One to Watch: Interior Designer Sarah Ward

Designer Sarah Ward infuses Calgary restaurants with a sense of history.

While Calgary-based interior designer Sarah Ward’s latest creations are in the most public of spaces—think the Nash Restaurant, Off Cut Bar and Corbeaux Bakehouse—her first project was of a much more personal, private design. As a youth, her her family made the move from Saskatoon to Calgary, Ward’s parents had allowed her to decorate her new bedroom. “It was the first time I had the power to control my environment,” she says. “It was exciting to explore all the possibilities.”Decades later, Ward has become a design powerhouse in Calgary, with her company, Sarah Ward Interiors, attached to many of the most anticipated restaurant openings in the city—essentially redefining the local dining scene. “I like working for entrepreneurs,” she says. “I love the energy and enthusiasm that first-time business owners exude.”Ward’s designs often eschew trends in favour of storytelling: the American South-inspired Proof Cocktail Bar; the family-friendly Crave Cupcakes (the wholesome vibe is amplified by handworn finishes); and the farmhousechic Bro’Kin Yolk. “It’s important for us to have a compelling narrative for each space we create,” Ward says. “We celebrate the process of discovery.”