Feature article

At home with Sala founder Sarah Lindsay

Step inside Sarah Lindsay's stunning Ponsonby villa restoration.

11 August 2025

AI summary

Step inside the restored 1800s Ponsonby villa of Sarah Lindsay, founder of the Sala movement studio. Her home reflects a philosophy of mixing old and new, favouring secondhand and reclaimed pieces that evoke genuine emotion.

Lindsay uses colour to give each room a unique life and creates a sanctuary for family rituals. The home is filled with art from local artists, creating a space that feels alive and connected. This stunning property is currently for sale.

As you might gather from their conversational seating set-ups, the couple enjoy hosting, “but at the moment,” says Sarah, “I prefer to be hosted. We live such busy lives and at the end of the day, I have decision fatigue, so I like switching off and surrendering to the choices of someone else’s menu.”

Wiggle candlesticks by Bias Editions pick up on the colour in paintings by Grace Bader in the dining room furnished with a handcrafted table Sarah and husband Joshua found on Trade Me. She explains it was sent up from Ōtautahi/Christchurch by a couple who had fed their family around it for 20 years. “I love that we’ll do the same for our family for the next 20 — a continuation of tenderness.”

As well as her treasured record player, Sarah says her most prized possession might be copy of singer/songwriter Patti Smith’s memoir, Just Kids. “A friend bought it for me for my first trip to India, and it has since become my favourite book and travelled around the world with me."