Flairhunter Stephanie Hunt Uses Native Trails Neutrals to Complement Her Eclectic Design Style

Discover how one designers vibrant approach to colorful interior design injects personality and flair into every space, turning houses into homes bursting with individuality and charm.

Stephanie Hunt of Flairhunter has ignited a way of life that celebrates colorful interior design, individuality, spontaneity and adventure. She embraces originality, curiosity, art and other cultures.

Her style is unique — and she finds that our neutral finishes fit effortlessly into her designs.

When did you first hear about Native Trails?

I’m a super fan; it started with choosing your products for our own home builds. We did a big renovation for ourselves in Montecito, and I spec’d one of your Avalon tubs in the Ash finish as our primary bathroom tub. I loved it because it pairs well with so much.

Since then, I’ve used your tubs and sinks in luxury homes that range from coastal to rustic. The textured, hand-hewn feel to NativeStone pairs well with all kinds of finishes on tub fillers and sink faucets. In the home we’re currently living in in Park City, we have the NativeStone Mendocino tub in Slate.

Designer: Stephanie Hunt/Flairhunter
Photographer: Chad Mellon of Mellon Studio
Product: NativeStone Mendocino tub in Slate

Why have our products been such a good fit for your colorful interior design style?

One of the things I love most about your sinks is the fact that the same sink can be an undermount, a deck mount, a semi-undermount, a semi deck-mount — it’s so versatile. And actually, in the Montecito home I’m referencing, we used one of your sinks for our powder room as a deck mount, and then the tub was in the primary bath.

The other thing that I love is that although I’m known for using a lot of color, I don’t want everything to be colorful. Native Trails neutral finishes pair so well with a colorful or decorative backsplash or decorative flooring in a pattern and color, but still add interest with texture.

Designer: Stephanie Hunt/Flairhunter
Photographer: Matt Wier & Karyn Millet
Product: Avalon 62 tub in Slate & NativeStone Nipomo sink in Slate

What are your top tips for adding flair to a house?

Don’t be afraid of color — but it doesn’t need to be a ton of color. A way to add flair and make your home unique is through the inclusion of a little bit of color, whether it’s in style or not. It doesn’t have to be painted walls; it could be decorative bedding, pillows that get switched out seasonally or a blown glass vase on your coffee table — just pops of it.

I want to walk into a home that is so unique that I want to know more about that person. I want to see that they’re interesting because I can tell that they love to read or they love music or travel or carrot cake. I don’t know what it is. But something that just says more about them.

And then just really adding anything that is unique, that tells somebody more about you as a person living in your space, whether it’s some funky thing you’ve found at a flea market that you don’t even know what it’s for but you hang it on your wall as art anyway.

To me, that’s just cool. It’s about using things in an unusual way.

Designer: Stephanie Hunt/Flairhunter
Photographer: Blake Bellet
Product: NativeStone Nipomo sink in Slate

When you’re doing that for other people is there an intense discovery process where you’re interviewing them to determine what they like?

At this stage of my career, very few people are seeking me out to create a neutral, quiet home. People who find me tend to be the people who see that I like color and a little bit of irreverence and maybe some whimsy or some humor. I keep saying design should be fun!

I really love to get to know the person as much as possible, whether through family photos and finding out where traveled or what their favorite food is, where they’ve lived, where they grew up as a kid, what sport they played in the fifth grade, what can’t they stand about something in the world — you know, the positive and the negative, just to try to get a sense of them.

Designer: Stephanie Hunt/Flairhunter
Photographer: Chad Mellon of Mellon Studio

Sourcing art has been a specialty that has followed you throughout your career. But art is so personal! Any tips or sources you can share?

I always say I could walk into somebody’s home and see their walls finished before I can picture their sofa. I just love wall space. I love the vertical elements hanging on the walls. I will say that sourcing art from a distance is tricky because some things show digitally really well and some things just don’t. Fine art can be expensive, especially if it’s a big piece, so I love working with galleries around the country because it’s a lot easier to introduce a client to the work of an artist if they can see it in person.

What’s your favorite room to design and why?

A powder room because it’s small and contained and easier to nudge people into being a bit more courageous, whether it’s with a towel pattern or a wallpaper or a vanity profile or a paint color on the vanity.

Designer: Stephanie Hunt/Flairhunter
Photographer: Chad Mellon of Mellon Studio

What does every kitchen need?

Every kitchen needs something unique that’s not just functional. I like décor in a kitchen. I love hanging a painting on a range hood that’s plaster. I love floating shelves that I’m not just putting coffee mugs and bowls on; I’m putting maybe an interesting ceramic glazed birdhouse on it or leaning a framed still life of a piece of buttered toast.

Designer: Stephanie Hunt/Flairhunter
Photographer: Chad Mellon of Mellon Studio

Who or what is inspiring you right now?

Kelly Wearstler continues to inspire me because her work is really boundary pushing. She can do some things that might not necessarily be your style, but I love that she is just fearlessly leaning into it, and she does a fabulous job of it. She’s also a fabulously stylish person, and I love how she presents as a brand, down to her jewelry and clothing, and of course in the spaces she’s creating, whether they’re commercial or residential.

Want more inspiration? Click here to view our design gallery!