The eye behind interiors as varied as Mandy Moore’s home and the beloved Gaia House Café in Grand Rapids, Sarah Sherman Samuel grew up in the woods along the lakeshore in Michigan. After years spent building her design career in California, she has now moved back to the mitten of land she holds close to her heart with her young family.
Following her latest collaboration with Lulu and Georgia, we spoke with Sarah about what influences her organic shapes and enchanting details—from the Bouclé Ball Pillow and timeless bedspread with a floor-skimming skirt, to the brass lamp with a ruffly white linen shade.
Alice Garbarini Hurley: After curating collections for Lulu and Georgia since 2017, starting with wallpaper and including furniture, rugs and dining/kitchen, your latest collaboration is lighting and bedding. No stone unturned. When did you first fall in love with home design?
Sarah Sherman Samuel: When I was six or seven, my parents surprised me with new bedding and curtains. They changed them out while I was at school and showed me to my room without telling me why and waited for my reaction. An ivory bedcover clad with kittens and matching drapery awaited. My mind was blown! It’s still the best gift they’ve ever given me. It may have started with the kittens, but my mom always rearranged furniture, and so did I in my own room.
AGH: What about elegant furniture? Did family members have beautiful homes that set your wheels in motion?
SSS: No, but we lived in a neighborhood with many new houses being built, so my sisters, friends and I would take up residence in half-built homes after the crews went home and designate whose room was whose. We’d arrange “furniture” with whatever scraps we could find. On the playground at school, we would build forts in the pine trees, making walls out of fallen logs and furniture out of dried pine needles and branches.
AGH: What is your biggest source of inspiration?
SSS: Travel and nature. Growing up where I did in Michigan, there wasn’t a lot of inspirational architecture, so seeing Miami, New Orleans and San Francisco influenced me, as did European cities. I have a deep appreciation for history. Michigan has endless natural beauty. The landscape is constantly changing with its dramatic seasons. You can’t help but pay close attention and be inspired.
AGH: Your collections encompass pleats, platform beds, perfect sofas and white dinnerware. What is your favorite thing to design?
SSS: It changes, that’s why I like having a variety. If I get burned out designing furniture, I start drawing textiles and wallpaper. I love it all, at different times.
AGH: Is there a product line you dream of doing?
SSS: I would love to do my own paint collection.
Shop Sarah’s latest release with Lulu and Georgia here.
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