”
INTERVIEW
The most challenging aspect of my work is also a very rewarding one – working with so many different types of people to realize a joint vision. Between my own team, all the craftsmen, and other professions involved in getting a project done, I have to cultivate many productive relationships and learn to, in a sense, “speak” many different “languages”. It is a beautiful thing, but it can be hard at times, of course.
I studied furniture design in college but became interested at that time in creating an entire space, not just a single piece within it, and researched historical interiors outside of class. When I graduated, I went to work for a furniture company but moonlit as an interior designer doing small odd-jobs. When I reconnected with Andre, whom I had known in college, we were working together on a townhouse – he as an architect and I as an interior designer. That project gave us the idea to start a firm.
I love working on an architecturally significant house – be it Modernist or Victorian – it’s incredibly exciting for me to figure out what makes a house tick, and how to bring it back to life – to give it refreshed energy. It’s like a puzzle.
Maybe the most deciding factor in my projects is the strength of the trust between the client and me. Without trust in the shared vision and trust that the risks we are taking will work out, it is very hard for an interior to come together well.
Our creative process begins with reference imagery. We comb our library of reference material, which we have organized digitally, to create vast folders illustrating hundreds of ideas and suggesting hundreds of possibilities. After narrowing this down to around 200, we share them with the client and further narrow them, creating a mood board together.
It is a creatively fulfilling process for both of us because they are able to get their point of view in at the beginning, and we get to know them better via this shared visual language of references.
One of the most important things for a new designer to resolve is their technique of representing their ideas to their clients, in a compelling and clear way, be it with computer rendering, sketching, watercolor, or collage. If you can’t show someone what you want to do for them, they can’t pick it. I have tried a lot of different methods for this, and it’s always evolving, as I learn what works better for my clients and me.
I would love to have a nice old-school office on Park or Madison in midtown that felt like a law firm.
We have a materials library that we refer to often, but we get ideas to work with new materials all the time. It’s always an experimental process to integrate a new material into a project, but it can be so rewarding.
I am most inspired by designers and architects who created total worlds – Jean Michel Frank, Mongiardino, Gae Aulenti – people who made very tight, complete visions.
I walk to work and review with the office manager during the commute. When I get in, I submit to my calendar – every minute is spoken for as the designers in the office book time with me to review their projects and have organized client meetings in advance. Of course, things can move around, but it’s pretty precise, and I try to stick to the calendar. I might have a meeting to source furniture for 1 hour, then a client meeting on Zoom for 1 hour, then two thirty-minute reviews with designers, then lunch while in Zoom with one of our designers in LA who would just then be getting to work, then a client meeting on site, then several phone calls….. that kind of thing. I love my office and getting to work with the talented, smart designers there.
I love the work of Jacques Grange, Francois Josef Graf, Green River Project, and Sam Chermayeff, and many others.
Drawing on history with intention, humor, and creativity, my work is highly bespoke and personal.
I have just received a copy of Hannah Martin’s new book on the designer and artist Nikola L, and it is amazing – I couldn’t recommend it more.
Thank you so much Adam, for this lovely interview!
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