Sitting Down with Sarah – A Quick Chat with DesignBar's Founder

Q: What is your #1 motivation for doing what you do?

A: Creating meaningful places that ultimately bring joy to the people inhabiting them. I love seeing clients get excited about the possibilities of their project because we often present a vision they would not imagine for themselves. When we first meet with a client, we spend a lot of time in discovery: finding out their biggest unhappiness, what types of ‘style’ they’re looking for, what colors make them feel good. When a project is finished and the client shares their enthusiasm for the new space, that’s the greatest reward.

Here is a recent testimonial from a client that one of our senior designers received:

“I am delighted to recommend Holly to you.

We purchased our Tahoe house in 1990 and it had never been renovated in all that time. After many sleepless nights of feeling overwhelmed and at a loss about how to proceed since our primary residence is in the Bay Area, I discovered Holly, a dream come true! She handled every single detail of our project and even helped us get an outstanding contractor. Holly took me a little out of my comfort zone of outdated, boring choices and I am so glad she did. I couldn't be happier with how the house turned out, not to mention that everything was completed in a quality, timely manner. We trusted Holly and our contractor so much that we did not even check on the project until it was near completion.” – Lyn

During discovery, we learn what styles and colors make our clients feel good.

Q: How did you get started?

A: From a very young age, I always had a natural draw to my surroundings and would imagine what could make a space ‘better’ —whether it was in a house, a public space, a friends house (although I never said anything out loud of course) or even on an airplane. I thought about the flow, visual assets, functionality of things in the space, and overall ‘feeling’; cozy, lofty, bright, or even meditative. When I first attended University and discovered the College of Architecture had an Interior Architecture Program, I knew that was where I was supposed to be. It aligned perfectly with my natural desire to restructure and redesign spaces. The rest is history!

Q: You enjoy traveling abroad, how does this international experience inform your style?

A: I love noticing the character and timelessness that exists in older countries – architecture and style that has stood the test of time and still looks beautiful. What I see inspires me to not only design for today but for tomorrow.

Below: Combining warm wood tones with spacious seating options, this villa was transformed into a welcoming space that highlighted the patterns and styles of the region.

Q: What is the difference between an Interior Designer and an Interior Decorator?

A: An Interior Designer is skilled at manipulating space in more than one dimension, for example: seeing where space can be captured or converted into a more efficient flow. This can mean taking the footprint of an under utilized closet to add more space to a bathroom or laundry room; changing locations of doorways or windows to allow better use of spaces, let more light in, or make way for more useful furniture arrangements and overall purpose of a room. Alternately, an Interior Decorator focuses on adorning spaces with furniture and finish materials that add beauty and visual interest. A true Interior Designer can do both.

Q: What do you think is the biggest misconception about what you do?

A: Many people think interior design is glamorous, and it is, but it is also very hard work. There is an enormous amount of planning and skill that goes into a successful project. Things like discovery meetings with a clients, site documentation visits, organization and function planning, design concept development, creation of floor and electrical plans, elevation and millwork drawings, sourcing and specification of all finishes and furnishings, many times including custom and one-of-a-kind designs. In addition, we coordinate meetings with tradespeople and suppliers, while at the same time ensuring it all comes together with spot-on logistics on the back end. If any of these steps are not managed properly, that’s when disruptions begin to happen.

Planning, measuring, spec’ing, and logistics all have to come together seamlessly for a successful project.