Designing Luxury Homes with Wellness in Mind | Sarah Walker of Nuance Interiors

Erika (00:01.122)
Hey everyone, welcome to the Real Estate Pro Show. I’m your host, Erika, and today I’m thrilled to be joined by Sarah Walker, the visionary behind Nuance Interior Design. Sarah, it’s awesome to have you here. I think our listeners are really going to be in for a treat today.

Sarah Walker (00:18.816)
Thanks so much for having me, I’m excited.

Erika (00:21.784)
So Sarah, let’s dive in. For those who may not be familiar with your world, excuse me, give us the rundown. How did you get started in the luxury interior design space and what sparked your passion for that?

Sarah Walker (00:37.34)
I grew up in Dubai. I was lucky to be born and raised there and travel extensively while I was growing up and spend time in Europe as well as coming back to the States. And so I’ve been surrounded by really inspiring homes, luxury materials, and just an incredible opportunity to see the way that different homes are designed throughout the world. One of the things that I was

interested in when I was 12 was I met an interior designer and she really helped me realize that I had some natural aptitudes for interior design and I’ve followed that path all the way through and in my career I’ve been able to work in the luxury residential sector for vacation homes as well as I spent seven years designing corporate stores for Nordstrom throughout the nation. So I’m very comfortable working with high end clients that are discerning

that are particular about the materials and the style of their homes, as well as just being exposed to a lot of global influences. And that’s really come together through my education and 20 years experience in the interior design world to shape my career to what it is today.

Erika (01:54.712)
Sarah, I was looking at your website and I could see how you seamlessly blend luxury and functionality. You that’s gotta be hard to kind of balance those two things. What’s been key to keeping your process so efficient? You’re dealing with builders or you know, like, and you have clients with big expectations.

Sarah Walker (02:16.598)
It’s really a juggling act because clients are attracted to how things look and my education and research and experience is really driven by how that’s going to function over the lifespan of that product and the lifespan of that home. We predominantly design forever homes, these legacy family compounds or…

vacation homes where multiple generations are gathering together. And so these homes need to be constructed with incredibly high quality materials that function how we expect them to function. And so there’s some materials that you can put on walls that you can’t put on floors and vice versa. And it’s really knowing how that specific material functions, how the room needs to function, and most importantly, how it’s going to feel. So what I like to do is I like to start with what is the function of this room?

kitchen. How do we want that kitchen to feel? Do we want it to feel like it’s cohesive with the rest of the living space? That it is open concept for entertaining and we have a second kitchen that’s more for the day-to-day cooking? And how do we want to use that space? But how do we want everyone to feel when they’re using it? And so it’s really an in-depth design study where we’re trying to find a solution to kind of that challenge. And we do

lot of analytical work, it’s not just picking pretty things, it’s an analysis of every room in the house and the occupants for the lifespan of that home that comes into play when we’re making those decisions.

Erika (03:51.918)
I love that. I kind of have an interesting question for you, Sarah. What’s like your process if someone hires you but they don’t really know what they want yet?

Sarah Walker (04:03.254)
Mm.

That’s actually the norm. would say most people come to us with a very loose idea. They’ve seen some inspiring photos in magazines or on Instagram and they say, you know, this is kind of the look I’m going for, but I want X, Y, and Z change so that it reflects more my personality. And we love that. We love it when clients come to us maybe with three to five photos and we get to build out their whole dream. And that’s where experienced interior designers really shine is because we’re

able to extrapolate from very little information what the whole house it could be you know 10 or 15 thousand square feet with you know dozens of bathrooms that need to be unique and beautiful and functional and dozens of bedrooms and a couple kitchens and how does that all flow

but feel custom, right? So they come to us, they might have a loose idea, and it’s our job to not only have their vision become reality, but push the envelope a little bit and say, you know, over in Europe, this is what’s going on with trends because they’re on average about five years ahead of us. And not that we’re following trends, but it’s important to understand where the design world is evolving.

So that we’re not designing trendy homes we’re designing timeless homes that are already when they’re built a little bit ahead of the curve. So that’s important when a client is nervous. I don’t have enough information I haven’t built out this whole vision board for every room in my house. Great. That’s what we’re that’s literally what we’re here for is to help you come up with what is the best solutions for you and your lifestyle. And it’s never about our style as a design studio is

Sarah Walker (05:53.352)
100 % about the client’s style and they just don’t know. They’re busy professionals. They don’t think about, what’s my house style? What sofa do I want? You know, they’re busy being professionals or traveling or they’re retired and enjoying, you know, kids and grandkids. They’re not designing a home. We’re here to be their partner for that.

Erika (06:14.422)
I love that. Sarah, we have a lot of investors that also listen to this. we might have people who are doing a high-end renovation or high-end new construction. What kind of advice would you give those investors?

Sarah Walker (06:33.11)
Really the thing that we’re seeing the most in luxury homes now is wellness as a sign of luxury. And so I would say for the last, you know, 10, 15 years and, you know, farther back than that, but people have been focused on the materials and the fixtures like the plumbing fixtures and light fixtures.

Having that be the be all end all for what luxury design is. And what I’m seeing is especially since the pandemic people want comfort. They want wellness. They’re really valuing their health more than ever at the higher end price points. And so infusing all of those features into the home from the design phase is what people are asking for more and more. And it’s not going to be a trend it’s actually going to be something that’s here to

that you think about people when they have all their wealth, the thing that they wish most for is health. And so in the luxury home, building that in, so that might be lighting that mimics circadian rhythm. So it’s, you know, softer in the morning, brighter at noon, and then warmer and more understated towards the evening. So it actually mimics your circadian rhythm throughout the day. Things like spa amenities. We’re doing a tremendous amount of steam showers with aromatherapy and chromatherapy.

And what that does is it helps with rejuvenation of at a cellular level as well as things like collagen and helping heal things that cause allergies, inflammation, all of those things. People are starting to understand the health benefits more and more and incorporating that into their home. Another feature that is being requested more and more often is the invisible tech. So hidden speakers, the

window treatments that open and close automatically. You don’t even have to push a button anymore. It can be set up where, you know, an hour after sunrise, they open an hour after sunset, they close. You can use voice commands, the thermostat, the security system, the music, it’s all seamless and it’s invisible now. So thinking about those features that are

Sarah Walker (08:53.398)
tailored to how people actually want to live and not just the things that they see.

Erika (09:00.632)
Those are really exciting things to put into a home. I do want to pivot because with all your experience, I’m sure you have a story. Was there ever a project that hit a snag or maybe a client completely changed their vision and you had the pivot? Do you have a story like that to share?

Sarah Walker (09:20.242)
Yes actually we have a home that we’re doing in Beaux Arts Bellevue area and it’s it’s about a 10 million dollar house about 8000 square feet on the water and the client originally came to us with probably 200 inspiration images that we needed to sift through and they were very Miami contemporary you know very flashy.

shiny materials everywhere, lacquered this and that. It was just a very kind of over the top vibe that they thought they wanted to kind of show to their friends that this was their forever home.

And when we started pulling those materials together and talking to them about how this would feel as a place to raise small children, as a place for kind of multi-generational aging parents coming and living with them in the ADU, and we talked about how they actually wanted the house to feel, they realized that this wasn’t the feeling that they wanted. They didn’t want a vibrant, loud place where the materials were very bright and

They actually wanted something much more understated and comforting. And so what we did is we pivoted and we completely reimagined what the interior of that house would look like more from a textural organic feel with materials. And we call that biophilic design where it actually mimics natural materials or includes natural materials from nature.

And so we did textured stone, everything was honed and understated, beautiful, rich colors. So we were still able to achieve that level of luxury and opulence, but in a more organic way. And that was an exciting journey to take the client on to realize, okay, you’re showing me these pictures, but you’re saying that you want this and how do we reconcile that?

Erika (11:23.948)
Yeah, what did that experience shape the way that you approach projects in the future and clients having their different expectations, or really in this case, changing expectations?

Sarah Walker (11:35.506)
Yeah, that’s well, part of our process is really in the first couple of weeks is to talk to them about how they want their home to actually feel. So we have a conceptual phase where we have a little questionnaire that they fill out about the functionality of the space. We look at the photos that they’ve brought to us for inspiration and then we really sit and interview them about.

How do you envision yourself over the next 50 years enjoying this home? And when we got talking about how they wanted it to feel.

It was very different from what they were showing me. we’ve actually learned to bring that up really week one and week two of the process because otherwise you get down that road of picking too many materials and designing the whole house and they realize, OK, yeah, this is what I asked for, but it’s not really what I want. And so so much of our pre work is designed to prevent that very thing of the mismatch of expectation and that disappointment. We really want these

clients to feel like they’ve arrived in a home that’s a reflection of who they are and how they want to live.

Erika (12:49.516)
I love that, Sarah. For our listeners who are newer in the luxury real estate space, building a network can be critical. Do you have any advice as far as that goes? Was there something that was a game changer for you with growing your own network?

Sarah Walker (13:06.742)
investing in marketing is huge. So one of the things that I’ve worked with with the high end builders or builders that are aspiring to be more high end or architects that are aspiring is to tell them the the value of investing in a design partner specifically because that is what clients interact with first. They they’re interacting with the materials and so often what I see is builders will

spend a lot on the land, on the home, and like the architectural design, and then they run out of money towards the end when they’re finishing out the interiors. And it ends up looking like every other luxury spec home on the market, or it’s…

not the high kind of quality materials that they’re aligned with the price that they’re asking for. And homeowners can tell. They can tell that it doesn’t feel quite right. It doesn’t feel quite high end enough. And even though the numbers pencil out on paper that you spent the money, it’s the finishes and the fixtures, the light fixtures, the plumbing fixtures that they’re actually using day to day and interacting with. And if you have to cut on the budget there, it really impacts your bottom line from a resale.

standpoint.

So investing in a designer, getting those drawings and the designs upfront so that you can budget accordingly is really key because then that leads to excellent photography that you can use for marketing. And once you’re able to market with high end collateral photos and you can you’re then in a pool with other people that are doing the same thing. So you’re you’re working with the high end designers and the architects and that just continues to open doors. But it’s really the portfolio. It’s the visual representation.

Sarah Walker (14:54.616)
of what you can do that matters. And so when we partner and we’re elevating the interiors, those builders and architects are now able to get published in magazines and in newspaper like the Seattle Times and get their work out there in front of the clients that they actually want to in the future for growing their business.

Erika (15:14.946)
That makes a lot of sense. Sarah, you had mentioned earlier how you yourself are in a competitive market. What kind of advice would you have for someone starting off who is also in the same situation in a competitive market?

Sarah Walker (15:30.772)
Really think about what you come with that’s different. So for example, my background of global travel, my background with my father being environmental biologist has led me to make my business a lot about sustainability and non-toxic products. having…

been in a couple, I was in a car accident and it really made me rethink about, how is it that you can live in place or age in place is what it’s commonly called, but really living in place with some kind of an injury and designing homes for longevity, no matter where people are, where their abilities or if there’s an injury, thinking kind of big picture, not just at a moment in time when people are young and healthy and building a home.

It could be that they have chronic pain. And so those wellness features really are something that we’ve differentiated ourselves with. So thinking about what it is, even if it’s not specifically related to your field, that maybe you have experience with, whether it’s from your family or…

other professions that maybe you had prior, opportunities that you’ve had that maybe don’t seem like they relate, but how can you make those relate? How can you leverage those assets to differentiate yourself in a competitive market? Because there’s no market nowadays that’s not saturated. It’s everything. So really differentiating yourself is key.

Erika (17:14.338)
That makes a lot of sense. What would you say is next on the horizon for nuanced interior design?

Sarah Walker (17:22.73)
We have a lot of, you know.

exciting things that we’re working on. would say one of the things we’re most excited about is we have a new construction project on Lake Washington right on the water and it’s going to be about 16 or 17 thousand square feet kind of in that 20 million dollar range. And so the opportunity to design that with the top 1 percent architects and builders in the area locally is is so wonderful for us. It’s going to

be a really great landmark piece and we just finished a family compound in Rancho Santa Fe, California that has a gorgeous equestrian barn that we designed and a couple houses on the property and we’re going to be photo shooting that in October for

So we’re excited to see where that takes us, but we love working in the luxury sector with those homeowners and builders and architects that really value what we do and the things that differentiate us.

Erika (18:29.73)
That’s really exciting. Sarah, before we wrap up, if someone wants to connect with you, maybe they’re a homeowner dreaming of their perfect sanctuary, a builder looking to collaborate. What’s the best way for them to reach you?

Sarah Walker (18:43.858)
Our website is nuance interiors dot com and we’d love to connect. We are always interested in new partnerships and we take 12 projects a year due to the large scale of how hands on and complex the projects are whether it’s a new build or a large scale renovation. And so we are.

open to collaborating and really helping change people’s lives. The other way is on Instagram at Nuance Interiors is our handle there. And we’d love to connect and give everyone a tour of our showroom that’s interested.

Erika (19:25.102)
Sarah, thank you so much for sharing your story and your insights. You’re not just designing homes, you’re elevating someone’s quality of life. It’s pretty awesome.

Sarah Walker (19:34.72)
Thank you. Yes, we love what we do. Thanks for having us.

Erika (19:39.01)
We’ve got more conversations on the Real Estate Pro Show coming up with top players in the real estate and design world. Check out Sarah’s work again at nuanceinteriors.com and we’ll see you on the next episode. Bye.