Designer Series: The Natural Beauty of Modern Design with Sarah Joy
Who is our next designer for the Designer Series? It is Sarah Joy Schmidt at @sarah_joy__! We dove into her Instagram and fell in love with the way she can picture the uniqueness and complexity of each of the spaces she designs. That is why we decided she would be a perfect fit as our next stylist for Designer Series. Sarah Joy is a San Diegan native who has lived here her whole life. She is a mother of two teens and a business owner of Sarah Joy Interior Designs. She has been an interior designer for over 15 years and has a formal education in interior design. She has found passion for residential interior design and has built her business around designing and remodeling spaces. Her work reflects her experience as her approach to design embodies how to craftily cultivate a rich layout for each design. Every piece of her designs is deliberate and meticulous. This interior designer loves to use modern, neutral, natural, and vintage styles to keep spaces clean and organized. Though she keeps up with many of the current and upcoming trends by going to trade shows for upcoming décor, she is someone who will put her client’s vision into account first as the client’s wants are the most important when designing a space. Her clients serve as inspiration in creating unique spaces that cater to both style and function.
The Plan
Sarah Joy was given two sets to design in our studio. The Melbourne Panel Bed and the Rockford Dining Table & 4 Chairs in Gray. She brought her own accents and a few surprises to add to each collection.
The Prep
A blend of both Mor Furniture accents and her very own personal pieces. One of Sarah’s surprises was bringing and installing white shiplap wall paneling to use for both sets – a fun moment in our studio, indeed!
Challenge One: Melbourne Panel Bed
When we set out to challenge Sarah Joy with this piece, she came and delivered! Not only is the styling gorgeous, but she also went above and beyond what we asked for as she brought in her own shiplap wall to create a personalized accent wall. It was a first in our designer series, but we love when designers choose to go outside the boundaries and bring something new and unexpected. The shiplap accent wall is subtle and gives the whole design a modern boho feel while also blending in with the furniture pieces.
Now that we have finished gushing over Sarah’s creativity, let’s discuss her amazing use of space and colors styling the Melbourne Panel Bed. Wouldn’t you just want to dive into those comfy pillows and relax? We are in love with all the tiny details from the pile of various-sized pillows to the throw blanket placed across the comforter, and a pop of purple-colored bed sheet cover primly folded and peeking through the comforter. The four assorted colored hats hanging over the bed are a nice boho addition. She made sure to pay attention to the wood grain and gray shades of the Melbourne by placing a woven jute area rug for the perfect floor comfort the room needed. We really like how it was placed as it connects all the Melbourne pieces while also contrasting the white walls and providing texture to the room. The Linus Table Lamp sits atop the Melbourne Nightstand and gives off sleek modern vibe with added accent décor provided by Sarah.
Sarah was smart for adding pops of green by styling with both natural and faux plants balancing out the brown and white tones of the room. The natural plants are at different elevations which flow through the room naturally starting with the Melbourne Chest to the Melbourne Nightstand. The Louise Accent Chair in Sherpa Gray serves as a breakage in color from the muted browns of the Melbourne bedroom. The sharp dark gray and the deep browns of the Louise chair compliment nicely to the boho modern look Sarah envisioned for this room.
Challenge Two: Rockford Dining Room Table & 4 Chairs in Gray
The Result:
It is a wonder how she can be so creative with limited furniture, but this room oozes with light modern farmhouse vibes. You just want to sit down and enjoy a nice meal with your family that you harvested from your backyard garden when seeing this beautifully styled room. The main piece is the Rockford Dining Table w/ 4 Chairs. As the focal point of the room, the table needs to be the main thing that stands out and articulately accentuates its features. Sarah is a wonder at creating a brilliant setting with minimal accents so that the table did not become overcrowded and cluttered. She retained the right number of objects to balance out the Rockford. We find the candlelit Dimtrois Lantern placed off-centered on the table bringing a mood of calm in the flourish of greenery on and around the dining table.
We absolutely fell in love with the floating floral chandelier, it is seemingly simple but with an elegance of technique that years of working with colors brings out in an array of unsettled wild beauty. The floating chandelier with an overgrowth of nature accentuates the center of the table elegantly. Sarah’s choice of colors is impeccable as the floating chandelier absolutely makes the room. We cannot emphasize enough how much we loved this living fauna arrangement of true-blue eucalyptus, pampas grass, silver dollar eucalyptus, burgundy tinted silver dollars, banksia, and agonis. The colors mesh well with the subtle burgundy and the soft green with the peaking brushes of beige from the pampas grass. Every single detail was picked meticulously and curated by her florist, Luis Enricas from Santanas Farms, who created this magnificent arrangement for Sarah specifically for the designer series. Also, it smelled heavenly!
For more interior design inspiration check out Sarah Joy's website here: sarahjoyinteriordesign.com and Instagram: @Sarah_Joy__
Link to her Blog: https://www.sarahjoyinteriordesign.com/blog/styling-session-with-mor-furniture-in-san-diego