Meet Sara Brennan: A designer with queen energy
She turned her blue-collar world into building a business around creativity.
The Craft
Sara Brennan is the founder of Sara Lynn Brennan Interiors, a Charlotte-based interior design studio specializing in luxury family living. Her approach combines beautiful spaces with the realities of everyday life.
The Spark
Sara grew up in a small town in Pennsylvania, where interior design wasn't exactly on the list of career options. In fact, she went to college for pre-med.
Her school had an interior design program, but she couldn't imagine what those students did all day. Doctors saved lives. What did interior designers do? Pick pillows?
It wasn't until after college, while decorating her first home, that things started to click.
Someone told her that her style reminded them of Pottery Barn.
One problem. She'd never heard of Pottery Barn.
So she went to the mall, walked inside, and immediately thought:
"These are my people."
From there, Sara became a student of design, spending hours on Pinterest studying rooms and asking herself one question:
"I like this, but why do I like it?"
The Jump
What started as decorating her own home eventually turned into floral arrangements for friends and family.
Then came decorating projects. Then bigger projects.
And before she knew it, Sara had built a design business without ever formally studying design.
She wasn't worried about breaking design rules because she hadn't learned them in the first place. She trusted her instincts, followed what she loved, and let her curiosity lead the way.
But as the projects grew, so did the complexity.
A good eye could only take her so far. Someone still needed to draw the plans, take measurements, source materials, manage orders, and make sure the beautiful ideas actually worked in real life.
So Sara started building a team around the skills she didn't have.
"I want the freedom to think about how a space should feel."
The Now
Today, Sara leads a growing design studio alongside All Things Home, a retail store and showroom where customers bring their own measurements and shop unique items, furnishings, and fabrics.
She's also developing the SLB Design House, a unique showroom where clients can experience the team's work firsthand. P.S. You'll want to follow her to stay up to date on the opening.
Her signature style? Something she once tried to trademark as Romantic Transitional.
But Sara's real specialty is what she calls luxury family living.
Beautiful enough for a magazine. Durable enough for real life.
The Workshop
What’s a big misconception?
- Being a talented designer and running a successful design business required two very different skill sets.
- "Creative people need to understand that what they do is still a business."
What are you still trying to Master?
- Parenting a teenager. Managing self-doubt. Learning to trust herself.
- "Overall, I'm just trying to become a better person every day."
What advice would you give your younger self?
- In eighth grade, Sara was the only girl in her architecture class. She loved it, but didn't feel like she belonged.
- Looking back, she wishes someone had encouraged her to pursue it.
- "We have what we call a 'queen mentality' here. It’s about stepping into your queen energy instead of princess energy."
How much of the craft is talent vs. work?
- Technique, form, and process can all be taught. But passion has to come from somewhere deeper.
- "You won't make it through all the learning required if you don't have the passion to begin with."