Aaron Hartselle and Carter Hahn know their way around good design. Whether it's completely renovating their New Orleans home or curating a perfect party, they're the ones we call. We talk to Aaron about the couple's journey to New Orleans, the first question he asks when starting an interior design project, and the importance of home.
Where are you from, and what drew you to design? How did you and your husband find your way to New Orleans? How has living and working here shaped or influenced your design point of view?
Interiors were kind of always in the background growing up, long before I thought of it as a career. My parents flipped houses as a hobby, my grandfather was a builder, and my great-grandmother was a florist. My mom always had a knack for interiors and kept fresh flowers throughout the house, and she'd let me redecorate my room whenever the mood struck. It really was in my blood long before it was ever a job. I slowly migrated westward and landed in California, where I became a destination wedding planner and eventually a social event designer and producer.
Over the course of ten years of visits, it's safe to say we fell into a love affair with New Orleans: the people, the music, the good energy, the history. It became our happy place, and we got married here in 2019. We spent years saying we should move here, until finally, in 2022, we took the leap: sold our house in Los Angeles and made our way to the South.
People in New Orleans aren't afraid to take risks. They believe, wholeheartedly, in the home as a reflection of who they are, and it's inspiring to witness, day in and day out: bold colors, unexpected prints, historic patina, a swirl of cultural influences layered on top of one another. This might be the only city in the world where you'll find an estate-sale line stretching around the block in 100-degree heat.
When you're beginning a new project, what do you like to understand about the person who will live in the space? Are there any questions you always ask?
My questionnaire asks clients to build a five-song playlist, the soundtrack to their home. You can tell so much about a person from their music taste. Beyond that, I want to know where they travel, where they shop for clothes (mind if I look in your closet?), and what their daily rituals look like, how they actually live and move through a space. Most of all: how do you want to feel the moment you walk through your front door? That question is really the seed for everything else, including how a home should feel when guests walk through it too.
You and Carter recently moved into a completely renovated older home in New Orleans. What were some of the highs and lows of your personal home design journey? Did you have any non-negotiables in mind when designing your space?
I've come away with a newfound respect for the client process. A gut renovation in New Orleans is no joke; we hit every money-pit hurdle you can imagine along the way. But the result is a home we feel completely at ease in, and there's something really special about crafting a space that reflects who you are as a couple, then getting to share it with the people you love.
Our one non-negotiable was a pool; you simply can't survive a New Orleans summer without one. It's become the most popular spot in the house and our best gathering place for friends, the place everyone ends up by the second hour of any party. The other non-negotiable: soft, controlled lighting, always, no exceptions. Nothing kills a good room faster than a harsh overhead.
Lekha is rooted in handmade and traditional fabrics, and pieces that carry history and the mark of their makers. What role do textiles, artisan-made objects, and imperfect or timeworn pieces play in your interiors?
Fabric is one of the biggest points of connection in a home, so it plays a major role in everything I do. Growing up with a grandmother who quilts, and a lifelong love of making things by hand, that history is what makes a space feel personal to me. Give me patina all day long; a room feels unfinished without it. And every room deserves at least a small dose of something weird and unexpected.
Where are you finding joy and creative inspiration right now? What are you currently dreaming about or looking forward to?
Right now, joy looks like the quiet moments: being home with my husband and our two dogs. I'm really leaning into home as a sanctuary these days.
I've been getting offline and back into books, looking to the masters for inspiration, and learning constantly.
And I'm dreaming about throwing an epic party for my friends in Ibiza next summer. I'm turning 40, and nothing makes me happier than owning a dance floor with my best friends around me.
Lastly, a rapid fire round:
A room in New Orleans you never tire of?
Anywhere at the Chloe.
Something you think is underrated?
Dinner at 6pm and staying in on Friday nights.
Dream dinner guest?
RuPaul.
In the mountains or on the water?
Lake life.