Travel Mementos Shape Designer Sarah Cooper’s Louisiana Home Base
With a blue velvet settee and a Bill Hemmerling painting flanked by three African masks, this nook is Cooper’s favorite spot in her home. “If I had to pick a design that best describes my aesthetic and personality, this is it,” she says, as reported in the November 2026 issue of 225 Magazine.
To travel is to change. Each new culture and custom we experience makes us a better, more expanded version of ourselves, leaving us with mementos of our growth. That idea inspired designer Sarah Cooper’s Louisiana home, where tributes to her journeys fill the space and reflect the person she has become along the way.
From Baton Rouge to International Design Studios
Every adventurer’s journey begins somewhere, and for Cooper, it started at home in Baton Rouge. Born with an inherent admiration for craftsmanship, eclectic beauty, and intentional art, she pursued design across the country and abroad. Her education took her to the University of Tennessee, the Rhode Island School of Design, the Paris American Academy in France, and New York’s Parsons School of Design.
Those experiences enriched her understanding of space before she transitioned into a career in the television industry. Cooper spent years in Knoxville working as a production coordinator and associate producer for networks including Animal Planet, ESPN, and HGTV. She eventually moved to Los Angeles, working in art departments designing sets for major film studios like Lionsgate and 20th Century Fox.
Bridging Media Sets and Residential Interiors
Cooper’s work in media and residential design shares unexpected common ground. Both fields demand a clear vision and the ability to coordinate countless moving parts, people, materials, and creative elements that do not always naturally align.
“Ultimately, you’re creating a story from start to finish. You want that story to have the vibe and the energy the client wants to feel,” Cooper says. “Whether it’s a set or someone’s home, you want to create a unique, personable, enveloping interior for your story.”
Though her kitchen delivers a punch of her favorite color on the lower cabinets and counter stools, she kept her upper cabinets white to maintain an open feel and showcase her African art. Eventually, the eternal jetsetter felt called home to Louisiana, establishing her firm, Cabell Cooper Design, in a culture she feels drawn to auditorily, visually, and sensorially.
“I have all these pieces from dear family members and my travels, and they tell you about my history and my heritage and who I am as a person,” she says. “I’m very individualistic about my design. I love color. I love fabric. I love texture.”
