During the pandemic, the school’s leadership looked for small ways to bring moments of joy to daily life at boarding school. What began with the purchase of an espresso machine soon evolved into a vision for a coffee shop—one that now serves faculty, senior-year students, and school visitors.
Built on the footprint of the school’s long-defunct student bank, the coffee shop inherited the bank’s name: The Strong Box. My task was to design a space that aligned with Millbrook’s broader design vocabulary, incorporate outstanding student artwork (by Rayan Rustom ‘24), and ensure that the space functioned efficiently and met health regulations for serving food and beverages.
Credits (project completed entirely in-house):
Project management: Benjamin Day; Design and decoration: Sarah MacWright; Carpenter: Mike D’Iorio; Electrician: Pete Lasko; Painter: Tom Palatucci; Photography: Sarah MacWright
Great school-keeping requires attention to the big picture and the many details within. This gallery features four smaller projects, three of which address contemporary and evolving needs: a new place for food deliveries, a revised academic honesty policy for every classroom that accounts for AI (I provided legible text design for a lengthy document and framing), and a dorm pennant display to celebrate current dorm teams. The fourth project—a needlepoint pillow featuring the school’s shield that I designed in collaboration with Smathers & Branson—provides an enduring decor element for formal offices and seating areas.
This first-floor space serves as the entryway to a small girls' dormitory on the second floor. Previously, without a defined purpose, it had become a drop zone for shoes, luggage, and sports equipment. Seeing its potential, the dorm head and student leadership envisioned a cozy gathering spot where students could watch TV or wait for friends.
While the room still functions as a catch-all during various seasons—a large basket handles most of that work—its sectional sofa, two ottomans, and slim bench now create a comfortable space for up to seven students to gather and relax. Two striking artworks, by Sarah Eagen ’24 and Lily Grant ’25, add inspiration and celebrate the dorm’s spirit color: yellow.
Credits (project completed entirely in-house):
Carpenter: Mike D’Iorio; Electrician: Pete Lasko; Painter: Tom Palatucci; Design and decoration: Sarah MacWright; Photography: Sarah MacWright
This gallery features two office renovations.
The first is the office of Millbrook’s Assistant Head of School for Academics. Untouched for decades, her space was redesigned to be in stylistic conversation with the Head of School’s office down the hall (white walls, built-in bookshelves, and preppy pink hues woven throughout) and to be, in her words: “not embarrassing.”
Though compact at 120 square feet, the renovated space is thoughtfully designed, incorporating two new, built-in bookshelves and library lighting as well as seating for six students for the Assistant Head’s weekly advisory meetings. The walls are decorated with two paintings by Jaicee Downs ‘26, Islay MacGowen ‘25 and two pencil drawings by Tracy Yin ‘24 and Sarah Buttacavoli ‘26.
The second project is the World Language office, which provides workspaces for eight faculty members, along with a comfortable seating area for phone calls and one-on-one meetings with the department chair. Every Wednesday, the faculty members rotate their desk chairs toward the center of the room for department meetings. Eight pieces of student artwork, selected by faculty vote, reflect a global perspective.
Credits:
Assistant Head Office Contractor for bookshelves: UCE Fine Builders; Electrician: Pete Lasko (in-house); Design and decoration: Sarah MacWright (in-house); Photography: Sarah MacWright
World Language Office General contractor: Consigli Construction; Electrician: Pete Lasko (in-house); Design and decoration: Sarah MacWright (in-house); Photography: Sarah MacWright
Abbott House is a faculty home on Millbrook School’s campus—a rambling farmhouse that traditionally serves as the residence for a senior administrator and their family. In its current chapter, my husband (the school’s CFO/COO) and I call it home, periodically hosting board members and special guests of the school. The first floor is designed to be both comfortable and elegant, while the guest bedroom is a vibrant, colorful space decorated with our nephews in mind.
My primary goal for school interiors is to ensure that every building is decorated with student art. Collaborating with students to obtain their permission—whether to display their original work or a reproduction from a photograph—is an important and ongoing task. Our community believes that student artwork should be treated with the same respect, and framed with the same care, as work by professional artists. I frame our students’ work in-house.
This gallery showcases a variety of spaces—some originally decorated by architects—that I have finished or updated with student art displays. Recently, I have focused on creating dedicated areas where ceramic works can be both prominently showcased and protected from damage.
These images don’t have much to do with schools, except that this apartment (in a barn) is a refuge for two grateful, off-duty educators.
In 2014, my husband and I purchased a vacant lot with the dream of building a place of our own. Ten years later, that dream took shape when we purchased a post-and-beam barn kit from Country Carpenters. This project was my first opportunity to design a full interiors plan for a residence.
The decor is personal and DIY: colorful, rustic, and folk-inspired. Most importantly, it is full of art by people we know and love. I sewed the curtains using remnants from John Robshaw’s shop in Falls Village and painted our well-loved IKEA island in that fabulous and fresh Benjamin Moore color: Dragon’s Blood. The gingham pillow covers are the newest addition to the apartment: sewn from vintage cotton from Plain Goods in New Preston, CT.
Credits:
General contractor: Ducillo Construction, PM: Chris Colomello
Design and decoration: Sarah MacWright
Art and ceramics: Mollie Flannery, David Kaufmann, Daniel Miyares, Flynn Larsen, Morgan Thomas Anderson, and my dad.
