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Photographs by Jeff Johnson
Sarah Schultz Living Room
Sarah Schultz’s collection of wooden spindles on the mantel mingle with artists’ pieces in the living room, including ceramics on the wall shelf by Phil Docken, Amanda Dobbratz, and Sarah Logan. A long living room called for a creative arrangement—“a series of experiences,” designer Victoria Sass says—with the main conversation area defined by a 1930s Persian rug, an Italian sofa from ROAM, and a Barcelona daybed.
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Melba Price Painting
Sarah Schultz fell in love with her historic home in Lowry Hill for its craftsmanship, much like she does with the art and crafts she collects. “The house is extraordinarily well made and has incredible details,” says Schultz, who was named executive director of the American Craft Council one year ago.
Moving into the 1909 house was a homecoming of sorts. Just prior, Schultz and her husband, Jeffrey Sugerman, lived in New York City, where Schultz worked for the Friends of the High Line. But before that, Schultz spent more than 20 years at the Walker Art Center, including 14 years as director of education and curator of public practice. The couple lived in Lowry Hill then, not far from their current home.
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Sarah Schultz Kitchen
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Sarah Schultz Listening Lounge
Behind the sofa, a Falcon chair and Cado wall unit from Danish Teak Classics form the listening lounge. On the opposite side, a vintage bar cart joins a Melba Price painting and brooms by Hannah Beatrice Quinn. The glass globe light fixture is a striking contrast with traditional wainscotting in the dining room.
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Sarah Schultz Upstairs Bedroom
Upstairs, Sarah’s guest room doubles as her in-home studio. The custom desk, designed by Prospect Refuge and handmade by Marvin Freitas, has casters inset into the turned legs so Sarah can move it around the room as needed. Sarah found the Statue of Liberty poster on the ground next to the New York Public Library after the Women’s March in 2017. “I loved the energy of the image and thought that it must have been accidentally abandoned, so I gave it a new home.”
Transitioning from their Chelsea loft to the Tudor they have today meant some changes were in order. “We reached out to Victoria Sass [of Prospect Refuge Studio] to help us blend the different sensibilities and the art we had acquired over the past 10 years,” Schultz says.
Sass and her senior designer, Carrie Valentine, started with several core pieces Schultz wanted to keep, like the Danish modern wall shelf in the living room, which they augmented with new contemporary pieces and new-to-them classic midcentury furniture. “They host a lot of artists and have people from all over the country dropping in, so we wanted things to be comfortable, yet tailored for them and their guests,” Sass says.
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Jeffrey Sugerman and Sarah Schultz
Jeffrey Sugerman and Schultz (right) enjoy entertaining at home, where Sugerman typically plays chef.
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Sarah Schultz Kitchen
The kitchen serves as another gathering spot, where a counter-height table from Room & Board doubles as a prep island.
In the living room, the designers arranged furniture to divide the long space into several groupings. “Everything is low-slung, so you can still see all around, and pull up extra cushions to sit around the tables,” Valentine says. Walls and window trim were painted white “to feel like a gallery” and let the couple’s objects shine, Sass says. “We wanted to keep things simple so their art and their books and the things they brought into the space would tell the story.”
The easygoing spirit and refined vibe continues across the hall in the dining room, where a modern light fixture glows above the handcrafted cherry table made in upstate New York. “We love the intimacy of each room,” Schultz says. “There are moments that pop and moments that recede, and I love how they all work together.” In that way, the home is a life, collected.
Designers Victoria Sass and Carrie Valentine of Prospect Refuge Studio
Designers Victoria Sass (right) and Carrie Valentine (left) of Prospect Refuge Studio.
Designers Victoria Sass and Carrie Valentine of Prospect Refuge Studio share a few project pointers.
Where to start
“I have people show us their favorite object, and we use that as a guide,” says Victoria Sass. “In Sarah’s house, we took a lot of inspiration from her art and how it was made.”
Working with neutrals
“Every room feels better when there’s a light, medium, and a dark value. This home was pretty neutral, so the black accents help give dimension to the spaces where leathers and browns were the mid-tones, and the white walls were the light value,” says Carrie Valentine.
Not too serious
“You don’t have to live in a museum with only antiques and fine art for things to beautiful,” Valentine says. “We brought in low-slung bongo tables from CB2 to help offset some of the square shapes in the room. There’s a great casualness to them, paired with the classic Barcelona daybed and Sarah and Jeffrey’s art.”
Divide large rooms
“We created two break-out areas on either side of the main furniture grouping, and the daybed creates a fluid pivot so you can turn either way,” Sass says.
Check out 230 artists showcasing home décor, jewelry, clothing, furniture, and more at the 33rd annual American Craft Council show April 5–7 at the St. Paul RiverCentre, 174 Kellogg Blvd. W., St. Paul. Visit www.craftcouncil.org/stpaul for ticket information.
