Henrybuilt aims to bring a European approach to American kitchens. Founded in 2001 by Scott Hudson, the company—named after his grandfather, who introduced him to the joy of making—focuses on the “system-based kitchens” commonly found in Europe (think brands like Boffi and Bulthaup). “What it really means for the end user is that it performs better, so it feels a lot more interactive,” he tells host Dennis Scully on the latest episode of The Business of Home Podcast.

Hudson has a background in multimedia and software, experience that has come in handy at his current job. Henrybuilt, which has expanded to 120 employees with around 600 projects going at any one time, has grown to encompass initiatives including a more budget-accessible brand, Space Theory; a space-planning software company called Symbolic Frameworks; and a design publication titled Untapped.

Much of Hudson’s career has been dedicated to focusing on how design works as opposed to how it looks. But the goal—whether it’s a kitchen or a manufacturing technique—isn’t just efficiency, but something deeper. “I think ‘efficiency’ is a very American way of looking at it. I think it’s really about that feeling of mastery in your environment. In order to get that flow, there has to be a certain level of organization. … But that’s not the goal,” he says. “The goal is the feeling that you get when you can talk to your friends [while cooking] and know exactly where the tools [are] that you need to make great food while socializing.”

Crucial insight: As Henrybuilt experienced significant growth from 2015 to 2022, Hudson realized that he needed to make sure his team never lost sight of the relationship with the end client. “One of the hardest things in our industry is to focus on the end user,” he says. “If you make rugs, you are probably spending an enormous amount of time talking to designers who specify them, so the contact with the homeowner becomes less and less. If you’re [too] detached, you don’t get that feedback loop, and it’s in the feedback loop that people become really attached to what you’re doing. … That’s still really important, even at the scale that we’ve gotten to.”

Key quote: “There’s [an inherent] contrast between software—which is all about automating and streamlining and speeding things up—and anything related to a house, which just seems incredibly archaic [by comparison]. Part of that is satisfying by contrast, and part of it is not. That process is what led to Henrybuilt. It’s really hard to get quality, not just physical material quality, but design quality. It’s really difficult, and that’s when I discovered the European kitchen approach.”

This episode is sponsored by Ernesta. Listen to the show below. If you like what you hear, subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

The Thursday Show

Host Dennis Scully and BOH executive editor Fred Nicolaus discuss the biggest news in the design world, including an update on the Kim Kardashian knockoff lawsuit, why Fornasetti is changing hands, and the fate of HGTV. Later, Schumacher CEO Timur Yumusaklar joins the show to discuss his company’s latest moves—and what’s going on in the design industry.

This episode is sponsored by Loloi. If you like what you hear, subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.