Today we’d like to introduce you to Kate O’Hara.
Hi Kate, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
As a child, I grew up inside this business long before I ever imagined I would one day run it. My mother founded the firm in the late 1980s, and as a kid and teenager I spent summers and after-school hours helping wherever I could. At the time, it just felt like family life. I was learning by osmosis, surrounded by strong women building something real together.
When I formally joined the company in 2007, it was not with a grand plan to take over. I came in as a marketing coordinator, thinking I was simply filling in and lending support, the way I always had. But early on, I had a moment that shifted things. After our first professional photo shoot, I realized how much potential was there. After the second shoot, when I saw what our designers and team were able to create together, it clicked that I could help shape where the firm was headed. That was when helping turned into committing.
The moment it truly became mine to carry forward came later, when I moved to Texas to help launch our Austin presence. Coming back to Texas felt deeply personal. I lived in Dallas when I was three and four years old, and my earliest memories are here. I have family throughout Texas, including Dallas-Fort Worth and Austin, and every return has felt like a homecoming. Establishing ourselves more formally in Texas did not feel like a new direction. It felt like a natural continuation of a story our team had already been part of for decades.
I became CEO in early 2019, and since then my focus has been on honoring what my mother built while thoughtfully evolving the firm for the future. The business is now more than 35 years old, and that longevity matters. It reflects trust, continuity, and long-term relationships. Under my leadership, we have leaned even more intentionally into those relationships while strengthening the business behind the scenes, so our designers can do their best work and our clients feel supported and confident throughout the process.
Dallas, in particular, has always been part of our story. We have worked with clients here for decades, and having a dedicated presence with a team rooted in this market felt like the right next step. This is a legacy brand founded by my mother, and carrying it forward alongside an exceptional team, in a place that feels like home, is something I am incredibly proud of.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I stepped into the CEO role in early 2019, which meant I had been leading for barely a year when the pandemic changed everything. It was a trial by fire. Like so many small businesses, we were navigating uncertainty in real time while trying to support our clients and our team.
What helped steady us was the team and the way we had already been working for years. I can’t say enough about how essential it was to be surrounded by the experience of my award-winning designers and project managers. Many of our clients maintain multiple homes, and our designers were already used to managing complex projects remotely while staying closely connected. When the industry had to pivot almost overnight, we were able to respond calmly and thoughtfully as a firm, without losing the highly personal experience our clients expect. That adaptability came from the trust within our team and the systems we had built together long before they were tested.
We have also been incredibly fortunate to work with clients who continue to refer us again and again, along with builders and architects who have trusted us for decades. That trust is the reason we have been working in Dallas for so long, and it is also what naturally led to growth. Growth brings responsibility. Design is deeply personal, and maintaining that level of care as a firm expands takes intention.
Over time, we have refined how we work, so our systems support relationships rather than get in the way. The goal has always been to give our designers the freedom to do what they do best: listen closely, build trust, and create homes that feel deeply personal.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
At its heart, our firm designs timeless homes for modern living. While our work is often described as quiet luxury, what matters most to us is that every home feels deeply personal and truly complete. Our designers approach each project with care and restraint, creating spaces that feel considered, finished, and reflective of the people who live there.
We are known for long-term partnerships. Many of our clients have worked with us for years, sometimes across multiple homes, and that continuity is something our entire team values deeply. Our role is part creative, part steward. We bring taste and discernment to every project while also providing calm leadership through what can be a complex process. Clients trust our designers to collaborate seamlessly with architects and builders and to keep things moving with clarity and ease.
Because so many of our clients maintain multiple residences, our team is accustomed to managing highly detailed projects, even from a distance, while staying closely connected. We can carry a client’s sensibility from one home to the next, or take an entirely new direction, while still honoring the values that guide how they want to live. That balance of flexibility, consistency, and trust is what sets us apart.
Brand-wise, I am most proud of our legacy and the trust we have earned over time. This is a business founded more than 35 years ago by my mother and carrying that forward with care matters deeply to me and to the team that supports our clients every day. We are relationship-driven and largely referral-based. Dallas has long been a familiar market for our firm, and investing here intentionally feels like a natural extension of work we have been doing together for decades.
While many of our projects involve new construction or major renovations, some of our most satisfying work is helping clients fully reimagine an existing home. Whether our designers are involved from the earliest architectural conversations or brought in to thoughtfully furnish and complete a home from top to bottom, our approach remains the same. We focus on cohesion, longevity, and creating spaces that feel finished and deeply personal.
If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
People tend to see me now as confident and fairly extroverted, but growing up I was quite shy and had real stage fright. I did not enjoy the spotlight at all. I was opinionated and stubborn in my thinking, but I didn’t always speak up.
I was constantly rearranging my bedroom when I was young. I dragged my bed into every possible configuration, centered, diagonal, tucked into corners, pushed against windows. I was endlessly experimenting with how a space could feel different simply by shifting it around. In hindsight, it was probably an early preview of what was coming.
I have always loved being deeply focused on one thing, especially books. Reading was constant, and so was my affection for animals, which led me to volunteer at shelters from a young age. More than anything, I valued independence, curiosity, and the freedom to explore things on my own terms. That throughline has stayed with me. I think it still shapes how I think, how I work, and how I move through the world.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://oharainteriors.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ohara_interiors/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/oharainteriors
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ohara-interiors/?viewAsMember=true
- Other: https://www.pinterest.com/oharainteriors/
Image Credits
Spacecrafting Photography, Andrea Calo, Troy Thies, Jason Jones, and Hayden Walker
