Sarah instantly fell in love with the timeless shape, reliable quality, and beautiful brass finish of our products. She knew she wanted something slender and classic that felt cohesive with traditional paneled doors. As each room is renovated and each door replaced, the hardware will also be updated throughout the house. She looks forward to swapping more faux brass levers from the ’90s for pieces from the gorgeous Carre Collection.

On Room for Tuesday, Sarah shares tips and tricks she has learned about choosing and installing door hardware. She feels the terminology and function of modern-day hardware can throw people off. In her blog, Sarah breaks down some of the more complicated aspects of door hardware, such as determining function and backset size, into plain and simple English for non-designers.

As seen on the blog, many of Sarah’s design aesthetics are inspired by travel and nature. While she says it’s hard to pinpoint her design style, she considers it a mix of traditional, vintage, and eclectic- but in a modernized way. She enjoys incorporating multiple elements of varying aesthetics into her home. If she sees something she likes, she goes for it!

Sarah typically begins a design project with a jumping-off point -whether that’s a great piece of furniture, a fixture, a paint color, or a textile. She enjoys the challenge of designing a space around a single item or starting point. Once that is determined, Sarah gathers cohesive elements to create physical and digital mood boards to ensure everything works together. She then begins the ordering process, and once everything has arrived, it’s time to demo and renovate!

Sarah and Emmet are tackling their current home renovation room by room. She says overall, it is a gratifying process; however, there are spaces in each home that have proven more difficult than others. Their first home’s mudroom was challenging because of an exterior entry door and an existing staircase they had to work around. Their second home’s kitchen was tricky because they had limited square footage to include an additional dining or eating area.

Their current home’s guest bathroom was tough to design because it was very segmented. There were three rooms with doors inside a larger room – a water closet for the toilet, a room specifically for the shower, and a room for the sink and vanity. Sarah had the challenge of designing a functional space with a floor plan that had a better flow and fewer doors. This renovation took around three months to complete and was the most physically demanding renovation they have tackled.

For Sarah and Emmet, choosing which house to buy and renovate is heavily based on location and what the house needs. They base their renovating decisions on what will increase the value of the home and build a return on investment. Aesthetic consideration and knowing what other homes in the area are selling for factor into the budgeting process as well. Since she is a traditionalist at heart, moving from their previous mid modern rambler to a gorgeous traditional brick home was such a treat for Sarah.

When asked to share advice for readers who wish to take on a large project, Sarah says organization and planning are essential. Make sure you have all of your plans solidified (design plan, lighting plan, floor plan, etc.), as well as all of the products on hand before diving in. For smaller projects, she believes in the power of paint and swapping accessories or textiles. Those inexpensive changes can make a lasting impact in terms of aesthetics. Unlike large scale projects, pick a starting point and commit. Grab the paint and start rolling!

Sarah started Room for Tuesday as a way for family members and friends to follow along with her first renovation. It began as her much-needed creative outlet, and that remains true. Room for Tuesday has really turned into a resource filled with information and inspiration in regards to home interiors, renovating, and design. It’s a place to uncover new ideas, discover new resources, follow tutorials for projects you might be intimidated by, and have real-life design discussions. She loves the community and friends the blog has attracted- it’s a realistic and honest view into the day-to-day of home renovation, design, and life, in general.

Be sure to follow along with Sarah and Emmet as they continue to update their home. They are currently renovating the basement bathroom. In addition to the blog, the couple loves being able to give back to the community. They’ve tackled projects for deserving friends and gave their local Humane Society a much-needed makeover last year- something they’re hoping to do more of in the coming year! As always, Sarah wants to keep teaching and sharing via blog posts, in hopes of remaining a dependable design resource.