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Q&A with designer Anne Hagerty
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Our Designer Network is a group of trailblazers and icons that Sunset and sister publications Coastal Living and Southern Living work with to curate the best home designs for the magazines.
This week, we feature interior designer Anne Hagerty.
Sunset: How would you describe your style?
AH: Clean, understated and classic.
Sunset: What’s a design trend you’re loving right now?
AH: I am loving the absence of upper cabinets in kitchens. I love kitchen with lots of light and a big island. Skipping on the upper cabinets makes the kitchen feel more like a room and less like a utilitarian space. A room is instantly lighter without cabinets hanging on the walls. We recently renovated a kitchen in a historic Savannah home. We added windows, raised the ceiling and skipped on the standard upper cabinets, opting for floor to ceiling built-in storage on one wall.
Sunset: What’s your #1 piece of design advice for homeowners?
AH: Don’t get too caught up in trends. Design for you and for a home you can live with for a long time.
Sunset: What are your (beach, mountain, lake, farm) house essentials?
AH: Beach house: outdoor shower. Mountain house : Cowhide rugs, and not necessarily on the floor. They can be on a sofa, or foot of a bed. Lake: Porches, porches, porches. You can never have enough porch space, for dining, entertaining, lounging or celebrating. I love a well-decorated porch; treat it like the interior of your home and you will use it just as much as your living room. Farm: Natural materials and fabrics. Rustic floors, hardware that will patina with time, and linen ticking striped fabric in every room.
Sunset: What’s your go-to statement-making front door paint color?
AH: I love a navy front door. I like Hale Navy (Benjamin Moore) and Midnight Navy (Benjamin Moore). But, really, any shade of blue will do.
Sunset: Favorite places to shop?
AH: In Savannah, my friend Paula’s store, Paris Market is full of wonderful finds.I can never stop by New York without visiting ABC Carpet and Home (and dining there).I love smaller boutique fabrics and wall paper brands. I’m loving Sanderson, Harlequin and Zoffany right now.
Sunset: Favorite designers/tastemakers/etc. to follow on Instagram?
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Sunset: When it comes to (beach house) kitchens, what’s your preference: Island or peninsula?
AH: I love an island – especially a rustic one with plenty of seating. Breaking it off of the countertops makes it more like a piece of furniture. It can be versatile – a prep space, dining table, buffet.