Western Living Magazine
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Introducing the 2026 WL Designers of the Year
Robert Ledingham Memorial Award 2026: Schédio Spaces
Industrial Designer of the Year 2026: Nolan Talbot-Kelly
After 30 years in business, HB Design is still at the top of its game.
In the early days of her career, Jennifer Heffel remembers, she would be lugging around “a big leather portfolio of actual, physical pictures” to show prospective clients her work. “I hate to say that,” she adds with a laugh—times certainly have changed since the mid-’90s, when she and Lesli Balagno founded HB Design out of Heffel’s basement. The Vancouver firm started with small kitchen and bathroom renovations, and its projects steadily grew and expanded over the next 20 years. Heffel and Balagno became names that clients and the design community could count on.
In 2016, Balagno passed away, marking an enormous loss for Heffel (she calls her late business partner a “best buddy”) and for the firm. It was a point of transition and reflection. “It was a difficult time, and I sort of looked at the company and I thought, well, where do I want to go from here?” Heffel recalls.
Her focus became legacy, and HB Design’s branding, management and team culture would change to reflect that. Instead of relying on the reputations—and names—of the firm’s founders, Heffel wanted the firm itself to be recognized and relied on. “I wanted people to say, ‘HB is a great company. Go to them, and no matter which designer is working on your project, you are going to get an excellent result,’” Heffel says. She set out to continue the stellar work of HB Design while quietly pivoting to a more team-centric approach. Junior designers would be mentored with intention, encouraged to take leadership roles and trusted to collaborate with clients directly. In 2024, Shannon Bradner, who had been working for HB as an interior designer since shortly before Balagno’s passing, became partner.
This year marks 10 years of teamwork for Heffel and Bradner and 30 years in business for the firm. The legacy is undeniable, and the work is fresh, modern, sustainable and inspiring—a contemporary portfolio that earns HB Design the title of Western Living’s Interior Designers of the Year.
Most renovation stories pay some homage to a home’s history, but HB Design goes beyond preservation to give treasured elements completely new life. One Whistler homeowner, for example, loved his bear-shaped iron staircase guardrail. The designers built parts of the guardrail into the new front door, and repurposed others into a beautiful framed art piece in the games room. Original dark chestnut rafters and wood posts guided the home’s palette—the old floor was re-stained for a better match, and the ceilings were clad in hemlock wood to create a warm embrace from all sides. The client’s own vintage rugs, pine furniture and leather armchairs look stylish and cozy thanks to the modern palette and clean-lined design. “For us, it was about tying his eclectic pieces together and creating that cabin-in-the-woods feel—while retaining some familiarity to the family,” says Bradner.
Comfort and function for the family is at the core of the firm’s design strategy. Case in point: the Gathering House, a new build in West Vancouver for a philanthropic couple with seven adult children. “They wanted to open this home to their friends and fundraiser guests and their family and have it all flow seamlessly,” Heffel notes. With a relatively small footprint, the designers had to be calculated and creative with space planning. The double-wide pocket office doors, for example, open entirely to create an extra seating area in the living room. The kitchen was designed with a channel skylight to provide natural light without eating up valuable storage space with windows. A walkout patio looks straight out to the water. “It’s an exceptionally well-designed house for entertaining,” Heffel says.
When asked about their projects, Heffel and Bradner will both start by talking about the clients before getting into the design. Their Gulf Island Coastal Retreat, belonging to a couple looking to connect more deeply with the husband’s Vancouver Island roots, was artfully lit to delineate different areas in a very long, corridor-like space. Their Brick House, belonging to a young urban family who wanted to host pool parties, incorporates rich materials like Taj Mahal quartzite and ambered onyx. The homes are never just homes; they’re celebrations of the people who dreamed them up and the teams who brought them to life.
Perhaps no project better illustrates this than the Legacy House, a renovation in Vancouver’s Point Grey neighbourhood for a home that was originally designed in 2000 by Lesli Balagno. The first owner was a bachelor with an affinity for dark rosewood; the current client was a single woman with a lot of flair. “It was a bit nerve-wracking modernizing my late business partner’s work, but you know, all clients have a different vision,” says Heffel. A strong black-and-white palette with pops of colour (think plum stools in the kitchen and funky artwork) transformed the space, but nods to the previous home—and the previous designer—were maintained, including the stained-glass windows by Brian Baxter. “We took the house into a completely different direction, yet still really complemented the original architecture,” says Heffel.
Our 2026 Interior Designers of the Year walk the walk when it comes to customizing, adapting and reimagining to suit their clients’ needs. DOTY judge Matt Davis, founding partner of DesignAgency, called HB Design’s portfolio a “masterclass in refinement, control and precision”; judge Sam Sacks of Sam Sacks Design says the firm has “a comprehensive design language that flows across each project” and “a deep consideration for functional living spaces that account for exterior views.” And while Bradner and Heffel (who is also named a Design Icon this year) are undeniably team leaders, our judging panel’s ruling echoes that decade-old goal: HB is a great company, and no matter which designer is working on your project, you’ll get an excellent result.
JH: The toilet.
SB: American Dirt, The Let Them Theory and The Nightingale—they’re all very different, but each one is completely captivating in its own way.
SB: My father started a local construction company so I spent a lot of time on his job sites and looking through the blueprints he brought home. Our family also frequently moved into the homes he built, giving me a firsthand appreciation for the design and construction process. I loved being involved, especially when it came to designing my own bedroom.
JH: I used to build little apartment buildings out of shoe boxes and make the furniture out of egg cartons. I would see how high I could build them before they fell over.
JH: The Crabapple Café in Squamish—they have the best pancakes.
SB: Barb’s Bakery and Bistro on Salt Spring Island is one of my favourite stops. Their incredible selection of fresh-baked goods, healthy smoothies and the Dirty Chai never disappoint. I also love browsing their curated selection of local food products—it’s the kind of place where you always leave with something delicious.
JH: Orto in North Vancouver. I love sitting in their garden; it’s like being in someone’s backyard. It’s also close to our office.
SB: España Restaurant in Vancouver’s West End is a warm, lively Spanish tapas restaurant that captures the charm of a neighbourhood eatery in Spain. It’s the perfect spot to slow down and enjoy an unhurried evening with friends and family.
JH: I’m a North Shore girl, so don’t cross the bridge much. I like the bar at the Beach House in Dundarave. It’s like Cheers: there’s always someone you know there.
SB: In the summer, I love enjoying a glass of wine on the patio at 1931 Gallery Bistro at the Vancouver Art Gallery. It feels like a hidden oasis in the heart of the city.
Alyssa Hirose is a Vancouver-based writer, editor, illustrator and comic artist. Her work has been featured in Vancouver magazine, Western Living, BCBusiness, Avenue, Serviette, Geist, BCLiving, Nuvo, Montecristo, The Georgia Straight and more. Her beats are food, travel, arts and culture, style, interior design and anything dog-related. She publishes a daily autobiographical comic on Instagram at @hialyssacomics.
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