Buy well. Buy slowly,” so said Rita Konig, A-list interiors queen and former boss of homeowner and interior designer, Sara Divsalar. Looking around the four-bedroom house in Ripley that Sara shares with her husband and two young sons, it is clear to see that she has mastered the art of “buying well”. A new build, the plot originally held one large house which was knocked down by a developer to create four unique homes.

“This is the only one of the four with a garden surrounded by the original brick wall,” says Sara. “There’s two sets of double doors and some longer windows in the kitchen and wherever you stand you can see the wall, which makes the garden feel almost enchanted. It brings a lot of character into the house.”

Looking on to the garden is an open plan kitchen, dining room and snug, decorated with classic pieces that work harmoniously with each other but also separate each space into their own little pocket. A set of eight coral and seaweed prints span the wall above the kitchen table creating a focal point and adding definition to the dining area. “Inside a modern house you don’t really get the nooks and crannies or shelves that you might get in an older house, so a set of prints like this can really help to divide the expanse of one large wall and make it a bit more interesting,” explains Sara.

The dining table, chairs and jute rug are all in soft, neutral tones that generate a calming and elegant space, elevated by a simple vase of flowers or a pop of colour as required by the changing seasons. Inviting Oka bar stools and cushions draw you towards the clean, uncomplicated kitchen island area. Sara specifically chose stools that are a bit taller and wider than your average bar stool – “I feel like a lot of the time people don’t necessarily sit at an island, but with these bigger chairs we always sit here and sometimes have lunch here because it’s more spacious and comfortable.”

Another advantage is that a cup of coffee or a glass of wine can be enjoyed under the hanging pendant lighting in (relative!) peace while the children play in the snug area. “I love that space – when you’re cooking in the kitchen and can look across and see the kids while you’re doing dinner, it’s so much nicer than having them in a separate room.”
The snug space is further divided from the rest of the room by panelling on the wall

and cleverly arranged furniture, including a rug from Zara Home, a forest green sofa and two chairs with the seats upholstered in a faux fur fabric. “In winter, even though it’s quite a big space, those chairs make it feel so cosy,” says Sara. The addition of a lamp adds to the intimacy of this corner, Sara explains, removing the need to use the slightly harsher spotlights which can be a bit overpowering. “I’m trying to add in as many lamps as I can – I think having smaller lights around the house makes the mood much warmer.”

Having moved in last August, the kitchen area is already beautifully appointed, but Sara is still on the lookout for the last remaining bits of furniture that they need and hopes to add in artwork and accessories over time (“buy slowly” – Tick).

Across the hallway, which is decorated with a pretty, understated pattern rug from Charlested Home, is a more formal living room – a grown-up zone where Sara can allow some slightly more expensive items and where there is (in theory!) no danger of felt-tips on the sofa!

The ornaments on the shelves are a collection gathered over time, each with a story attached to them. “The two speckled vases I bought from a farmers’ market in Farnham, from a lady who had handmade them, and the ceramic house was from a visit to my sister who lives in Shropshire. I love looking at them and thinking of those moments,” explains Sara. “I also love coffee table books, but I prefer to put them up high on a shelf – so often they have a beautiful spine to them which you can’t really see if they’re on a table, and it helps to draw the eye upwards.”

Alongside the ornaments are three large sweetie jars which add a fun, whimsical touch, and on the floor, a green patterned footstool from Oka which looks like the perfect place to rest tired legs after a long day! A green velvet chair from Soho Home under the window is one of Sara’s particular favourites and a soft-edged coffee table is both welcoming and safe for those occasions when little feet do make their way into this room.
Upstairs, the wallpaper in Sara’s youngest son’s bedroom was chosen before they even bought the house. “I was at Chelsea Design Centre a few years ago and they had just launched a Disney Home x Sanderson wallpaper collection.

I got a sample of the Mickey Mouse one and kept it, thinking if we ever moved house I would put it in my son’s room.” This is a room in the house where Sara feels like there is still plenty to do, specifically finding ways to soften the bulky furniture required for very small children (such as the cot and chest of drawers). A patterned rug and a round ball pit both help to achieve this, as well as two baskets (from Daylesford) repurposed as shelving on the wall, filled with soft toys. “Rather than everything being so flat, it’s much more fun to add in something 3-dimensional, especially in a kid’s room. I swap the toys round occasionally so he can see different things in there, it’s a really easy way to change up the space,” Sara explains.

In her elder son’s bedroom, they had a bunk bed purpose built to fit, with a small double bottom bunk and a single top bunk, leaving plenty of space around the bed for play. Sara had this painted in a soft grey from Neptune. The wallpaper (‘Macchine Volanti’ from Cole & Son) was selected to see the boys through to the teenage years. “I feel like it’s a little bit more grown up, and works for a child all the way up to a younger teenager,” says Sara, but it has another quality too. “I do especially enjoy that when you’re lying in the bunk bed, you feel like it’s a bit of a story when you look at the wall, especially from the top bunk. I love that it feels like you’re in the air with the hot air balloons.”

A spacious main bedroom houses a super king bed from Loaf, complemented by two ‘Witley’ bedside tables from D.I. Designs. “I had never ordered from Loaf before,” says Sara, “but the headboards are really, really thick which I loved and it adds a feeling of luxury – so often headboards can be very thin and flimsy.” Two lamps from Pooky with green, pleated shades and a throw and cushions from Oka bring together similar tones which align with a lot of the décor downstairs, creating a sense of flow that brings a harmonious feel to the whole house. “I love Pooky lamps because they are really fun and you can find the shades in nearly any colour. For now, I’ve focused on keeping things quite neutral but in time I can just change the cushions or the lampshades to make it a completely different room.”

On the top floor of the house, a spacious spare room bathes in natural light under two skylights, with two wooden bedside tables (gifted to Sara by Rita Konig, available to buy from The Lacquer Company) supporting stone effect lamps that add to the biophilic aesthetic. “The bedside tables had trays on them, but they were blue and it wasn’t working in there, so I took them off. The lamps were also given to us, but they were from abroad because the socket was different to a UK socket. That’s a nice story in itself I think, a little something that makes this room unique.”
Sara herself started out as an interior design assistant at a small company in Odiham, Hampshire when she was 18, straight out of college. By the time she left four years later she was taking on her own projects, including in the South of France.

Keen to gain more experience in London and challenge herself further, she started working for Rita Konig (daughter of luxury interior designer Nina Campbell, OBE). “I really enjoyed working for Rita – it was such a different style of interiors to where I had worked before where the focus was much more modern. Rita was very traditionally English, lots of patterns, lots of antiques which I’d never worked with before, so it really broadened my knowledge in those areas.”
After starting a family, Sara has now launched her own business, Divsalar Interiors, and has hit the ground running due to her numerous trade contacts.

Sara takes pride in her versatility and adapting to the requirements of each individual client but also adds her own personal touches to each project where possible, drawing inspiration from myriad sources, from design shows in Paris to Instagram. “If I am working on a house in London, I tend to make it more characterful. If it’s a house in the Cotswolds it will be more country and cosy. As I progress and take on more projects I would like to be known for a specific style, but for now I’m just enjoying working and learning.”