Interior Designer Sarah Weiland

Sarah Weiland, owner of Tusk Home + Design in Westport, Ct., has reinvented herself more than once in her career. We talk to Sarah about how she came to design and we explore what for her are the ingredients to living well. Livewell will showcase its spring collection in Tusk, with an opening on Friday, May 11.

Have you ever reinvented yourself?

I have. Previous to becoming a designer in Connecticut, I was a Trauma Nurse in Kansas.

What was your path from Trauma Nurse to Interior Designer?

When I got married and moved to CT, I decided it was time to follow my dream. So I attended the Fairfield University Interior Design Program and obtained my residential and professional certificates in 2010. I launched my own design firm when I finished school.

When did you discover design?

I have always loved design. At nine, I convinced my parents to let me decorate my own room and bathroom. I painted the walls an eggplant purple and covered my bed with a forest green velvet bedspread with white trim. I took sponges into the bathroom and created a faux finish on the walls. That was my start.

How did it turn out?

I loved it! My parents weren’t thrilled with my faux finishing technique, but they lived with it for a long time, only repainting it a few years ago.

Do you have a signature design?

My personal taste is toward modern with an organic edge. I like designs that are natural and textural, with pops of color on neutral bases. But I design for my clients with the goal of making their homes what they want them to be, beyond their wildest imagination.  My design is a reflection of their taste, not mine. The joy in this is seeing the clients come alive with my end result. I show them the potential that their homes have to reflect what makes them happy. I especially love showing kids their new rooms. It’s super fun.

Did you reinvent yourself a second time when you became the owner of Tusk?

Opening a real estate space in 2017 was about affirming life, after nearly losing my own. A retail store had been in my 10-year design plan, and the owner of Parc Monceau in Westport, CT had approached me a few times about taking over her store, but the timing never seemed quite right.  So from 2011 until last year, Tusk was a design firm, and I was its sole owner. Then a minor knee surgery led to a pulmonary embolism. Rather than letting me crawl back into bed that fateful morning, my husband – a doctor – heard my labored breathing and rushed me to the ER. It was serious and I got lucky. With that, my whole outlook changed. If there was something that I wanted to do in my life, I had to go do it. You never know what tomorrow will bring. 

What are your main ingredients for a life well lived?

Balance – the balance of doing things that make me happy with the things that make my family, friends, and clients happy. I truly believe you must take care of yourself first to keep those around you fulfilled. If you are not filling your own bucket how can you fill the bucket of others?

What do you fill your bucket with?

Time with my three young children, dinner with friends, and family travel, plus a lot of exercise... Iron Man competitions with my husband, swimming, biking, running, cross-training, barre method, spinning. Exercise is a priority I won’t give up!

How would you finish this: LIVE ____.

Live Your Dreams

Are you a jewelry person?

Yes. I wear tons of it. Friends comment about how they never see me without my rings and my wrist stacks.

What are your favorite pieces in Livewell’s line?

I love The Morgan Cuff and how it can be worn every day. It has a touch of bling and anything in blush makes me swoon.

I also love the Brushed and Oxidized Nailhead Cuffs.  They’re industrial and edgy, as well as delicate and feminine. I layer them and wear them daily. And being in the building business, I love the nail design.

Also! The Halo rings – I love mixing metals and I love diamonds, put those two together and it is brilliant!

Are you living your dream?

That's what I'm doing.

Thank you, Sarah! xo Livewell