New Build Gets Classic Décor

Written by Meryl Schoenbaum

Photographed by Ellen Williams

Styled by Sarah Hardin

How to add character and charm to a newly built home.

Having your home built to your specifications doesn’t ensure that the interiors will have the character and ambience you envisioned. Sarah Hardin, owner and principal designer of Sarah Hardin Design, recalls the day she was contacted by new-build homeowners Angie and Cory Edmondson.

The sitting room was originally designed to be a breakfast room, but the couple thought it would be better to have a room to gather and watch TV. Sarah added a spice-colored trim to the existing chandelier to make it look more custom and the room more cozy to hang out together. Angie’s transferware plate collection decorates the back wall. The furnishings are all new.

“When Angie and Cory built their new semi-custom home in the Texas Hill Country, they worked closely with the builder but never felt fully heard. Though their new build was complete, the spaces lacked the warmth, charm and layered personality Angie had envisioned,” Sarah says. “That’s when she brought me in to help reimagine the interiors—not by starting over but by infusing the home with character that felt authentic to her and her family. Angie gravitates toward antiques, rich textiles, warm spicy tones and all things English, so although this home is on a golf course in the Texas Hill Country it could just as easily be found in the Cotswolds. As we started, the home began to take on the soul it was missing.”

The living room displays a mix of antiques and new furniture for a timeless feel.

The primary bedroom is anchored by a large antique carved armoire that Angie brought from a previous home.

The home, a traditional Texas Hill Country residence built in 2021, is 3,518 square feet, has four bedrooms and is located just outside of town in Kerrville.

The entry was designed to welcome guests with another of Angie’s favorite color schemes, blue and white, on the bench fabric and a repurposed temple jar. The jar is a whimsical touch that holds Angie’s collection of canes and walking sticks.

Sarah’s clients discussed their design preferences with her. “Angie knew she wanted to make this home warmer and cozier. She wanted help with enhancing or redecorating each space to make it truly feel like her. While they built the home, some of the design decisions were not reflective of her true style and desires for the space,” Sarah explains. “Angie loves all things British. Our goal was to give her Hill Country home a taste of England but also feel warm and inviting. We achieved this by using English antiques and art. I also think the English countryside aesthetic involves beautiful colors, textures, mixing textiles and repurposing items in interesting ways, mixing old with new, high with low and always being comfortable and inviting. When working with a new home, my goal is to breathe more life and visual interest into each room. I knew we needed to change the lighting, add wallpaper and layer furniture with warmth and patina. Each space lacked window treatments and rugs, which immediately make a new home feel pulled together.”

Designer’s Toolbox

Sarah discusses the key elements she added to the interiors as part of her design strategy. “Our goal was to give the new home charm and character befitting an older home,” she says. “Every room has custom hand-sewn window coverings. Some are just a good lined linen drapery with trim and some have lovely faded-look florals and patterns. Lighting is very important. We added some antique lighting and swapped out mirrors originally selected with the builder to be more interesting, like the faux tortoise mirror in one of the bathrooms. We used plenty of lamp light as well, even tucking some lamps in unexpected areas like the pantry. The custom-upholstered furniture styles are done in traditional shapes with a variety of pillows.”

“When working with a new home, my goal is to breathe more life and visual interest into each room.”

In the living room, Sarah designed the fireplace mantel and had the metal fireplace screen custom made by a local iron craftsman. The point of the mantel design was to have a clean rectangle mantel that would not compete with the ornate sconces above it.

In the kitchen, the Roman shades were made using the same fabric as the draperies in the sitting room across from the kitchen for a cohesive look. Sarah loves styling countertops using a grouping of small antique paintings to add warmth to a white kitchen.

This angle of the kitchen shows the glass-front cabinets that provide an opportunity to add color and warmth by displaying colorful elements on the shelves.

Sarah’s signature style is to create the look of a curated, collected décor. “The goal in most of my designs is for it to feel like it has come together over time,” she says. “Using a mix of textiles and trims in one area helps it have that English collected feel. We replaced some of the tile in the bathrooms and replaced the kitchen countertops with real honed marble. Using natural materials like marble makes a home just feel better. There is nothing like natural stone. People are afraid of marble, but when you go to Europe it is everywhere!”

Take a Tour

The home’s exterior styling was given careful consideration as well. “One of the first things Angie and I did was select new exterior paint,” Sarah says. “She also added Bevolo lanterns, my favorite for exterior lighting. On the back patio overlooking the golf course, we used a mixture of old and new patio furniture—no matching sets. Even the outdoor living area has the collected-over-time feel.”

Sarah added caneback chairs to Angie’s antique dining table to coordinate with the other antiques in the room. Sarah sourced the Federal mirror at an estate sale.

Sarah placed a small Oushak rug to make the laundry room look cozy as well as woven baskets and a stool to add more patina and texture.

Sarah wanted guests to be introduced to the home’s décor upon stepping inside. “The entry sets the tone for the rest of the home,” she says. “We had a custom Sister Parish rug made for the space. Angie found a beautiful antique settee that I recovered in a blue and green stripe. There is a container of walking sticks Angie has been collecting sitting next to the settee.”

The bar area features Sarah’s finds from the Round Top Antiques Show.

A small table adds charm to the kitchen with its scalloped base and gold moulding.

The kitchen is a prime example of Sarah’s creative thought process in adding charm and character to a living space. “We replaced the countertop, added colorful seat cushions to the barstools and a custom Roman shade,” she says. “The most fun thing we added to the kitchen is a gorgeous painted antique table we found at a local antiques store. I added it to the end of the island. This made the island seem to have age and patina even though the table is not attached. It is the right height to be an extra place to pull up a stool, but it can also work as an extra serving space. Next to the kitchen is the cutest little styled bar area. It is just a corner of the room, but with the antique highboy and curated art mixed with a little vintage antler mount, the little space really has its own moment. I found small English antique lamps that fit perfectly.”

The full-bath powder room received new lighting and a mirror, a painted vanity, marble floor and custom shower curtain.

The primary bedroom offers a serene retreat with a neutral palette.

The primary bedroom reflects the attention Sarah paid to the homeowner’s requests. “Angie wanted the primary bedroom to be soft and serene. She opted not to use her favorite spice colors in this area,” she says. “The warmth comes from a few key antiques, including a large carved antique armoire. I had a custom bed designed using a textured neutral check fabric. The bedding is all custom, in shades of soft blue and green. The trim on the white linen draperies speaks to the colors in the bedding. Everything in the room is soft and luxurious. The new armchair for Angie’s cozy reading corner is the softest silky white fabric.”

The guest TV room includes a gallery wall and an Americana ambience.

Sarah’s design idea for this guest room was to make it feel more special with a fabric panel attached to the back of the bed to add more layers and coordinate with the custom-made draperies.

No space was considered too small to be reimagined, therefore the laundry room also benefitted from a creative redesign. “The laundry room got a glow up with the perfect William Morris wallpaper that seemed to have been made for the paint and tile already in the room. It was an immediate transformation,” she says. “What could be more English than William Morris wallpaper?”

This guest bath was wallpapered in green and white and has a custom mirror with a frame that Sarah suggested Cory and Angie paint in green to align with the touches of green in the adjacent bedroom.

Another guest room features reupholstered antique wingback chair covered in Old World Weavers linen velvet in Milk Chocolate. The custom rug is by Elizabeth Eakins. Sarah designed the monogrammed pillow made by Monogram 29.

Sarah shares her advice on details you can add to give your new-build home a sense of story. “Use things you love and that speak to you,” she says. “Go to estate sales and find treasures that come with their own story. By using unique collected objects your home will feel so much more personal and interesting. Shopping at estate sales or online sites like Chairish give you the opportunity to afford instant collections.”

Perhaps the most important outcome of Sarah’s work was that the owner’s request to have her home reflect her personality and preferences was finally realized. “I love that when we finished our project Angie said it truly felt like her,” Sarah says. “My favorite thing is how many ‘moments’ you see throughout the house, special corners and vignettes created from the antiques and treasures we sourced. This project was fun for everyone involved. Angie and I built a sweet friendship through the time spent together. When your client trusts you and knows you have really listened to them, the whole process is smooth and enjoyable.”