We're excited to welcome interior designer Sara Hillery to the show! Based in Richmond, Virginia, Sara’s firm blends function with one-of-a-kind decorative pieces to create story-driven rooms. Named a "Next Wave Designer" by House Beautiful and featured in Veranda and The Wall Street Journal, Sara joins Caroline and Liz to demystify "transitional" design and share her spirited approach to holiday decorating.
Sara explains how she balances antiques with clean lines to create timeless spaces, her method for editing a room like an onion, and how she reinvents her holiday decorating theme every single year. She also shares her secret for keeping Christmas trees alive and her favorite way to spark conversation at dinner parties.
Quick Decorating Takeaways:
Peel the Onion: When defining your style, pin up everything you love on a board, then "peel back the layers of the onion" by removing items until you reach a harmonious balance of favorite pieces.
Create a "Thread" Between Rooms: You don't need to paint every room the same color, but rooms should have equal "tonal weight" and a unifying thread (like a specific welt or texture) so you can move a chair from one room to another without it looking out of place.
Hydrate Your Holiday: To keep fresh greenery and trees from drying out, soak garlands in water overnight before hanging them, and add a little Miracle-Gro to your Christmas tree water to keep it fresh and prevent needle drop.
What You’ll Hear on This Episode:
00:00 Introduction to the How to Decorate Podcast
01:00 Sara’s background and defining "Transitional Design"
04:00 The art of mixing clean upholstery lines with antiques
07:00 The "Onion" method: How to edit a room and find your style
11:00 Using monochromatic palettes to play with texture and scale
14:00 Connecting open floor plans without matching every room
19:00 The story behind the "Hot Pink Chairs" and lacquered ceiling
22:00 Holiday Decorating: Why Sara changes her theme every year
27:00 Using ribbon and Christmas cards on the mantle
30:00 This year's theme: Pineapples and a nod to Bermuda
36:00 Hosting tips: Pre-planned questions and dinner party quizzes
44:00 Tips for fresh greenery and using Miracle-Gro on the tree
49:00 Closing notes & where to find Sara
Also Mentioned:
Sara Hillery Interior Design | Website
Follow Sara on Instagram: @sarahilleryinteriordesign
Maymont House (Victorian Christmas Inspiration)
Shop Ballard Designs
Please send in your questions so we can answer them on our next episode! And of course, subscribe to the podcast in Apple Podcasts so you never miss an episode. You can always check back here to see new episodes, but if you subscribe, it’ll automatically download to your phone.
Happy Decorating!
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