Newfoundland designer Susan Drover, owner of Designs by Sam and Dwell by Sam, a trio of luxury short-stay accommodations, wishes it could be October all year. The designer, retailer, and now hotelier and creator of three luxury properties, loves the month for all the things that the season brings.

While not wanting to be defined for any one style, she’s making waves on the East Coast for her signature approach to cozy, inviting spaces that are as much about experience as they are beauty. It’s an aesthetic capturing the attention of design lovers from coast to coast. Saltscapes editor-in-chief Crystal Murray connected with Drover to talk about her unique career trajectory, favourite décor elements, tips to create our own cozy spaces, and how people are thinking differently about design in Newfoundland and Labrador.

CM  This is a second career for you. How does a woman working in finance on Bay Street in Toronto find herself designing homes and spaces all around the Bay in Newfoundland?

SD  This isn’t where I expected to be. I did grow up in small town Newfoundland, in a very entrepreneurial family. My father was in mining. Like a lot of little girls, I wanted to make my dad happy. Whatever pleased my dad is what I was going to do. I moved to Toronto in 1990 to work in finance. Newfoundland was not doing so well at this time. I started my career in a stock brokerage firm. I thought that was my path, working on Bay Street, but sometimes things happen in life that you don’t see coming. I lost my dad in a car accident. That was a big moment in my life. I guess it still is. It’s common knowledge that the business is named after him. I moved back to Newfoundland and worked in finance for a while longer. All this time I was flipping houses. I think I have lived in 12 different houses with my three girls. It was always about the opportunity of the space. People always said that this is what I should be doing as a career. With more changes in circumstance, I decided that this was something I could do as a career. At age 40, I made the career shift. I went to a technical school and did an advanced interior design diploma. I was never worried out the design aspect of the job but I wanted to learn the technical side of things, so I did a lot of work in AutoCAD (design software) and understanding scale. In 2011, I started my own business. 

CM  Newfoundland hasn’t been known as a hot spot for elevated design. It’s a place where purpose and practicality are the most important considerations, but we are beginning to see some exceptional architecture and design emerge. What’s influencing this evolution?

SD  The customer is changing. The expectations of the customer are definitely changing. People are travelling more. We have many new people in the province who have moved from other places and they have experienced different things. There is more disposable income for many people and when you have people moving here who have sold properties in large city centres, they have the extra to spend more on design. We have American clients in our roster who are building beautiful new homes as second properties. The landscape is changing. When the rest of the world is experiencing high temperatures because of global warming I think Newfoundland is going to continue to be a very desirable place. I also think back to 11 or 12 years ago when we started there was little access to the variety of décor that is now available. When I started out, I was travelling back and forth to Toronto to access things for clients but now design is within reach. It’s one of the reasons why we started our retail store. We wanted to share more with clients and public. They may just come into the store to buy something, but that person may eventually become a design client.

CM  How does your family experience influence your approach to design?

SD  I grew up in a house where we never knew who was coming … for supper, and I was also very lucky to travel when I was younger, in the 1980s. My parents travelled a lot for small town Newfoundland. I was able to go to Australia when I was young and do things that a lot of other people my age where I lived didn’t get to do. I wouldn’t say that we lived a very privileged life, but we certainly lived one rich in experiences. Something that became very entrenched in me was sussing out experience. Food, spaces, people, how to entertain — those were things that really interested me and I carry those things with me today.

CM  What does good design mean to you?

SD  Making something pretty is easy. Picking out a paint colour and a few new pieces of furniture is the easy stuff, but the missing element is really about the power of design to make positive change in your life. It’s not just what something looks like it’s what something feels like. To do client work you how to understand and get to know them and understand how they want to life their life. The whole motivation is making a difference in people’s lives whether it is a long journey focused on someone’s home or an overnight stay in one of the properties. I guess you could say that it is part of our brand, and it is aligned to everything we do.

CM  What really gets your creative juices flowing?

SD  I don’t like things that are cookie-cutter generic. It doesn’t mean that is has to be a big project. It has to be a challenge, something that needs to be solved. I have a very honed-in style of things that like, and I knew when it works well together. I love a space that needs to be refreshed purpose. Magazines are a creativity for me too. I went out this summer and bought nine magazines, Saltscapes is one of them and I can’t wait to get to a place this weekend. It’s likely going to be seven in the morning. I am going to drink three coffees and ready every single one of them page by page. Travel is also huge for me and gets me going creatively. I have been back and forth to Sweden. I think in another life I lived there. I think what I like about Sweden so much is how it is similar in the fact that (the weather) is often cold and grey. They know how to live well inside. They believe in good quality done in simple ways. I think that we are a lot alike that way.

CM  How does traditional Newfoundland design inspire you?

SD  Everything in Newfoundland is about relationships. So, like big cities where you don’t know people around the corner, in Newfoundland you do. It’s a touchy-feely place. When you think about it in terms of design, its cozy. It’s not big. It’s not pretentious. It’s not about how much something costs. People don’t talk about that here. It’s very humble. I do love traditional Newfoundland architecture. We are not frivolous people, and we don’t approach things that way.

CM  What are your favourite elements of design that you think everyone one should consider to cozy up their space before the first Nor’easters blow in?

SD  I am obsessed with wood burning fireplaces, books, candles, and scents. These are all must-haves for me. All my personal homes are designed around a fire source, whether it is a wood stove or a fireplace. So that’s number one. Number two would have to be libraries and books. Books are huge for me, and I love them as a design element. When we designed the Inn in St. John’s, I wanted to have books in al l the rooms. Books just seem so luxurious to me. Candles and scents are next. Lighting levels are something I love a lot. I like to have candles everywhere. Fall is my favourite time of year. I wish it could be September and October all year.