THE FOUNDER
Refinement is not about adding more —
it is about knowing what to hold back.
Sarah Schultz-Farrell
FOUNDER & CREATIVE DIRECTORSarah Schultz-Farrell is an interior designer, creative director, and founder of Aibode & Co., a design-led surface studio based in Kansas City. Her work brings together a considered design perspective, an appreciation for craftsmanship, and a sensitivity to the emotional experience of architecture.
At the heart of her practice is a fascination with materials and their ability to change how we feel. The depth of a finish, the character of a hand-worked surface, and the way a wall receives light can profoundly influence the atmosphere of a room. For Sarah, these qualities are integral to the design from the beginning.
Originally from Overland Park, Sarah studied interior design at Harrington College of Design in Chicago, earning her Bachelor of Fine Arts. Recruited to Los Angeles before graduation, she began her career in luxury hospitality and residential design. She later established her own interior design studio in Tribeca, New York City, leading the practice for seven years before returning to Kansas City to start her family.
Sarah earned her Master of Science in Interior Design from Pratt Institute in New York, with a minor in Facilities Management. Her master’s thesis explored sacred spaces, deepening her interest in the relationship between our surroundings and our inner experience. That inquiry continues to inform her work: how material, light, and proportion can invite stillness, create a sense of connection, and give a space meaning beyond its function.
Her travels through Europe continue to be a source of inspiration. Vienna and Prague are particular favorites, while Venice, Florence, Munich, and Seville have also shaped her sensibility. She is drawn to the ways culture takes physical form through architecture and craftsmanship, and to the materials that give each place its distinctive atmosphere. What stays with her is the experience of being there: the quality of light, the presence of history, and the character that emerges as surfaces age. These impressions inform her approach to creating spaces with depth and individuality.
Her perspective is grounded in more than two decades of design experience across hospitality and private residences, complemented by twelve years in electrical estimating and large-scale project budgeting. She brings creative direction and a practical understanding of what it takes to realize it.
Aibode & Co. brings these experiences into a practice devoted to architectural surfaces. Sarah develops each material direction in response to the architecture, the light, and the people who will inhabit the space, guiding its realization through skilled artisan execution. Her aim is to create surfaces that feel inseparable from their surroundings, giving a room a character that is both distinctive and deeply felt.
The wall is not the destination. The feeling is.