You Can Call Me Henry

(Editor’s note: This is a continuing series of profiles of some of the designers involved in the 2014 Pasadena Showcase House of Design, one of the most successful showcase houses in the country. Each year a major estate in the Pasadena area is selected. The property is then completely renovated by leading interior and exterior designers. The Showcase House is open to the public for four weeks during April and May.)

First things first. There is no Henry Johnstone at Henry Johnstone & Co.

As partner Sherry Stein explains, “It is a fictitious name. There used to be three partners here. One’s last name was “Henry,’ and then Albert’s last name is ‘Janz,’ and my last name is ‘Stein,’ which came to “Henry Jan Stein,’ which sounded like a personal injury law firm, so we anglicized that to Henry Johnstone, and then we would say, ‘Oh, Henry’s in Scotland, shooting,’ or something, if someone asked.

“But, now we know,” she laughs, “if someone calls, and asks for ‘Henry,’ we know they have no idea who we are.”

That out of the way, Stein describes the company’s mission thusly: “ We are really known for our traditional design, not that we can’t do contemporary, but we are most known for our traditional Anglo-American design.”

And while some might conclude that that would include Craftsman-style homes, Stein prefers to think of the work as more “English-American,” or “continental.”

“Craftsman is a pure style and design,” Stein explained, “while we might tend to mix things up a little more.”

The Pasadena-based partners have designed and executed projects ranging from very contemporary, vividly colored beach homes to far more traditional Pasadena homes, as well as projects in North Carolina, Montecito and Seattle.

The company first began in 1990. Prior to that time, Janz was heavily involved in teaching, at the school of Visual Arts in New York City, as well as in an interior design program at UCLA.

Meanwhile, Stein had attended Occidental College as an English major, and was working through the ‘80s in corporate America. Fearing that she would live her working life in the corporate world, she “jumped ship” and began working at a drapery company before deciding to go back to school for more interior design training.

Once at UCLA, Stein enrolled in one of Janz’ classes, and thought, “Now, this guy really knows what he is about. Not that the other teachers weren’t good,” she said, “but he had that extra something. He really had the knowledge.”

The two connected and the rest, is, well, you know. It’s 2014, and the company is still humming along.

As Stein describes their company, “We just love the process, we love working with the customers, and we just love having that relationship with them. We love knowing that we can give a client an education, as well as a home that is beautiful and comfortable, and know that she won’t regret a single thing we did. That’s the ideal.”

This year Johnstone and Co is doing the entry hall at the Pasadena Showcase House, a project Stein describes as a “challenge.”

‘We’ve done them before,” she said, but admits that “they create special challenges for the working process.” As she describes it, “You are the pass-through for everyone to the rest of the house. So when you put up scaffolding in a 26-foot entranceway, it becomes very logistically challenging for everyone there.

“It’s also important to make the entry something more than, ‘Okay, how do we get to the rest of the house?’ said Stein. “The entry sets the tone, and sets the stage of the whole house.”

For that, says Stein, they want to make the entranceway “welcoming.”

“We want to use large furniture, but not make it into a sitting area,” she continued. “We want to make an impact with dark colors and with large art, which we are still looking for, as well as contemporary lighting, along with some lovely antique clocks and side chairs. We want it to be comfortable and not ‘jarring.’ We want to fulfill the expectations of this grand house.”

Henry Johnstone & Company is at 16 S Oakland Ave, Pasadena. (626) 395-9575. www.henryjohnstoneco.com