Erin Sander, owner of Erin Sander Design (erinsanderdesign.com), breathes new life into her clients’ homes by offering a fresh take on everything from classic kitchens to WFH spaces.
Dallas-based Erin Sander founded her design firm in 2009. PHOTO COURTESY OF ERIN SANDER
What has business been like this past year, and how have you changed your approach to clients to accommodate new wants or needs?
Because of the pandemic and the uncertainty of 2020, we did have to find local and U.S.-based vendors that could offer custom work with practical shipping capabilities. Vendors such as Urban Electric for lighting and McGuire bar stools offered beautiful, custom work with production timelines that fit our projects’ needs.
Are you working on anything special and exciting right now?
We’ve recently signed on an incredible influx of second and vacation home designs. We’re really enjoying the opportunity to help design and furnish our clients’ dream vacation lake houses and ranches across Texas, as well as other parts of the country. It’s a pleasure to work with a client on several different projects as we really get to know them, and pull our design inspiration from their personality and lifestyles.
What design trends are you loving right now?
We are loving the evolution of the ‘New White Kitchen.’ One of our most recent kitchens takes inspiration from the fresh Santa Barbara modern style, while mixing in texture and warmth of Southern hospitality. White kitchens are always classic, but bringing warm, neutral woods and lots of texture to the mix really creates a dynamic, new take on a white kitchen.
What are your must-have home staples?
We love a very highly styled and unique powder bath; it’s a great way to express personality and whimsy while tying into the home’s overall style. Also, we are never without gorgeous hand soap and luxurious embroidered guest towels.
Who or what inspires you when you are working on a new project?
Our approach to design is not prescriptive but tailored and inspired by our clients’ visions and lifestyles. It’s critical for us to know our clients intimately and allow their personal style to breathe inspiration into our approach to the project’s design. We [put] importance [on] each meeting with our clients to best learn their style, desires and needs for their homes.
How do you think this past year and the pandemic have evolved interior design, and do you think these things will stick?
We all experienced a great amount of time in our homes last year. We have found that our clients’ needs for purposeful space in their homes became a priority—working-from-home spaces, homeschool space, a new appreciation for games and in-home entertainment. We are currently installing a custom grass-cloth poker table for a client. People are finding niches in their home that were previously just for aesthetics, but are now new and multiuse spaces.
Photography by: Erin Sander
