Sarah Lambert knows firsthand just how much planning and effort goes into a home remodeling project. Between measuring the room, designing the new look, selecting the furnishings, budgeting, scheduling and executing the final vision, Sarah understands that projects can take anywhere from four to five months. Together with her younger sister, Katie, they do it all through their full-service interior design and construction firm, Lambert Home.
Established in 2015, Lambert Home is Sarah and Katie’s shared vision of creating customized spaces for homeowners from their studio in Southlake. During their eight-and-a-half years in business, they’ve worked in every space big and small, from bathrooms and kitchens to backyards and bedrooms. Between their work on-site at clients’ homes and the wealth of furnishing and design options offered at their shop, these property sisters are making both their dreams and those of their clients a reality.
BUILDING BLOCKS
For as long as she could remember, Sarah knew she was born to be an interior designer. When she was just a toddler, her father Don noticed she had a keen eye for decoration through the same toys every girl was enjoying at her age — Barbie dolls.
“By the time she was 3, Sarah was designing stuff, picking colors and setting up Barbie’s home,” Don says. “She was building a Barbie condo. Everyone else had a shoebox.”
Sarah continued playing interior designer in the years to come. When Katie came into the picture, she joined in on the fun, taking on the role of office secretary — a part in which she committed just as much as her sister.
“When we were children, I would go up to her and say ‘This is your schedule today ma’am,’ Katie recalls fondly. “And she would respond, ‘How dare you come into my office!’ I was like ‘Chill out, I’m just trying to play with you!’”
While their early designing days were all in good fun, Sarah began to take her creative interests more seriously in elementary school.
“When I was in third grade, I asked my dad, ‘Can girls do construction?’ And he said ‘Yeah, girls can do anything they want to,’” Sarah says. “When he told me that, I knew that’s what I wanted to do from day one.”
From there, the girls completed their education at Keller ISD before moving on to study at Texas Tech University. Their fields of study reflected their childhood interests, with Sarah studying interior design while Katie’s focus turned to restaurant and hotel management.
“We would say to each other ‘One day when we grow up, we’re going to work together,’” Sarah says. “How fun would that be?”
After graduating, Sarah began working as a designer for residential clients in Southlake and Colleyville, while Katie went on mission trips in Africa. Sarah still dreamed of owning her own business, but first she realized the need to distinguish herself in the field. So she set her sights on becoming certified with the National Council for Interior Design Qualification.
“It’s extremely difficult and extremely rare to pass,” Sarah says. “The fail rate is 78%. You have to literally memorize every fire code, every ADA code, how far outlets should be from other things — everything.”
Despite the odds, Sarah passed the exam and became one of nearly 1,400 NCIDQ-certified interior designers in the state of Texas, becoming one step closer to owning her own studio.
A FAMILY EFFORT
Ashley Monogue Photography
While Sarah was well-versed in design aesthetics, trends and building codes, there was one important area she was lacking, and that was business management.
“Billing, shipping, tracking, invoicing — I hated all of it,” Sarah says. “I knew I had to do it, but it wasn’t the fun part. It wasn’t what I wanted to do.”
Luckily, she knew Katie excelled in all of the areas in which she struggled. Recruiting her to handle the operations side of the business seemed like a no-brainer.
“I don’t have a design bone in my body, but I’m good at everything on the business side, whether it involves scheduling, planning or purchasing,” Katie says. “The things that Sarah doesn’t excel at are the things I do excel at. We’re good partners in that way.”
As budding entrepreneurs, the mid-20s duo started applying for business loans in 2014. While they were repeatedly turned down primarily due to lack of capital, one local bank saw their potential and approved them for a $65,000 loan. The pair was as excited as they were nervous.
“We basically threw up in the parking lot as we left the bank,” Sarah recalls. “It scared us. If this didn’t work, we’d be going to the grave with a $65,000 debt.”
The freshly-anointed businesswomen once again found confidence from the same place they did as children — their father.
“I reminded them both that failure is not fatal,” Don says. “Failure is how you learn. Failure is how you grow. I didn’t want them to be 40 years old, looking back and saying ‘I wish I had done this,’ or ‘I wish I had done that.’ Neither one of them was married, had no kids and no mortgage — nothing [was] stopping them from throwing themselves at their own business. So that’s what they did.”
While Lambert Home was initially launched exclusively as an interior design firm, they realized the need to branch out after repeatedly running into issues during the construction phases of their projects.
“There was one project where we handed it off to the contractor, and he kept saying ‘We can’t do that, we can’t do that, we can’t do that,’ and I just knew that wasn’t the case,” Sarah says.
Knowing their father had a lucrative career in construction, they enlisted his help to handle the project management side of the business.
“We asked him if he wanted to come and do this with us, and he said ‘Well, let’s do one project together and see what happens,’” Katie recalls. “We did one construction project, and we’ve been doing many more ever since.”
AUTHENTIC SPACES
The first few years of Lambert Home weren’t easy as both sisters were living with their parents, neither were making a paycheck and every dollar earned was poured back into the business.
“We were committed to this dream,” Katie says. “I kept saying ‘If we make it past year one, we’re going to be OK. If we make it past year three, we’re going to be OK.’ All of a sudden, we made it to year five, and I’m like ‘Oh my God, we’re thriving!’”
Today, Katie is happily married with a 3-year-old daughter, and Sarah’s heart is full with four adopted children of her own. When motherhood isn’t keeping them busy, they’re working at their 2,500-square-foot storefront that appropriately reflects the sisters’ personalities. One side comprises all of the chairs, sofas, rugs, pillows and furnishing options of Sarah’s world, while the other side makes up Katie and her staff’s administrative offices. Furnished and functional, the office also includes a miniature conference room where the sisters still get to play the roles of their youth.
“I’ll show [clients] their presentation on the TV and go over their fabrics, tiles and materials,” Sarah explains. “We’ll have answers for timing, shipping, pricing and scheduling. It’s all there.”
But the shop is only one aspect of Lambert Home’s approach to interior design. Katie says what sets them apart is their intuitive service and personalized attention towards every client.
“Sarah’s spiritual gift is understanding people’s aesthetic without really ever needing them to say anything,” Katie expresses. “She has this unique ability to look at what they’re wearing and understand their lifestyle, and she immediately understands their aesthetic. She doesn’t have to look at their Pinterest page. She’s really incredible like that.”
For Sarah, her biggest challenge dealt less with the space she was working in and more to do with quelling clients’ concerns.
“Your home is a very personal space, as it should be,” Sarah expresses. “There’s all these feelings tied in of ‘What if you spend all my money? What if you don’t take care of me? What if you don’t respect who I am?’ That’s always the biggest hurdle, coming through and saying ‘I got you. I hear you. I’m going to get you where you want to go — not where I want you to go.’”
That selfless approach is reflected in her designs as well. While many interior designers want to make a statement with their pieces, Sarah wants all of the “statements” to come from the client — almost as if she’s removed from the design entirely.
“I see a lot of interior designers have a trademark fabric or a trademark lamp, trademark this and trademark that,” she says. “Your home isn’t about me. Your home is about you. It’s where you’re going to create your life, where you’re going to host your family and friends, where you’re going to create your heritage — your destiny. I’m in and out. You’re here forever. I want it to look like you.”
In fact, the words “authentic spaces” are the first thing clients notice when they walk up to their store. Prominently displayed next to their name and logo, the words prioritize authenticity above everything else. What else would you expect from two successful sisters living their childhood dream?
Their dream has taken on even more exciting milestones for the future. For their 10-year anniversary in 2025, they plan to unveil a new 12,000-square-foot showroom. Nearly five times the size of their current space, it will include even more furnishing options and an accompanying cafe called The Greenhouse where customers can enjoy light bites, coffee and cocktails while planning their renovations.
Always the proud father, Don will tell you Lambert Home isn’t about the space they’re in — it’s about the people they work with, and he’s overcome with emotion as he sees his daughters grow from Barbie houses to dream houses.
“They care so much about what they do and delivering the best experience possible, regardless of the size or the budget,” Don says. “Everything they do is authentic and real not only to their clients, but to each other.”