Although Hill House Home has become synonymous with the nap dress, when Nell Diamond launched her company in 2016, the brand’s focus was actually on selling bedding. Since then, Hill House Home has expanded its offerings to include clothing, accessories, swimwear, baby products and shoes, and yes, has had its hero product — the Instagram-famous nap dress — shoot to cult-level status.
Recently, the lifestyle brand dropped its 2022 Fall Fashion Collection, which features everything from nap dresses in fall-ready prints to wool knitwear and crepe skirts. The collection, which is inspired by British interiors and textiles, also features the work of London-based artist Diane Hill, who collaborated for a second time with the brand to create an exclusive print.
To learn more about Hill House Home, we spoke with CEO and founder Nell Diamond.
For people who are unfamiliar with Hill House Home, what do you most want them to know about your brand?
Nell Diamond: We really believe that just because something looks great doesn’t mean it should be uncomfortable. That’s something that we try to tie through to every product we make, whether it’s swim — making sure it’s super comfortable but at the same time looks really great and is sunscreen-safe and chlorine-resistant — or it’s our hero product, the nap dress, which has this extendable, really practical, comfortable smocking that makes you look great but still has a great design that you feel dressed up and good in.
Where do you pull the inspiration for your designs from?
ND: From all over. This summer we were really inspired by the Amalfi coast, so we took a bunch of prints and designed them with elements from an Italian summer — everything from lemons to the octopus to the color palette of the Amalfi coast. We tend to start with one thing and then tie in little pieces into all the prints and styling we do.
What three words would you use to describe your brand and why?
ND: Happy, feminine and fun. We’re all about bringing joy and happiness to everyday things. Whether it’s brushing your teeth or making your bed, why not make those things happy and joyful?
Since starting Hill House Home, what would you say has been your greatest accomplishment?
ND: Hiring our team. It’s been really wonderful and exciting to build a team of people who I’m so excited to work with every day. I have some team members who have been there with me since the very, very beginning and being able to build this alongside them is definitely one of my favorite parts of the journey.
On a similar note, what would you say has been your biggest setback?
ND: The biggest challenge of the past couple of years has been raising my kids alongside the business. I’ve had three kids in the last six years, so becoming a mom for the first time and trying to manage that transition and figure out that side of my life alongside figuring out what it means to be an entrepreneur and build a business.
Can you speak a bit about your bestselling products?
ND: Our bestselling products all have that combination of practicality and beauty. In our bedding category, one of our bestselling products is our duvet cover. Even though it harkens back to old-school, traditional, very high-end bedding, it still has all those truly practical elements like a zipper to keep the duvet in and ties to keep the duvet insert attached and not moving around all night. Then our bathrobe is a big bestseller. It comes in a very wide range of sizes for all genders, all ages and people love to have matching family bathrobes.
Out of all your products, do you have a personal favorite?
ND: Right now, my favorite shoe is our City Slide in blue feather rhinestones. Those are super fun and super comfortable and just really exciting for a flat. In our dresses category, my favorite dress right now is the Ophelia Dress, which is so easy to dress up and dress down — just a great dress to have in your arsenal. And then in our bedding, our Trellis Bedding is my favorite right now.