As the director of trend and design for the Home Depot, Sarah Fishburne travels the world for inspiration. An Atlanta native and a graduate of UGA’s furnishings and interiors program, she works on everything from plants to paint colors, both designing proprietary brands and selecting from national labels. Color is one of her specialties, and she directs vendors’ labs to fine-tune seasonal hues. Here, Fishburne shares her thoughts on simple updates for spring.
Obsessed with Succulents and edible herb gardens. They’re not expensive, so if you do goof it up, it’s just a few dollars.
Color forecast Corals, peaches and blushes, pistachios and mints, all kind of anchored with creams and grays. Plus black and white—geometric with pops of color.
New product We just launched five Brown Jordan collections. It’s top-of-the-line luxury patio furniture that you can normally find only at specialty stores.
Shopping I love Peridot West and, for antiques, Queen of Hearts in Alpharetta. I go to Nadeau all the time.
Inspiration Everything. It could be old bridges in Paris for a paint palette. From the verdigris of the metal to the aging limestone.
Local artists I buy all emerging artists. I love Michelle Armas. Eileen Power. Casey Matthews—she’s down at Fernandina Beach but shows here. Gregg Irby gallery is where I buy my art.
Hair and nails My hairstylist is Heather Matthews Jones—she’s at Mosaic in Buckhead. I have her scheduled like six months out. And I go to Glamour Nails—like everyone in Buckhead.
Skin With all the travel I do—and you can imagine, airplanes are not good for the skin—I get a facial every five weeks. I go to EPO.
Color strategy You can really commit or just dip your toe in. You can paint your whole dining room blood orange, or you can just put some poppies on the table.
Reuse I don’t throw anything away before I try to paint or refurbish it.
Outdoor updates Redo your flower beds. Repurpose your planters. Paint ’em, glaze ’em, dip ’em. Use pavers to create a patio terrace. Hang lanterns.
This article originally appeared in our April 2014 issue.
