Designing for a historic home presents a unique challenge: How do you honor original craftsmanship while making the space feel fresh, livable and functional? Interior designer Sarah Scales, Principal Designer of Sarah Scales Design Studio, has mastered this balance. “It’s about keeping the furniture clean-lined and not fussy,” Sarah says. “These homes already have a lot of intricate detail, so the furniture should feel effortless.”

She often chooses Room & Board furniture, saying, “The quality is really there. It’s reliable and the price point is friendly. And the ability to pick your own fabrics is really nice as a designer.” See how she worked our pieces into three beautifully restored East Coast homes.

In Concord, MA, a meticulous renovation including restoring original millwork, allow this home’s origins to shine. “The bones of it were so handsome,” Sarah says. “Our goal was to maintain as much as we could about the historic nature of the home while introducing a consistent, modern feel in each space.” To achieve the look, Sarah deliberately introduced modern silhouettes with clean lines in every room, ensuring a cohesive flow.

This Cape Cod home office needed modern functionality that respected its traditional structure. “I think the dark-stained cherry is a nice contrast that works well with the light fixture, drapery and hardware,” she shares. “And I love mixing woods. It makes a space feel less contrived.”

In this dining room, which doubles as a hallway, Sarah selected a blue grass cloth wallpaper and our Olsen chairs. She shares that some choices may not be obvious for a busy household, like using an ivory rug in a dining space with three boys and two dogs running around. “People worry about light rugs,” Sarah says. “But the nature of the fibers and charcoal lines in it actually disguises everything.”

Modern Design That Works for Real Life

In this elegant dining room, durability mattered just as much as design because a busy family uses the space. “The chairs are perfect and feel very European, but they’re so durable,” notes Sarah. “From an entertaining perspective, that leather finish is so easily wipeable.”

Sarah chose our Soren chairs in this light-filled space. “The backs of the chairs are just as important as the front,” she explains. “It’s one of my favorites and feels like one of those classic farm chairs reimagined, which is nice for a historic home.”

Working With Us

Sarah regularly brings clients to our store to see pieces in person before making selections. “They want to make sure that the furniture they’re investing in is sturdy so I’ll have people sit in it–kick the tires, so to speak–so they understand the quality,” she shares.

She also appreciates our online experience, like swatch requests and 360-degree views of products. “I primarily design from home. I can request samples and they arrive fast,” she says. “The tools that you have let me know what the fabric will look like in real time. And I can put a rendering into my client presentation.”

Photography by Jared Kuzia Photography unless otherwise noted.