Celebrating her 2024 HAVAN Awards win as Interior Designer of the Year, Sarah Gallop, of Sarah Gallop Design Inc shares her approach to designing award-winning homes. Tune in. This episode is a winner!
Listen to “Ep 66: Interior Designer of the Year” on Spreaker.
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Co-Host, Mike Freedman, AI Technology & Design
Production: Rami Films
Distributed by Black Press Media: Today in BC.
About the Speaker
Sarah Gallop, Sarah Gallop Design Inc
As the founder of SGDI, Sarah has an unwavering passion for Interior Design. From a young age, it was evident that she would need to create; she designed her first house at the age of twelve and never looked back.
After working her way through Marketing and Business Management at Kwantlen University College she found her way to Art Direction at Vancouver Film School. She loved creating for movies, but felt somewhat disheartened when her creations were dismantled after filming was complete. She knew she needed a more permanent backdrop for her designs and went on to study Interior Design at the British Columbia Institute of Technology. She had come full circle and realized that this was ‘it’ for her. She won an award upon graduation and dove right into the design world.
Sarah started her career in Commercial Design, but quickly remembered her true love was in designing homes. She loves working with homeowners and uncovering things that will truly make their spaces unique. She is experienced in designing custom spaces of any size, from 1000 sqft to over 15,000 sqft. She has designed many homes in all reaches of the Vancouver/Lower Mainland area, but has also designed homes across Canada, the USA, and Asia.
Over the years Sarah has designed many award-winning spaces and continues to do so with her team at SGDI. Since 2009 the team has won many CHBABC Georgie Awards, GHVBA Ovation Awards, IDIBC Shine Awards, and NKBABC Awards.
Sarah has been a regular contributing writer for Black Press and Glacier Media and a featured columnist for Westcoast Homes + Design magazine. She has presented on the Main Stage at the BC Home + Garden Show and the Vancouver Fall Home Show. Sarah has also appeared on Global TV, CTV, and CBC Radio.
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Check out photos of the award-winning project California Dream!
Here's the Full Transcript of this Episode
MTCO #67 TRANSCRIPT
JL: Mike, great to be back for another episode of HAVAN’s Podcast, Measure Twice, Cut Once.
0:07
Mike: Always love being here. I always have a great time in the studio and I’m really, really excited about today’s episode because not only are we going to have a phenomenal conversation with one of the leaders in this business, but we have a returning guest from season one, one of our OG guests, in fact, and I’m so thrilled about some of the things we’re going to be talking about today.
0:24
JL: Yeah, she was here for episode seven, and now we’re way into the 60s. So, we probably should have had her back sooner. I thought she was, but we’re happy to have you now. It’s Sarah Gallop, and she’s the director of design for Sarah Gallop Design Inc. And you were here for our very first season, which was during that time, the COVID time, where a lot of people don’t. I think a lot of us forgot about it, but I’ll come back. We don’t have so much space in between us this time.
0:54
Sarah: No, we’re so much closer than last time. It’s awesome to be back and see you guys again.
0:58
Mike: Well, we’re glad you’re here. And I mean, I think anybody who is familiar with your work will be excited to see this episode too. And those who aren’t will be excited once they get to know you a little bit better. And, you know, we’ve had such a great chance to get to know you and your team over the last couple years and that’s been amazing but to me the most amazing thing that I saw was this year at the HAVAN Awards. We’re going to talk a little bit more about that and the fact that every couple moments you seem to be on the stage again which is wonderful. Congratulations. Do you want to talk a little about that? What did all those awards mean to you at the HAVAN Awards this year including Designer of the Year?
Sarah: Yeah, we had an awesome year at the awards this year and I feel like it’s I mean it’s such a great event for one. So, we just love to go and celebrate with our team and with other members in the industry like builders and you guys and people that we see all the time. So, the night itself is fun regardless of the outcome. It’s always nice to take something home. I think it’s really a morale booster for our team. I think they get excited to celebrate the projects that they’ve spent so much time, you know, where we spend, I guess as a group so much time working on. So, it’s nice to see that other people like them too.
We’re always proud of them, but it’s nice to see that everybody likes them.
2:06
JL: And you’re fun people to party with. I always have you on the red carpet and your team is so supportive. They’re all standing there cheering you on when I interview you and I love it. It’s great energy.
2:16
JL: But did you always, I love to go back, did you always want to be an interior designer?
2:21
Sarah: No, I didn’t. I didn’t know it was a job to be totally honest. Like when I started, when I graduated from high school, which is a really long, really long time ago, it wasn’t as out there as it is now. It wasn’t mainstream back then. I was thinking more about architecture actually at the time or real estate or something. Looking back on it, it’s very related, but it took me four years probably to kind of figure out that it was a thing that I could actually do for a living. So, I’m very happy that I did find it, but it was yeah It wasn’t automatic at the time and now look at you now winning lots of awards You’ve had your company for how long now? It’s 15 years.
- 2
2:58
JL: Congratulations, and you guys just changed offices to you got a beautiful new location and Nice heritage building you guys renovated made look beautiful, so it’s lovely to see your growth from Where you were even we met you last time to where you are now and obviously seeing the products that you’re putting out and the homes that you’re creating have been inspiring.
3:20
Sarah: Our office is very much a labor of love and that was something that I didn’t actually, it was a pipe dream I suppose at one point in time and something that I wasn’t sure was ever going to actually come to life because I wanted a heritage home that we could convert but it had to be in an area that they would allow that sort of use. So yeah, it was very cool to actually be able to make it happen.
JL: 3:40
That is neat because I remember back in the day, I think there were more of them, when I would used to go with my dad to the different architect’s office or interior designer, they would be in these old heritage homes. And it just gave such a design field of like, oh, that’s where they all, I think that’s probably what I thought all their offices looked at, and that I was very disappointed when I went into just regular ones with fluorescent lighting.
3:59
Sarah: Yeah, it’s a cool vibe. A lot of our clients really like the experience there. It’s very cozy. It feels like home. It’s inviting. Even if they’re building a modern home, I think that a lot of people still appreciate those houses. So yeah, it’s a super cool and our team loves the environment to work in.
4:14
JL: And I think that’s why you have a lot of clients that flock towards you guys, because you’ve got that warm family feeling, and your office reflects that. I’m excited. I’ve heard actually a lot about your office from people, especially in the Tsawwassen area. So, I’m going to have to come check out because your sign’s still up at another place and I thought that’s where your office was.
4:31
Sarah: Well, our office was there for 10 years, but yes, it is still there, which is a little strange, but that’s fine. But yeah, no, we’re in the new location in Ladner Village now.
4:39
Yeah. And again, I think just your vibe of your team, vibe of your office, that’s why you guys are successful. And let’s see that you are a finalist in best kitchen renovation $100,000 to under a hundred and fifty thousand, best new custom kitchen under $175,000, best universal design home new or renovated, and best outdoor living space new or renovated. You’re just finalist in those categories. And then of course you took home Designer of the Year and best custom home of three million and over. So that’s a lot. Congratulations. I feel like you guys are so deserved. But really, what does it take to win awards like those? How do you have award-winning projects? Give us the secrets.
5:26
Sarah: I don’t know if I have secrets. I mean, the awards are not the end goal for us. That’s just like icing on the cake, right? So, we do our projects based on what our clients are wanting, and that’s the main goal, obviously, is to give them the space that they want, give them the function that they want, the look that they want, all those things.
5:43
Sarah: And I mean as far as the difference between that just being satisfying for them and the thing that kind of makes it into an award-winning project I think is change sometimes like the creativity and the space planning I think makes a big difference in how things are laid out and also things that are different like the award-winning projects are typically different. They’re not the thing that you’ve seen a hundred times over. So it’s nice to kind of have the flexibility with our clients that they’re open to us being a bit more creative and showing them things that are different that, you know, we haven’t done, they haven’t done, they haven’t seen, which is sometimes hard, you know, sometimes hard to make that leap, but it’s usually worth it.
6:20
Mike: I got some great insight over the last couple of years. We’ve had the privilege of working on a couple of projects that you guys have designed. And every time we went in to meet with your team, the amount of detail they went through was spectacular. And the part that really impressed me was how closely your team works with the builders on a very detailed level. It’s not just a handoff and see you later. And I think that contributes greatly to the success that leads to winning those awards is that process. And obviously the people as well. Say I was starting a project – what’s the starting point for me if I want to create that caliber project for myself with a team like yours? How do we start working together on something like that, knowing the end results we all want?
6:54
Sarah: I think, I mean, I’m obviously biased on this, but I feel like having the architectural and integrated or integrated with the interior design is really important because when we do the space planning or the house design for these projects, I’m thinking about the interior design details when I’m thinking about the space design. So, it’s a lot more natural and kind of more thought through with that integrated process. So, I think that that’s a really key piece of success with those. It’s possible to get that with just the interior design part and somebody else doing the architectural. We did it on California Dream. Somebody else did the architectural for that project. But I find that there’s a bit more massaging that’s needed. We end up having to, sort of, okay, well, this is a space we’ve got. How can we now accomplish the client’s goals in the space, but also work within the space we’ve got? How can we modify it to make these things work? There tends to be totally honest, Upward was the builder for the California Dream Project, and they were awesome with keeping us involved. And it is so key with the success of the project, because things will always come up during the build. Always, no matter what. New construction, renovations, there’s always things. And as much as we detail everything out in advance, like you’re referencing, we have to be able to adapt to site conditions. And in order to accomplish the goals that we’re ultimately going for, it’s like we need to be involved to massage all those things as we’re going along, or it’s just a builder or a sub-trade will make a decision that doesn’t understand the overall intention of the project and what the client’s goals are. And it’s not the right decision, unfortunately. So, it’s important that we’re involved during the construction phase.
8:44
Yeah, there’s always fun surprises.
8:46
Always, something.
8:47
Mike: I like to go positive, put a positive spin on it. Can you paint the picture of California Dream? I want to just sing every time I hear that, like the California Dreaming song. And paint it for the audience. What type of project was it? Obviously, I already meant the great builders that you have on it, Upward Construction, but yeah, what was it and were there, like, tell us some of the challenges. What were some of those fun surprises?
9:09
Sarah: Yes, well, that project, so we did the interiors only for that project. And the project was during COVID. So, we were designing like 2020, 2021 sort of situation, which was challenging. Our clients were also based in California at that time. So remote clients at a point where traveling was more challenging. So that was interesting. Not something that I had experienced so much at the time, just trying to figure out a way because our process, as much as there’s lots that we do.
9:39
Sarah: Independent of the clients and we can certainly do lots of I assume and things the materials is such a critical piece to do in person. like we want clients to touch and feel and you know really get a feel for all of that stuff before they’re committing to it, so that was probably the most from a design process perspective. That was probably the hardest piece for that project.
9:56
JL: I have a question that’s totally unrelated to the design process. And I know right now, because you already answered why this was called California Dream, but every time there’s a project that you win, you’ve given it a different name. How the heck do you come up with all these cool names for the projects you’re doing?
Sarah: Well, I was going to say, is it because the clients were from California? Yeah, that one was super simple, but I mean we tend to, we don’t take ourselves super seriously. I think you guys know me well enough at this point to know that.
10:27
We’ve known you for a long time.
10:28
Sarah: Yeah, exactly. So, we’re not super serious. So, we try to find fun names. So, there are Seinfeld quotes, there are song names, but there’s that, but there’s also usually some sort of tie-in to the project as well. So, for that one, obviously the clients were from California. We were going for a bit of a boho, kind of chill vibe, feels a little California. So that one kind of made sense for that. But yeah, we have all kinds of fun, crazy names for our projects.
10:55
Mike: Well, I want to talk a little bit more about design trends and I want to talk about design. But before we do that, we’d love to talk about how wonderful our sponsors are. So, we’re going to take just a quick two-minute break. We’re going to thank our sponsors and we’re going to come back and we’re going to start to dig deep in some of the trends, what you’re seeing, what we’re expecting to see, and what we should be thinking about as we move forward.
11:16
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12:34
Mike: Well, welcome back. And funny, we’re talking about Trail Appliances. You’ve actually designed a lot of their locations, which is kind of a nice tie-in for all this. One of the questions I always ask whenever I meet an artist is, what makes you create that art? Whenever I meet a musician, what made you write that song? I have zero sense of style or design, so I always ask every designer, how do you figure the stuff out that you figure out? And specifically, where I want to go with that is this. By the time I’ve seen something cool in a magazine, it’s already gone. So how do you and the rest of your community figure out what’s going to be the next big thing to stay ahead of the newest design trends?
13:08
Sarah: I think it’s hard. I think it’s hard for homeowners. I was thinking about that even on the drive over here that it’s true, by the time you see the magazine, we’ve done it probably a hundred times because design happens so far in advance of construction, photography, and everything else. I think for me and for our team, it’s like we look for inspiration in lots of different things and it comes different on every project. So, we look for that and we’re also, we get tired of things really easily. And by the time we’ve done it a hundred times, the things, again, you’re seeing in the magazine, it’s like we’re kind of tired of them by then because we’ve been working on them for so long. So, we’re always looking for something new. And I think it just is a sort of a natural thing that happens when it’s like, okay, well, there was a period of time where everybody was doing cool grays. And now it’s like, well, we’re kind of rebelling against that and we want things that are warmer. There was a very long period of time where people were doing white and no color and just super stark. And it’s like, now I feel like we’re rebelling against those things because we’re so tired of them and we want to see personality and colour. And I think that there’s a lot more kind of natural elements and influences happening with design in general. So, lots of plants, lots of green, lots of woods, lots of natural materials, stones, things like that. You know, the farmhouse thing has been done a lot too over the last number of years and that, you know, I wouldn’t be sad if I didn’t have to do that same white farmhouse 10, 12, 15, 20 more times. It’s nice to have a different spin on them. We’ve actually got one project right now that we’re doing that is a super cute little white farmhouse, but there’s color inside. There’s personality inside, so it’s different. And as creative people, we’re not generally wanting to do the same thing over and over and over again. Like, we want things to be different.
So even if a client comes to us with one of our past projects and they say, okay, I really love this project that you did and I want to do that like, okay Well, let’s make your version of that like I we don’t that’s their version of that you know, we customize things so much to people’s personality and their lifestyle and their families and everything that’s not necessarily the right solution for them. Anyway, I could really love it if people stop doing white kitchens I have a white kitchen and my brother designed it and it’s his place but I was like I hate cleaning those cupboards so I would be and that that’s the next thing I want to stop it’s like people don’t think about functionality and future proofing because it’s like people don’t realize like yeah I have these awesome shiny white cabinets but they are awful to clean and you can see all the fingerprints and so when people are looking at Pinterest or magazines and stuff they’ll probably bring it to you. How do you tell them to, like, that might not be great to grow up your family because like Mike’s got a lot of dogs and he’s got a lot of children.
15:45
JL: And, and he, well, a lot of, to me, a lot of children’s free, but a lot of, more than you, more than me.
15:50
Mike: To me, it’s a lot as well for what it’s worth.
15:53
JL: But you want to be like, if you were to design Mike’s home now, they want it to last. And it’s like, how do you have that beautiful look that a lot of people want, like with light flooring, but you got to have the right light flooring because dogs are going to scratch it and things like that.
16:06
Sarah: Yeah, I mean, I think that part of that is really understanding who’s going to be living there and understanding the clients because it’s not going to look magazine perfect if that is your family. And nobody wants to spend all that money and take all that time and effort into something and then in six months, you’re like, this looks terrible, and I shouldn’t have done this. So, part of that’s around understanding the end user. I also think the other part of that is just education and talking through those things like, okay, yes, if we do that, are you okay with this? Or if we do this, have you thought about this? And quite often it’s, oh, no, I actually didn’t think about that. And how can I get there close to there? Or should we look at different profiles of cabinets? Should we look at different finishes? For flooring, for example, a lot of our clients anyway have pets and children, and everybody wants the wood floors. Wood floors, it’s not a matter of if it scratches, it’s when. When it scratches, it is a natural product. So, then you look at different finishes and different wood grains and different species to mitigate what you’re seeing. So, it’s still happening, you’re just not seeing it as much.
17:13
Mike: Yeah, one thing a design magazine doesn’t show you is that if you put white cabinets in your kitchen, you got three black labs, you will have black cabinets in your kitchen.
17:20
Does that leave that stripe?
17:22
Mike: Yeah, well, it goes up to, yeah. And then the other half is from the teenager, but anyway.
17:25
Sarah: It’s not even to do with just having a family, like even people that live on their own or they’re a couple, they don’t realize until they start doing things of like sometimes dark floors, if you have a lot of sunlight that comes in, they bleach from the sun, you can see everything on the floor.
17:40
Mike: It’s like having a black car, right?
17:42
Sarah: Yeah, so again, you just talk through those things, because I’ve had clients that have requested that, and I’m like, okay, well, are you aware of this? Have you thought about this? How do you clean? Are you interested in swiffering your floor twice a day?
17:51
Sarah: Like, those are the types of things you would need to do to have this look like this all the time. Are you good with that? No. Then sure, by all means, go for it, right? If you’re not good with it, then that’s not the right choice for you. So, then you start looking at, okay, well, how else can you achieve a certain look with different things?
18:03
Mike: Well, you’ve underscored the value of working with professionals, right? Because you know far more about this than I ever will. Yes, I watch HGTV on the weekends, but that doesn’t necessarily make me an expert. So, the question I have is, look, if you’re designing a house for me, it’s going to be radically different than a house you’re going to design for Jennifer. But there’s certain universal design principles that you sort of bring into play commonly with every design that you do and things that we at home thinking about like projects we want to start should be thinking about before you even talk to someone like you?
Sarah: Yeah, there probably are I would say that maybe they’re more subconscious than conscious things, but you know I tend to think about utilization of space first and whether it’s a really modern space or a really traditional space the functionality of it could be very similar. So, when we start with those building blocks and then we work towards, okay, well then, we start thinking about colours and materials and lighting and all these other elements, but the functionality has got to work first. So that’s the piece I always go back to. It’s like, if it doesn’t work, I don’t care how beautiful it is.
19:05
Sarah: It doesn’t work. I’ve seen things in magazines and I’m just like, the washer and dryer doors are backwards. Like, that sucks. You’re going to have them banging all the time. It’s like beautiful doesn’t work, right? So, we’ve got to accomplish those things first and then get into the pretty stuff.
19:20
I love the time you’re not just designing for your current client too. The client, this is an asset for them. Maybe they want to eventually resell it. So, it’s got to be able to also function not just for your family but be appealing to many other families that want to purchase it or you’re going to be left with something that nobody wants to buy.
19:36
Sarah: Yeah, it’s totally true. I mean flexibility in design I think is something that we do think about quite often which is just okay for you you’re going to use a space like this but it could also be a den, it could also be an extra bedroom, it could also be a whatever, right? A playroom, like there’s lots of different functionalities. So you think about okay well a younger family might want it like this, your kids are older so you’re going to use it like this or I have clients that will come to us and their kids are maybe like you know two, four and six or something like that and they’re talking about building a house, which is a long process for those of us who know that. It takes a long time. It’s like those kids are not going to be 2, 4, and 6 by the time you’re moving into that house. They’re going to be 4, 6, and 8. Then a couple of years past that, they’re going to be preteen teens. You have to think about how it works now and also how it’s going to morph with you as your family changes over time. You guys are probably seeing that too.
20:23
It’s like a lot of that is multi-generational living we’re seeing now. It’s like, okay, well, right now, the 40-something couple are going to be in the house with their young kids, and maybe there’s a suite for the parents. And at some point in time, the parents are probably not there anymore, and maybe the kids are at that point in university, and they’re in there. And then that age group grows up, and they have a family, and maybe the original 40-couple goes in the suite, and then the younger family. They have a cycle, right? And so, it’s important to kind of look at the longevity of that and how that all works at different stages of life.
20:53
Or the grandparents get put in the lane house.
20:55
Yeah.
20:56
Interesting tie-in actually, because you talked about longevity and about how we’re going to go through changes in our lives. So, for me, talking about building a house right now, the reality is, is that in 15 years, I’m going to qualify for a Canada pension.
21:12
So, what that really means, I know it’s scary, but… You’re too young. I’ll get a discount at Denny’s in a few more years too. Life goals. But like, okay, certain things that might change for me. My mobility, hopefully not.
21:28
My eyesight, my hearing. So how do you design a home that will grow and change with the occupants and any future occupants as well, so that we can, we don’t like to use the term aging in place anymore, but that anyone can live in that home. How do we design a place where that is applicable now and in the future as our lives change?
21:50
Sarah: Well, I think that that kind of comes back to like being more universal with the design and having something that again, is easily adaptable or just straight up is designed that way from the beginning and it works for lots of different functions. Because there’s not a lot of people that I talk to who are building a house that are interested in renovating a house in five or 10 years. Like they’ve just gone through the effort of building the house, right? So having the conversations and having the conversations or even just again, like our team will just implement things that are great for later that you don’t even have to think about now. It’s not negative now, but it’s a great positive for down the road. And that’s the kind of stuff that we want to put in as we’re moving through. And again, like we think about things like even doorway widths. It’s like it’s a lot harder to put a wider door in later than it is to just plan it straight up. And it’s lovely to have a wider door now. Like there’s nothing wrong with it. It’s easy to move your bed in and out, you know, when you’ve got that space or things like that. But in new homes, definitely like wider hallways, wider doors. You know, we tend to look at elevators on most projects to be totally honest and whether they’re going to put one in right now or it’s just roughed in for later, and we’re stacking some closets It’s like again when you’re doing the house design.
22:58
JL: It’s easy to plan that stuff in it is really hard to put that in after it’s always better to plan and What are some new things that you’re planning right now for homes or past projects? I want to know some really unique or amazing features that you’re putting in. And again, I’m making you choose, but…
23:16
Sarah: Yeah, it’s hard. Well, I mean, the project that I am excited about right now…farmhouses. Well, I like the one that has color in it. Because again, we’ve actually got one, that particular one has like, it’s like a teal and soft green and wood kitchen. Like super fun. And again, it just, it seems appropriate.
23:34
Like I think about an actual working farm with a white kitchen is like, it’s going to be dusty and gross with all that dust coming off the field. Like, that’s the thing, right? So, we’ve got a couple of projects that the clients are very open to using color, so that’s fun. We’ve got a couple of projects where, actually quite a few projects, where the clients are very open to kind of whatever we want to suggest, which is terribly exciting for our team. And I find sometimes I do need some boundaries because ideas are endless, and you can go crazy with stuff like that.
24:10
Sarah: Yeah, I just I think I love diversity like I like to do things that are different So if it hasn’t been done yet and somebody wants to do it like I’m all for it And it’s like we will figure out a way to make it like the absolute best that it can be.
JL: I love it I can’t wait for you to design my house, but in the meantime, can you get my brother to change those white cabinets? I’m sure you can figure that out.
24:32
Mike: There you go. So, Sarah, we talk a lot about building a team and obviously we’ve worked together on some projects through some great builders and always appreciate the collaboration. Can you talk to about some of the opportunities for collaboration and sort of what we should be looking for as homeowners when we’re talking to people to put together a team and how those teams might work with each other. Because I, as a homeowner, not knowing this industry, might say, hey, I’ve heard amazing things about you because of all those awards. And I found this other builder I want to work with. If you’ve never worked with them, how do you create synergy and work together as a team to collaborate for the best interest of a homeowner like myself?
25:06
Sarah: Communication, straight up just communication.
I think that when both parties are really open to working together and the collaboration. And ultimately, we all have the same end goal, and I would hope we all have the same end goal in mind, where it’s like we want the client to have the best house that they can have at a price that they’re willing to pay for it with the function and the aesthetic and everything that they want. So, I think an introduction there really works well. But I think that as a homeowner, asking each of the professionals, you’re thinking about using the questions of how do you work with other people? Even in forms of communications, some builders we’ve worked with in the past, they don’t do emails at all.
JL: What?
Sarah: Yeah, it’s a thing.
JL: A little fax machine or whatever you’re doing.
25:50
Sarah: No, you phone them.
25:51
Mike: A cat or a pigeon?
I don’t know. Pigeon, pigeon, pigeon
25:54
Sarah: You phone them.
You phone them and if you can’t get them, you just have to phone them back.
26:00
Old school.
26:01
Sarah: Yeah, some builders we’ve worked with have been very old school. And I think that you know expectation needs to be really set from the beginning on okay Well, this is how this is what how we work and this is what we do and this is what we produce this is how We can help you and same thing on others. Okay. Well, this is how we do things Okay. Well, how does that mesh with you know our process and how does that mesh with how late they like to get information? And all those things I think just setting that expectation at the beginning is really helpful and there are you know, there are people that are not the right fit to work together. And there’s projects that we have not taken because we’re just like, this is not going to be a good outcome for anybody.
26:35
So, we should just, maybe you should try something else that is better suited. Again, we’re here to help. Ultimately, I think designers are here to help and work with the builders, not against. So, if we talk and we problem solve together and then go back to the client with solutions, I think that ultimately that’s going to get the best end product.
26:53
No, it’s better because you don’t want to have a project that all of a sudden, it’s like someone’s gone and changed something critical and then all of a sudden, the furniture can’t get into the bedroom.
27:01
Sarah: Yeah, I mean things do change on site and again like when we’re involved we can anticipate some of those other parts of the conversations that you know possibly the build team is not aware that you know it’s like oh they want to have this you know giant round fluffy couch or whatever it might be in this space. And therefore, that dimension was really critical and losing three inches off of that was a huge impact. And, you know, when you’re thinking about a larger room, maybe three inches is like, oh, it’s three inches. You won’t notice it. It’s like, well, if this no longer fits, it does matter.
27:30
Then it’s going to be like the scene from Friends where they’re like trying to move the couch.
27:34
Pivot!
27:35
That’d be the name for your next house project.
27:40
Pivot!
27:41
Sarah: Maybe!
27:42
Mike: I’m trying to think of a name for my project. Pivot! Yeah, exactly. Well, it’s better than Operation Thunderhawk, which is what I was working with.
27:50
Mike: Thunderhawk.
27:51
Pretty good.
27:52
I like that one.
27:53
That’s a winner.
27:54
Mike: Yeah. Well, it will be if you design it for me.
27:57
Sarah: I’m game.
27:58
There you go. And I’m bringing nothing to this table except some podcasting. Inspiration. Inspiration, there you go.
28:04
Mike: As always, it’s been a great conversation. You know, it’s really hard to have this much information in such a short period of time, but you’ve been great at giving it to us. I mean, we talked about all the awards that you and your team win and the process that goes into them, and that’s been really great. We’ve talked about what it takes to create an award-winning design project. We’ve talked about trends, and we’ve talked about assembling your team. And I think that’s been the biggest thing, is about the expectations about how to work with different people within your team. Because any of us who are involved in any project are just a small part of a bigger thing, and we all have to work together, and we all should want to work together and collaborate to the best interest of our clients. So, we really appreciate your candor and sharing all that.
28:49
And I know you’ve given us so many tips, especially I love it, don’t have a generic farmhouse was one of them. But if you do, paint it in nice colors inside.
28:58
There we go.
28:58
Do something fun with it.
28:59
JL: Do something fun with it, but do you have another piece of wisdom to leave us before we go?
29:04
Sarah: I would say that the most important piece would just be take your time. Don’t rush it, don’t rush the planning, don’t rush the construction. I mean, it shouldn’t go on forever, obviously. They need to move at a reasonable pace, but it’s something that for a lot of people, I would say for the majority of people, you’re doing this maybe once or twice in your lifetime. You’re not doing it 15, 20 times.
29:27
Unless that’s your hobby.
29:28
Yeah, well, it’s the same for most people though, right? So yeah, there are some people who are addicted and certainly will do it all the time. But for most people, it is a big investment, as you said. It’s your home, potentially, and I think that a lot of people intend to stay in their homes for a certain length of time. And I don’t know, I sort of think on this on a higher level. It’s like, well, what is a week? What is a month? What is really even a year in the grand scheme of your life to get it right? Like, I would just highly encourage people to get it right.
29:56
JL: Because like you said, you don’t want someone, and I’ve seen this happen many times later on or even in homes that we lived in, it’s like five years later, you’re like, oh, I want to change this thing. I don’t like this. Wow.
30:05
Sarah: Well, it’s really funny. I was chatting with somebody in my office yesterday and we have some photographs of past projects up on our wall and they’re just like, oh, that one’s so beautiful. I’m like, that was 15 years ago. And I’m like, it still looks good. And there is timelessness that’s really important in design and thinking about, like trends are great to acknowledge, but it’s not necessarily the thing that you want to follow. I think you do the things that are right for you.
30:26
But doing things that are timeless, I think, is really good, too.
30:29
The big question for you before we go, though, because you see so many beautiful places, do you constantly want to change your own home?
30:35
I do. I have many times. The home that we’re in now, we moved into in 2020, and we have renovated it twice since. Quite significantly. I don’t, you know what, I have a problem. I’m constantly looking for things and again, ideas are endless, right? So, I look at real estate listings probably almost every day and I’m like, ooh, what can we do with that? Ooh, that’s cool. I hope someone who buys that calls us. Because I just, yeah, I have a problem.
31:09
And your husband’s probably like, stop.
31:10
Sarah: He’s just like, stop, what are you doing? But it’s true like there’s just the possibilities are endless.
31:17
JL: Again, I grew up as a father builder, and I don’t think our home was never not in a state of renovation so that’s what happens when you marry a professional in the construction industry now the results speak for themselves and you know the one thing that we can’t learn in this industry is passion. You either have it or you don’t. And you clearly have it and it’s evident in the jobs you create, it’s evident in the team you’ve created, and I’ve seen your house, which I love by the way.
Mike: Does it have a barbecue though? You know what? It should have a barbecue. Hey, what if we could get you a barbecue? Well, here’s the deal. What a great chance to talk about barbecues. I think Jennifer sent me up. Maybe. Yeah, it’s been a great conversation. And you know, one of my favorite things to do every episode is give someone the chance to win a beautiful barbecue. If you would like, cause you’re watching this or listening to this at home, and you’ve just listened to this great conversation, you’re thinking, I want to win a barbecue. Here’s how you do it.
32:20
First of all, you like or share this episode. Tell your family, tell your friends, tell your social media network, and then you have a chance to win a Napoleon Prestige P500 stainless steel natural gas barbecue valet at $1,600, compliments of our awesome podcast partners FortisBC.
32:38
Details are available at www.HAVAN.ca/measuretwicecutonce .
32:41
JL: There you go. Mike, we’ll set your new barbecue up for you, Sarah.
32:45
Sarah: I actually don’t have a barbecue.
32:46
JL: Do you really? Oh no. Mike has got to tell him.
32:49
Mike: Okay, we’re going to have to talk.
32:52
Sarah: I know. I know why you don’t have a barbecue. I know, it’s a whole side conversation. We do have a barbecue sitting in our garage if we were going to install it again.
33:03
Mike: So, I can teach you how to smoke vegan stuff and vegetarian stuff that will be delicious.
33:09
JL: You can still barbecue. And as a side result, Rob will have something to do all day Saturday other than something productive.
33:16
There you go.
33:18
JL: We’ll hold that for Mike’s next visit to Sarah’s. And for notes and links to everything mentioned in today’s episode, including resources shared by Sarah, go to www.HAVAN.ca/measuretwice.cutonce . Thank you to Trail Appliances, FortisBC, BC Housing, Rami Films, J-Pod Creations, and AI Technology and Design. It takes a team to build a home. It also takes a team to build a podcast. Thank you so much for joining us. See you next week.
REEL: 18:40 – 19:01
“I tend to think about functionality first… the functionality needs to work first.
