SARA E. BRANDON, a resident of Litchfield County Connecticut, has a doctorate in anthropology and began as a professor of at Savannah College of Art and Design. She has one child, whose birth led her from anthropology to designing jewelry and selling vintage archival jewelry. Her pieces adorned the pages of Harper's Bazaar, CR, Vogue, has been worn by celebrities, on the runway, shown during fashion week in both London and NYC. Her formal background includes an undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame and master's degree from the University of Chicago as well as a doctorate in Visual anthropology from the University of Campinas, Brazil. In 2019, she undertook the extensive restoration & addition of an architect designed, Marcel Breuer style vintage home in Washington, Connecticut. This home taught her what excellent design really means, and made her fall in love with the process whole heartedly.  Intimately learning by living and restoring this architecturally significant space, allowed her to study the architect's use of light, direction, space, and materials. Creating the concept for the addition and merging it with mid century design was a special experience. From that architectural interior design experience, she took on designing and building a new Japanese/ Scandinavian inspired home for her family from bare land. During this process she researched old farm designs, barns, as well in order to merge concepts about living in nature. Together with a Scandinavian/US based prefabricated home company, she was able to create her current home based on her designs. Shortly she began meeting perspective interior design clients, with like minded aesthetics attracted to the homes that she has both restored and built. Sara credits her anthropology background with broadening her interior design aesthetic:

​

"As an anthropologist one is trained to strip away their own values. While this is almost impossible, it does help me step back and see the client and their home clearly. Having a doctorate in anthropology means I spent years doing research, both historical in nature and ethnographic. Since interiors are about humans and the cultures they reside in, conducting interviews and researching these topics has helped me understand the story of spaces and the people that frequent them.  

 

I observe and interpret how to use the space for a client's life and needs. I have a wider base of inspiration to draw from due to my study of other cultures, religions, symbols, photos, and fashion. I cannot begin to summarize how important this unique lens is to my design process. I often seek out unloved structures to renovate. I am attracted to mid-century and architectural furniture as well as worn, earthy pieces."

​

Having recreationally hunted at estates sales and auctions with her father, since she was a child, Sara has an extensive knowledge of mid-century and various period pieces of art and vintage furniture. Her specialties include homes that embraces their natural surroundings, historic colonial homes, the challenges of city apartment designs and diverse budgets. Her experience includes full restorations, historic home interiors, updates on existing homes, as well as modern spaces.  

​