Holly Holden is an Allied Member of the American Society of Interior Designers and founder of Holly Holden & Company, Ltd., where she has been creating timeless, traditional interiors for more than 35 years. Her firm has led full-scale residential projects for clients around the world.
She was the Executive Producer and Host of the Emmy-nominated PBS television series You are Cordially Invited, where she offers viewers an exclusive look inside two of Britain’s most iconic country estates – Highclere Castle and Blenheim Palace. The series explores the art of elegant interiors and gracious living in masterpiece, privately owned houses, through the eyes of the distinguished owners.
A sought-after speaker, Holly regularly presents on topics ranging from interior design, elegant entertaining and refined living, at private clubs, charitable organizations, and cultural institutions across the United States and abroad.
Her first design book, The Pretty & Proper Living Room, is in its second printing, and her most recent table book The Pearls of Palm Beach offers a peek into classically designed Florida homes.
In 2024, Holly debuted The Holly Holden Collection, a bespoke fashion line in collaboration with Gramercy Atelier in NYC. In 2025, she partnered with Jude Connally on a capsule celebrating the brand’s 15th anniversary, inspired by her signature style of classic elegance.
Holly authors a weekly Secrets to Lovely Living e-newsletter, where she shares insights on etiquette, interiors, entertaining, and a genteel lifestyle. Her Instagram audience is drawn to her design aesthetic, global adventures, etiquette expertise, lifestyle recommendations, and cherished values of family and friendships.
Holly divides her time between Fox Hall (c. 1803), a National Trust property in Farmington, Connecticut – whose gardens are documented in the Smithsonian Archives at American Gardens – and her main residence on Worth Avenue in Palm Beach, Florida.
Dedicated to philanthropy and the arts, Holly is an ambassador and Board member for the Palm Beach Salvation Army, chaired its Centennial Gala, and received the 2024 Honoree Award. She is a Trustee of the New Britain Museum of American Art, former Board member of Hill-Stead Museum, former Chair of the Historic District Commission (20 years) and a member of two federated Garden Clubs of America.
Always in pearls, Holly rides horses, pilots a helicopter, and her favorite color is pink. She and her husband, Stuart, have three children and eight grandchildren, along with a revolving door for entertaining.
Holly’s early life was steeped in beauty and culture. Her parents introduced her to extraordinary homes, gardens, and museums around the world, instilling in her a lifelong appreciation for design and craftsmanship.
As a child, she lived in Germany, Taiwan, Washington, D.C. and Richmond, Virginia to name a few. Her parents moved more than 30 times and Holly’s mother prided herself in being able to host a formal dinner party within one week of moving.
Holly spent her formative years in Richmond, Virginia, where she attended an Episcopal girls’ school. She later graduated from Mt. Vernon College and went on to earn a degree from the University of Richmond School of Business. It was here that the gentility of Southern culture made an impression on her, which is clearly apparent in her work.
Holly’s family history is equally rich in heritage and remarkable chapters. Her great grandparents met at the Emperor’s Ball in Vienna, Austria and eventually moved to Tientsin, China, where they designed their home, Neibelheim, replete with a “gentleman’s” horse racecourse. The Empress Dowager of The Forbidden City appointed her great grandfather to be a high official of Customs (a position equivalent to Vice Premier); through which he helped opened trade between China and Europe.
“If Pretty & Proper had a recipe, it would be: add one full measure of British Understatement; stir in equal parts Southern Gentility and Manor House Elegance; finally, garnish with a dash of Preppy Whimsy. Serve from silver… of course.”
Since 1989, Holly Holden & Company, Ltd., has specialized in classic, old-school interior design – timeless, tailored and elegantly understated. Holly Holden is an Allied Member of The American Society of Interior Designers (ASID). Renowned for her deep appreciation of tradition and regarded as a “Connoisseur of Interior Design,” Holly brings a sense of refinement to every project and generously shares her expertise.
An inviting interior, Holly believes, comes from “within” and looks effortless. She strives to celebrate the importance of genteel charm in every home, making sure that rooms convey comfort and that the family and friends who fill them are more important than the objects they contain. Her national and international interiors reflect the stories, backgrounds and intimate collections of her clients.
Holly created and hosted the television series You Are Cordially Invited, which premiered in 2016 and made its national debut on American Public Television in 2018. The series, which was nominated for a NATAS Emmy Award, showcases extraordinary homes and offers timeless advice on decorating.
In 2013, Holly published her first book, The Pretty and Proper Living Room. Holly has appeared several times on HGTV: Interiors by Design, in national magazines and several prestigious Show Houses. Her interior design efforts on her own home, Fox Hall, c. 1803, were showcased in the 2008 book, Great Houses of New England (Rizzoli). Fox Hall is recognized on The National Register of Historic Places, and its gardens were documented for The National Archives of The Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C. in 2010.
In 2020, Holly was delighted to debut her second book, Holly Holden’s Pearls of Palm Beach: A Secret Peek into Eight Elegant, Timeless & Tailored Houses. She was honored to have Lady Henrietta Spencer-Churchill write the foreward, and designer Leta Austin-Foster contribute an excerpt.
Since 2018, Holly has shared her weekly e-newsletter, Holly Holden’s Secrets to Lovely Living, – a quintessential guide to classic interior design, elegant entertaining and a genteel lifestyle. Formerly known as Mummy’s Monday Manners until 2021, the newsletter evolved with a refreshed brand and broadened focus.
Holly Holden hosted the Emmy-nominated television series You are Cordially Invited, guiding viewers on an intimate journey through two of Britain’s most iconic country estates. With exclusive access – no velvet ropes in sight – viewers explore the extraordinary Highclere Castle and Blenheim Palace, discovering the timeless art of elegant interior design and gracious entertaining alongside the owners and experts.
Drawing on her decades of experience in classic interior design, Holly brings each house to life by highlighting its most interesting details. She describes what makes a room truly welcoming and successful, sharing the fundamental principles of classic design as well as her personal secrets for creating rooms of distinction. Through engaging conversations with the homeowners, she uncovers their secrets for elegant entertaining and the faux pas to avoid.
Like a trip to the museum, the series is both inspirational and educational, transporting viewers into a world of beauty, tradition and enduring charm.
Highclere Castle is perhaps best known as the filming location of the television series Downton Abbey, though the castle is an architectural landmark in its own right. Highclere presides over more than 1,000 acres of manicured parkland designed by renowned landscape architect Capability Brown. Holly is joined by Lady Carnarvon, the Eighth Countess of Carnarvon, a best-selling author and a seasoned hostess. Holly and Lady Carnarvon explore the extensive grounds on horseback before returning to the castle for afternoon tea. They focus on the design of the castle and how it is used for entertaining.
Blenheim Palace is one of England’s largest houses. Built between 1705 and circa 1722, Blenheim Palace was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987. It is an important national monument in England and the home of the Twelfth Duke of Marlborough. In this episode, Holly is joined by Lady Henrietta Spencer-Churchill, who spent time living at Blenheim Palace, her ancestral home, when her father was the 11th Duke of Marlborough. Holly and Lady Henrietta discuss how, despite Blenheim Palace’s grand Baroque architecture, its interiors are warm and inviting. Its private apartments had never before been shown on television.
