Architecture and Interiors Studio Hendricks Churchill on “Distinctly American” Design

On September 9, Rizzoli will publish “Distinctly American,” a rich visual study of ten projects by architecture and interior design studio Hendricks Churchill. The monograph is the second Rizzoli release from the duo, following 2023’s “Our Way Home.” While the first took an intimate look at the Litchfield County farmhouse they transformed into their own home, this new book spans the depth of their work—from Hudson Valley restorations to Shaker-inspired interiors on the Upper East Side—and deftly demonstrates the ways in which their aesthetic translates between city and countryside.

Hendricks and Churchill directed this two-book timeline by accident. “When we were first speaking with Rizzoli about publishing our projects, it was important to us to start with our house—because that represents our unfiltered style. That is what we are like without a client,” Hendricks tells Surface. Rizzoli pushed back. The publisher wanted a monograph, which is where most architects and interior designers begin. “We said that what was really important to us was telling the story of our home and how it spans our 25 years of cohabiting and co-building. Rizzoli said, ‘OK, but you’re doing a monograph next.’ So, then we got a two-book deal.”

When it came time to work on their monograph, following the critical and commercial success of “Our Way Home,” Hendricks and Churchill knew that it needed to incorporate work beyond New England. “There are people who bring us in and say, ‘we love the layered comfort, color, and casual vibe that you can produce. We want you to bring that into this more cosmopolitan setting, where we have a white box that we don’t know what to do with,’” Hendricks says. Within the volume, Greenwich Village and Carnegie Hill apartments, as well as a Brooklyn townhouse, bring this transformation to life.

As for the title, “Distinctly American,” it became a vessel to celebrate architecture born of craftspeople and a connection to local community. “‘Distinctly American’ is an umbrella term not only for our love of the New England vernacular, but for historic architectural styles across the entire country,” she says. “We’ve been spending a lot of time on the road lately, for both fun and business, just driving. The more we drove around the more we got to see beautiful old structures that really resonated with us.”

Hendricks and Churchill wrote this monograph themselves, penning separate introductions and then project descriptions. The first entry—the New Farmhouse—marked their debut as collaborators. “Not only was our brand born with this project but it was also this moment in time where we realized we had something special. We had a look that could be commodified,” Hendricks says.

“It’s one of our favorite projects,” she adds. “The client showed up to the first planning meeting with a children’s book, ‘One Morning in Maine.’ They said ‘we want a country house with this vibe.’ In the book, there’s a modest home in Maine. It’s practical but it’s so beautiful in its purity and simplicity—without being high design. That was the mandate. We love it when somebody comes to us with something not specific, where it’s about conjuring a mood.”

Hendricks says their work is to preserve the history of the buildings they’re tasked with restoring, even when the client wants to level floors or replace windows. Beneath their aesthetic is a mission. “We set out to create a place where somebody feels at home. In order for them to feel at home, it doesn’t have to reflect their personality, it just has to make them feel safe,” she explains. “It doesn’t feel transitory. It doesn’t feel like it’s going to go out of style right away. It doesn’t feel precious. We are drawn to things that look better with age. The more time-worn, the better it’s going to feel and the more familiar it’s going to be.”

Their distinct roles in the studio rarely cross. “That’s the secret,” Hendricks says. “Rafe is very much about the architecture and the backdrop and I am all about the furnishings and the decor. We overlap on finishes—tile, paint, lighting. He has more interest in the decor than I have in the architecture. I just trust him implicitly. It’s what makes our projects so special: the conversation between the furnishings and the tone of the room.”

In addition to the monograph, Hendricks Churchill has an important announcement on the horizon. “The older we get the more interested we are in democratizing the design that we love—especially because we are drawn to this design that was originally for every person,” Hendricks says. “We are in the process of launching a hotel brand called Place in Mind. Through that we are seeking historic properties and breathing new life into them as hotels and inns—so that people can have a Hendricks Churchill experience for a couple of nights.” Their first will open in Bennington, Vermont next January.

“Right around the corner from that project is The Walloomsac Inn, which was built in the 1700s, and at one time it was the destination in Vermont,” Hendricks says. “Roosevelt would stay there. Walt Disney would vacation there. It’s fallen into ‘Grey Gardens’ disrepair. It’s very haunted. And it’s all ours. That one is a couple of years out. That’s our latest chapter.”