PBP Picks
Designer in Residence
If you really want to make a house a home,
you've first got to get to know your clients.
Sam Sacks explains.
Sam Sacks designs the kind of homes you want to live in–and never leave. They’re stylish but comfortable, thought-out but never fussy. They're that marriage of form and function that feels approachable instead of esoteric. Here, the Toronto-based interior designer discusses her unlikely career path, that dance she does with clients, and the need for sustainably-made products in a modern home.
Photographs by Lauren Miller
How’d you get your start in design?
I was an editor at a major Canadian interiors magazine, but also an artist, struggling with the 9-to-5 of a desk job. After a decade
interviewing all of my design heroes, learning their processes, what worked and what they wished they’d done differently, I decided it was my turn.
How does being an editor and a designer intersect?
With both, you’re telling a story. That’s the big thing. The other day, I was
talking to this huge designer, who does houses for people in Hollywood, and
his clients will call him and say, “I just can’t believe my house, I can’t
believe I get to wake up here every day. You made this for me.” And that’s why
I love residential—the people who live there, you get to know them, you build
this story around them. It’s massive what you’re creating—a brick- and-mortar
story of their life.
If you had to describe your style in one sentence…
Loose, comfortable, cool. I’m chasing the "I woke up like this" of design.
Name a building, home or hotel (that’s not yours) that totally inspires
you.
Every Riad in Morocco, every house by Bobby McAlpine.
How do you give a client what they want, while still imparting your
POV?
My goal is always to get to know my clients—who they are, who their children
are, how they live, where their passions lie. And then to reflect back to them
the coolest versions of themselves as seen through my lens.
How do you introduce heritage-craft products into a modern space?
Handmade pieces with tactile interest are essential in bringing life to minimalism. It’s the unevenness of the organic,
the unpredictability of nature that connects us to our humanity.
How do you make sure you don’t overdo it?
I think it’s instinct and guts—finding that one thing that makes your
stomach flip. There’s this light fixture basket on your site. And it’s
amazing. I’ve had my eye on it. But if you stack too many things around it, it
would take away from it.
What are some challenges of sourcing sustainably-made goods?
Without visiting the artisans themselves, it’s so challenging to vet
suppliers.
What are some successes?
I have a great rug supplier in Marrakech—she’s a Moroccan-Canadian, and she
knows what I’m looking for and is able to WhatsApp me almost instantly with
options.
If I weren’t a designer, I’d be…
A writer.
Or a painter.
Or a photographer.
Sam's Picks
Sourcing her favorite products from PBP
If I weren’t a designer, I’d be…
A writer.
Or a painter.
Or a photographer.
