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Dian Cleve

Gracious, Welcoming, Contemporary

For Cleve and Levin, contemporary interior design doesn’t exclude—it embraces

Dian Cleve’s earliest recollection of beauty came on a plate. Her father, a chef, turned family mealtimes into gustatory and visual celebrations, carefully balancing taste, texture, color, contrast, proportion and detail on every plate.

The lesson she learned as a 4-year-old became a defining mantra for Cleve, today one of Honolulu’s leading interior designers: Beauty has a place in everyday life. “I think what we do really does make our lives richer,” Cleve says, “and I don’t want people to be afraid of that.”

Her firm, Cleve and Levin, has won a string of design awards for everything from a Shelley Mazda showroom to a three-story steel-and-glass Diamond Head home to apartments around Honolulu. The awards come from the American Society of Interior Designers, the American Institute of Architects and the Building Industry Association of Hawaii.

But while most of Cleve’s residential work has showcased a sophisticated Hawaiiana style, today the firm is forging in a new direction with the launch of FORMA, a division specializing in contemporary interior design for island living.

“A contemporary Hawaii lifestyle has a casualness about it, but there’s also an elegance,” Cleve says. “We think there’s a contemporary lifestyle in Hawaii that doesn’t rely so much on Hawaiiana—it’s a more universal style of contemporary interiors.”

Cleve studied architecture, environmental design and art history at the University of Hawaii, giving her design depth and context. She did this with her Hawaiiana-style homes, bringing in elements of New England missionary, pre-contact Hawaii and various Asian cultures; and she does this with her contemporary designs as well.

“Even contemporary design is not without history,” she says. “When I know where a design came from, when I know its origins, I can use it creatively, in context, with other styles, and reflecting our client’s tastes.”

Cleve and Levin’s senior interior designer, Daniela Belotti-Haynes, brings to FORMA a unique background of contemporary interior and furniture design work in Milan. “Contemporary design is simple and functional, with clean lines,” Belotti-Haynes says. “It’s not about the absence of detail—it’s about just the right amount of detail required to make something appear simple.

“And it’s age-friendly. It’s not about low sofas where you need someone to help you up. There’s a welcoming, gracious feel about it.” With Italian as her first language, Belotti-Haynes’ ability to communicate fluently with Italian vendors and suppliers sets the firm apart.

The recent slew of high-rise condominiums that have gone up around Honolulu—all showcasing contemporary architecture—has brought more requests for contemporary interiors. But contemporary designs are as varied as the people who live in them. Cleve, Belotti-Haynes and the staff sit down with each client, talking at length about who will live in the space, the ages of the family members, what colors they like, the purpose of each room.

“Our clients take the lead. They tell us what they want. If they don’t have a clear idea, we help them figure out their styles. That’s important in residential interiors,” says Cleve. “Our goal is to create a style that matches the client and supports all aspects of their lifestyle.”

For new homes and remodels, the designers create a design manual outlining the entire project down to the smallest specification. It shows finishes, quantities ordered, pricing, even down to the doorstops. The manual goes to all the team members working on the project as well as to the client.

The firm welcomes projects of all sizes. Some clients want only color consultations, and Cleve and Belotti-Haynes will go into homes to advise on new paint colors for the walls. Even with the same furniture, the results (which can be seen at www.cleveandlevinhawaii.com) range from bold and dramatic to warm and soothing. “But it’s never about just color,” Belotti-Haynes says. “Usually clients will ask, ‘What can I do about this?’ and ‘What do you think about that?’ and we end up helping them with furniture and even artwork.”

That’s the kind of enthusiasm Cleve loves. “Our best projects come from a real collaboration with our clients. They always take us in new directions,” she says. “Every project is a new adventure.”