Welcome back to our Expert Q+A Series! This time, we’re chatting with Brooklyn-based interior designer Sarah Fleischer, founder and principal designer of SRF Interiors, about bold design choices, unexpected inspiration, and the art of creating a home that’s just as functional as it is fabulous.
Photo courtesy of Kirsten Francis
Since launching SRF Interiors in 2020, Sarah has built a distinctive approach to residential interiors and select boutique commercial projects, blending classic design with a fresh, modern perspective. With a background working alongside esteemed AD100 interior designers and training from the Academy of Art and FIT, she brings both technical expertise and a distinctly personal point of view to her work. Think bright, balanced spaces, playful patterns, and interiors full of character that feel every bit as good to live in as they look.
We’re diving into Sarah’s design process, the trends she’s loving (and the ones she’d happily leave behind), and why bringing a professional organizer into the conversation from the very beginning can make all the difference. Because when great design meets thoughtful organization, the result is a home that looks incredible and works beautifully for everyday life.
Missed our previous Expert Q+As? Catch up on our conversations with Matt Fiore of West Side Movers and luxury personal stylist Paul Fishman!
Jolin: I’m so excited to be sitting down with you, Sarah! We’re going to talk all things interior design, home organization, and your work with the Brooklyn Designer Showhouse. Let’s get into it!
Photo courtesy of Kirsten Francis
How would you describe your design philosophy? What are your favorite kinds of spaces to design?
Sarah: I love color and pattern and textures. I love designing spaces that feel happy when you walk in. Most of my clients are young families with kids and dogs. I like to design in a way that’s practical and functional for them but also beautiful. I want them to feel proud when they walk in the door.
Jolin: This city has inspiration literally pouring out of everything.
What do you find inspiring in the city? What are your favorite things to pull from?
Sarah: Everywhere. I literally am always taking pictures of random parts of buildings as inspiration or different color combinations I see out in the wild, like a door with some brick or somebody’s shutters. I love to go to museums and art fairs. Now I take my kids with me, which is sometimes good and sometimes not as inspiring, but we do our best. I feel like I’m just constantly taking things in.
Jolin: So with design, sometimes people who don’t have an eye for it can go a little overboard. I know you love color and texture and you love going big and bold.
How do you find that balance and help your clients find that balance between maximalism and just doing a little bit too much?
Sarah: I love color and pattern. I love mixing things that might not normally go together, but I like to do it with a bit of restraint. I want your home to feel done, but I also want you to feel like it can grow and evolve with you. If you go to a flea market and you find some piece of art that you love or you get a new vase, I want you to feel like you have places to put those and not everything is so over the top done that you can’t add to it and change things and move things around.
What design trends are you loving right now and what could you deal with never seeing again?
Photo courtesy of Kirsten Francis
Sarah: I love that there has been a return to using color–rich browns, jewel tones. I’m so tired of gray. I’m just not the designer for that. I mean I can do it, I would rather not. It’s just so sad. I want the colors and textiles to have depth and dimension, and gray is just cold, you know? I love a gray outfit, but I don’t want to design a gray room.
What I could do without is when the design industry sticks to one word every once in a while and right now it’s “a touch of whimsy”. And while I do design with a bit of whimsy, a little bit of irreverence and playfulness, if I hear that again…I’m gonna be ill. Like, do we have to call it something? Can we just do good design?
Jolin: I am so lucky and so thankful to have worked with so many of your clients, they are just the best. We absolutely love coming into a space when you have put your amazing touches on it.
When do you think in the process is the best time for clients to start working with an organizer?
Sarah: It depends on the type of project and the undertaking but generally speaking, as soon as possible. We would love to have you guys on board starting from the very beginning and designing storage into a renovation. You are so much better at assessing the amount of stuff a client has and where it needs to go.
Jolin: It’s such a different thing.
Sarah: It’s a totally different brainpower.
Sarah: With other projects, where it's purely design and decor, and not necessarily an overhaul, it depends on how much stuff a client has. [Certain] projects I come in, and I’m like, you have to get this stuff under control before we can really design around it and know what you need. I like to be practical and forward-thinking when I’m working with clients, especially with kids. I don’t want to design a built-in for them and then have them spend all this money on it and then not have it fit the stuff. Or have so much stuff they don’t know what to do with. That’s not my wheelhouse and it’s very emotional so I like to bring you guys on for those clients. Because once they start to do their organizing and clearing out they can kind of see- this is what we’re working with.
From your perspective as a designer, do you think that having an organizer in the process earlier can actually influence how the space turns out?
Sarah: 100%. I think that people are very attached to their stuff, and living in New York City, there’s not a lot of room. So I think that process of figuring out what’s important to a client versus what needs to be put away, but in a way that they can find and access [is essential]. It makes my job easier to work with you guys because we can really design around their needs and make sure that we’re designing a space they can evolve and grow into and not- all of the sudden- they’re out of room to put their stuff.
From your design perspective, what do you wish homeowners understood more about beautiful design and good organization and the symbiosis between the two?
Sarah: I think a lot of people don't understand that it does take a different brain type. I have worked with clients in the past that I think expected that I would be able to help with the organizational side of it. And that this is not my wheelhouse, I have people I work with who are amazing and who see this stuff in such a different way than I do.
I think what’s nice about it now is I can say “I've personally worked with this organizer, I know firsthand how life-changing it is.” You start with a closet of kids' clothes that you’re emotionally attached to and I couldn’t see past the stuff, but I knew it was impacting my everyday life. I hated opening that closet. So to have your team come in and totally change where everything was and to be able to say firsthand that this was life-changing and worth the investment, it just frees up so much brain space to focus on other things.
Jolin: That’s huge! The brain space of not needing to consider “where is that thing? Where is the thing that goes with that thing?” To just feeling “oh, here’s the thing! Great.” Now you can do what you wanted to do.
Sarah: Yes. And something I tell clients when I’m telling them to work with an organizer is that the relationship is very important. It’s so intimate. You have to find someone you are comfortable with, that you are able to talk to honestly because I’ve had experiences in the past where it wasn’t the right fit and you end up with a system that is organized, but it’s not going to stay that way because the organizer didn’t listen to how you really live your life. So that’s another thing I want to share is to be honest with your organizer; don’t be embarrassed; they want to see how you really live.
Jolin: We’re a pseudo-therapist.
Sarah: Exactly!
Lightning round!
Jolin: Color you will never get tired of.
Sarah: Pale pink
Jolin: Vintage or brand new?
Sarah: Vintage.
Jolin: Always. Bold wallpaper or bold upholstery?
Sarah: Both, in different rooms.
Jolin: Cheat! One thing every single home should have?
Sarah: Personality.
Jolin: Ah! Great answer. Dream room to design?
Sarah: I love a living room. Everybody uses it. It's gotta be comfortable and practical but also beautiful.
Jolin: Personal design guilty pleasure?
Sarah: I mean, I love to buy magazines. They’re so expensive but so worth it.
Jolin: Your most controversial design opinion.
Sarah: I don’t love color drenching a room. I think it takes a very specific architecture and not every room is meant to be color drenched.
Jolin: How obsessed are you with Sage Organization and Design?
Sarah: So obsessed.
A heartfelt thank you to Sarah for sharing her perspective and reminding us that the best homes balance beauty, functionality, and personality. We love collaborating with talented designers like Sarah to bring our clients’ visions to life. When interior design and professional organization work hand in hand, the result is a home that feels cohesive, intentional, and beautifully suited to everyday life.
If you’re looking for an interior designer who brings the perfect balance of color, creativity, and personality to a space, be sure to explore Sarah’s work at www.srfinteriors.com. You can also see her design vision come to life at this year’s 2026 Brooklyn Designer Showhouse!
Stay tuned for our next Expert Q+A, where we’ll sit down with two of California Closets’ top designers to discuss the art of creating beautifully tailored, high-end closet spaces—and why pairing custom closet design with professional home organization is the ultimate combination for a space that’s as stunning as it is functional.
Learn more about Sage Organization and Designs custom services here!