Bio: Annie Talmage

Annie Talmage: Founder/Lead Designer at Saltwater Home

Background

Although I always dreamed of being an interior designer, my first career was as a flower shop owner. As luck would have it, my location was directly next door to an interior design firm. After five years in the flower business, I sold the company and began working next door at Hurlbutt Designs. Although I had a studio art degree and creative experience with event design, I had no credentials in interior design. Luckily the owner, Louise Hurlbutt, took a chance on me and became my mentor. I was passionate, driven, and detail-oriented, which allowed me to be promoted to a lead designer within my first year with the firm.

Education & Credentials

I have a B.A. Studio Art from The University of Southern Maine; M.A Interior Design Savannah College of Art and Design; Inducted into the Architecture and Allied Arts Honor Society Tau Sigma Delta; Allied Member American Society of Interior Designers. I have 15 years in the industry and I can’t wait for what is on the horizon for our business growth and in this incredibly creative field.

Inspiration

Traveling always inspires me. Seeing new landscapes, meeting new people, and learning about cultures and lifestyles always gives me a fresh perspective. I love everything from seeing how the landscape and local environment impact the use of color, architecture, interior design, raw materials, and natural fibers utilized, to seeing the variance in cultural priorities, to how lives are lived and therefore space used. Whether it be a candlelit dinner at an elegant table setting in Paris, the smell of pińon wood wafting through the air of a spiritual gathering around an adobe fireplace in New Mexico, or reading in a shaded hammock of an open-air Lanai with the smell of sunscreen and sound of waves crashing in Maui, it all inspires me.

I can say that every sensory experience I have had in my travels has impacted how I look at how people live and how their spaces can be better designed to support their lifestyles, passions, and dreams.

On working with clients

I love that each space I design is as unique and different as each human being. By allowing me into their homes, clients open up their personal lives, their families, passions, which is a vulnerable experience. I am honored to be trusted by my clients and strive to take all aspects of their lives into consideration in creating spaces that provide a true sense of home for them.

Home holds a different meaning to each individual, so I think of myself as the conduit in bringing this vision to life for my clients. Listening and learning about clients’ lives, collaborating, sourcing and implementing the vision, and bringing spaces to life is an extremely fulfilling process!

Coastal Living

Living on the coast of Maine has given me an appreciation for the ebb and flow of change. Seasonal changes in color, temperature, and population, tides that rise and fall, all remind me that nothing in life is constant. It also allows for something new to be grateful for each day. The summer brings warmth, vibrancy, and flourishes with activity. Plentiful sunshine, beach roses, lobster rolls, bonfires, sandcastles, and visitors make it the season with my best memories.

Now I spend my time both in Maine and Maui, and draw inspiration from both places. Although physically distant, both places are similar in their appreciation of history, natural environment, family, and tradition which are all very dear to my heart. I am grateful to have my soul in two special places that enliven my spirit creatively. Maui has brought new growth to my creative spirit and provides a much-needed warming of my soul during the New England winters.

Maine and Maui hold such a special place in my heart - and it is my goal to bring that deep joy and appreciation to the work I do with my clients.

Seeds of Inspiration

When I was three years old my uncle built me a dollhouse for Christmas. From that day on I was hooked. I would build doll house furniture with my dad in his wood shop, create miniature wax vegetables for the garden, and redecorate seasonally with wallpaper and floor coverings. At age 8, I started on my own spaces, inspired by my grandparents’ formal home and wanting to create an “environment to entertain”, my Christmas list that year had three items on it: area rug, coffee table, candy dish. Rearranging furniture and reimagining spaces was a focus from that point on!

I am a proud mama to three children, who inspire endlessly to follow my dreams. I am also a third-generation entrepreneur and small business owner, a tradition I hope to pass along to my own children. Without my past, I would not be able to see where I am going in the future.

Just as places are rooted in history, so are people, and I truly believe I am on the path I have always meant to be on!

Connect with Annie on Linkedin or email annie@saltwater-home.com