Gilian Rappaport (they/she)— What does home mean to you?
Halo Kaya Perez-Gallardo (they/them)— It means comfort, safety and community. I luckily have a wonderful blood family, and I have a close-knit chosen family that has grown from the community around the restaurant. In terms of my home, it means lushness, coziness, and color. I've always had my arsenal of decor that I've moved with, which has been with me from high school, to college, to Spain, and here in Hudson. There are a few items that I can always take with me and say, 'Okay, I'm done'. I'm at home.
GR— What are those items?
HKPG— There's a fabric from my mom's fabric collection that I adopted. It's an African batik textile, almost Yves Klein blue, with neutrals and warm tones. There's a floral patterned wool wall-hanging from Ecuador that I’ve had since my twenties. It’s a very un-classic Ecuador market textile. I always build an altar wherever I go too, with photos of family, old letters, and objects that I collect.
GR— Living stuff! Can you talk about color and coziness? How do you bring those two elements into your spaces?
HKPG— Color is a big factor for me. I don’t like the word cozy, but it's very effective. It's hard to dissect now where the restaurant begins and where I end, but the palate of the restaurant is similar in its 'tropical comfort' idea. These are colors you don't often see in Western spaces, they're more associated with South America, or the Tropics. I've always detested the Western aesthetic of cold, white, and minimal. Growing up with my Ecuadorian grandma, her house was the blue one on the block. I felt really proud of that, it was a way we stood out. People always comment how her hallway is marigold-toned. Multiple textures, warmth, and multiple colors in one space are elements that I have been surrounded with since I was little and carried over into my adult life.