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SARA AUSTIN IS a former fashion designer turned interior stylist and influencer living in a period property by the sea outside Belfast. Here she gives Ruth O’Connor some tips on creating a cosy home full of personality year round and on welcoming the new season in minus the January blues.
Sara Austin trained in Fashion Design at the National College of Art & Design (NCAD) in Dublin going on to work for River Island as part of their graduate program. Growing up on the far north coast of the country in the 1980s, as a fan of Caryn Franklin and the iconic BBC fashion programme The Clothes Show, she knew that she wanted to work in fashion and spent the next 17 years working for the Arcadia Group while renovating period properties with her Irish husband.
Moving back to Ireland after their children were born, Sara and her husband wanted to find a family home that was perfect for their two boys who are now aged seven and ten to grow up in. They settled on a double fronted Victorian home by the sea just outside Belfast. Built in 1896, the property required significant updating throughout thus enabling them to put their own stamp on it.
Her talent for fashion and interiors is present everywhere you look in this beautiful home – from the colours used throughout, to the tactile finishes and use of print. “I think, living in the northern part of the hemisphere, winter days can be ever so dark, with cloud cover limiting the light in our homes. Rather than seek to artificially brighten the home with bright colours or cold light neutrals it can be better to embrace the warmth and the cosiness that darker shades can bring,” says Sara.
In the living room she has used Cardamon from the Christopher John Rogers collection at Farrow & Ball: “I loved the brownish green tone – it’s a soothing, warm, earthy shade.” Elsewhere she has used Studio Green from Farrow & Ball in the snug room, the now iconic Dead Salmon by the same company in the bedroom and Portland Stone by Little Greene in the dining room. “There’s that old saying of ‘look to your own wardrobe for interior colour inspiration,’” she says. “I’ve found it to be a true, tried and tested piece of advice.”
“A great example of this is our snug room – a room we used a lot as a family in the evening time. It’s north-facing, so rather than paint it in a bright colour we wood panelled the walls to create subtle texture before painting the walls in Ganache (a warm red brown) and double-drenching the ceiling in Mochi (a dusty nude pink) from Little Greene. The moody colour-drenched effect allows this room to feel intimate, cosy and cocooning on a cold winter’s evening.”
Sara advises people to go with their instincts when it comes to colour and choose what is right for their own individual circumstances. “Every home should reflect the style of its owner, so while it’s great to find inspiration in colour trends, I’d advise people to go with their instinct and to choose what’s right for their own personal circumstances.”
From a trend perspective, she sees the love affair with rich, cocooning tones continuing. “I think we will continue to see a trend for rich chocolatey tones. In our own home, we have just completed a utility room project using Deep Reddish Brown from the Farrow & Ball Archive Collection. It brings such cosiness and calm to a room in the house that needs to work hard everyday of the year.”
As a fashion designer and interiors maven, it’s no surprise that Sara’s use of textiles and texture throughout her house is on point – from the gorgeous roman blinds in her kitchen to the cushions, wall hangings and pretty lampshades. There is a beautiful sense of tactility to many of the details in her home – from the rattan headboards and lamp bases to the wooden elements in the kitchen and the cosy blankets on the sofas and chairs.
“I have always been passionate about sourcing prints in my day job, so naturally pattern and surface interest is everywhere in our home – whether that be Print Sisters artwork (vintage fashion fabric hangers developed into limited edition print runs), kilim cushions in the kitchen that I picked up in Istanbul on product development trips or embroidered Suzani textiles,” says Sara. “You’ll find House of Hackney mural wallpaper and vintage silk scarves that I’ve had framed to adorn the walls. I particularly love the texture and warmth that fabric and wall hangings bring to a room and it’s such a cost-effective way of bringing in texture if you can’t afford original art.”
Lighting is a noticeable element in Sara’s home too where she manages to successfully combine a variety of lamp and light styles with various different aesthetics and functions.
“Lighting is essential in bringing warmth throughout the winter months. Whilst a lot has been written about keeping the festive fairy lights up throughout January to extend Christmas, that’s just not for me,” she says. “I like to start a new year with a fresh new feeling but at the same time using lower light levels around the house to create a sense of atmosphere and cosiness. Is there anything more welcoming than the soft glow of a candle burning on a windowsill on a chilly winter evening?”
In her own home Sara has used tablelights on the kitchen countertops and floor lamps dotted next to an armchair or sofa. “My advice is to have more lights than you feel you might need – you will find yourself using them at different points of the day or on different occasions to bring a different mood to the space,” she says. “With this in mind we rarely use any of the ceiling spotlights at home in favour of wall lights, table lamps and as many dimmer switches as our electrician could be persuaded to install!”
In the kitchen, she blends different styles of lighting including an opaline pendant light from Pure White Lines and a low-hanging chandelier over the dining table as well as antique brass downlights over the kitchen counters. “They might all vary in style but there is a sense of tradition about their design or component parts which offers some uniformity and allows them to work in harmony with each other.
Visual interest is everywhere in this home – from the wallpaper to the use of marble in the kitchen, the beautiful florals behind the bed and the artwork which has been collected over many years. “We wanted our home to feel individual, to reflect our lives and personalities, filled with curated items that we have gathered throughout the years. I’m never in a hurry to throw something away – much to my husband’s dismay I really believe in resourceful decoration and repurposing,” says Sara.
“Whether a collection of storybooks on display in our children’s bedrooms, or textiles that I picked up on a work trip twenty years ago; whether it’s souvenirs that my husband and I collected on trips before our children were born or hand-me-downs from my mother and grandmother – all of these things can be artfully put together to make a home feel like a welcoming, individual space.”
Sara’s role in fashion informs how she dresses her space too and she is well versed in seeking inspiration whether searching for colour direction or pattern inspiration. “That style of curating a ‘look’ very much informs how I shop today,” she says. “I’ll mix a designer item or investment piece (for example the Kartell furniture we’ve had for years) with a high street wall hanging from Anthropologie (the one behind the bed) and throw in an antique table I found and fell in love at an auction.”
Sara’s go-to destinations are Anthropologie, Graham & Greene and French Bedroom for beautiful rattan beds. She sources lighting from LAMP Ldn, Pure White Lines and Pooky Lighting. When it comes to hardware it’s Corston Architectural Detail and when it comes to upholstery projects printed linen by print designer Ashleigh Mercia is a favourite. When it comes to shopping for antiques and vintage pieces Sara loves to scour her local auctions and charity shops as well as The Old Courthouse in Greyabbey and The Old Hen House in Bangor.
When it comes to transitioning into a new year, Sara says that she uses seasonal decor to decide whether or not she wants to commit fulltime to a colour combination. “This Christmas I decorated with pink and toffee brown paper chains and it’s a colour combination we plan to take forward this year. In the early months of the year, gently introduce new season colours to bring in a feeling of the fresh and new. Use lighter colours in cushions, blankets or mohair throws. Last Spring, for example, we added the soft pink and ochre vintage Suzani cushions to the main bedroom.”
When the Christmas tree comes down in January that’s when she gets planting – indoors. “A vintage urn or moss-covered terracotta pot positioned carefully on a dresser will look superb planted with Spring-flowering bulbs. Snowdrop, narcissus and muscari on a bed of moss are perfect for a hit of the new season ahead.”
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To see more of Sara’s beautiful home visit @itssaraaustin on Instagram.
To find out more about Sara’s design and styling services visit the Sara Austin Studio at saraaustinstudio.com.
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