Ann Shriver Sargent is Inducted into The New England Design Hall of Fame

Interior designer Ann Shriver Sargent credits a large part of her knowledge and success to the many talented contractors, tradespeople, and artisans that she leaned on early in her career.

In 1983, while studying art history at Boston University, Shriver Sargent was offered an entry-level job at the Boston Design Center. “I got to know everybody and how it all worked,” she says. In 1985, a chance meeting led to her first solo project, a rather large one with a budget to match. Fortunately,she worked with an experienced architect, a master builder, excellent subcontractors, and countless vendors, tradespeople, and artisans, all of whom became her teachers.

Hands-on learning aside, Shriver Sargent says living in the historic Babson-Alling House in Gloucester, Massachusetts, in her twenties (it was in her husband
David’s family) made a tremendous impact. “It is an architectural gem, filled with antiques and hand-blocked wallpapers, just amazing,” she says.

As a sole practitioner in Gloucester, Shriver Sargent quickly became well-known for her refined portfolio of exceptional interiors—from rustic farmhouses to luxury resorts—before she transitioned to a sixteen-year partnership with the gifted team at dpf Design in White River Junction, Vermont. She was a cofounder of the maker/designer network Porte-Cochère and wrote a monthly column for Rug News and Design magazine. In 2011, she joined her husband at Sargent Design Company, based in Norwich, Vermont. Mentoring the next generation of talent is her joy.

Looking back on her forty years in the industry, Shriver Sargent says she’s inspired by anything and everything made by hand. “From fine antiques to folk art, I love the way they make a space feel,” she explains. Her favorite projects are “legacy homes that she designs to anticipate the gathering of friends and family, in ways that make everyone feel cared for.”