Starr Sanford Design

What Starr Sanford Design does

Starr Sanford Design is a privately held architecture and interior design firm headquartered in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, founded in 1990 by Julia Sanford. The firm provides custom residential architecture, historic renovation and restoration, commercial and boutique hospitality design, full interior design services, and master planning for new urbanist communities, serving high-net-worth residential clients, boutique hospitality operators, and community developers. Its work is grounded in coastal vernaculars, New Urbanism principles, and a self-described "sensually sustainable" design philosophy that emphasizes craftsmanship, natural materials, and environmental sensitivity, with a portfolio spanning more than 20 named communities and projects across the U.S. Southeast, the Gulf Coast, the Caribbean (Bahamas, Belize), Central America (Costa Rica, Panama), and Oceania (Australia).

The firm operates four core service lines — custom residential architecture, commercial and hospitality design, community design and planning, and full interior design — supplemented by a retail sub-brand, the Starr Sanford Collection showroom, which provides curated home furnishings and decorating services. Its underlying technology is its design expertise, supported by 3D design software proficiency and hand-rendering capabilities; there is no disclosed software platform, API, or proprietary AI tooling. The business is structured as a professional services practice, with project-based fees for architecture, interior design, and master-planning engagements, and product/hardware sales through the showroom. Go-to-market is sales-led, relying on a categorized website portfolio, reputation-driven referrals, the physical showroom, and ongoing relationships with marquee developer partners including DPZ Miami, the Tavistock Group, Leucadia Financial Corporation, and the Sky Institute + Foundation for the Future, of which Julia Sanford is a founding partner.

The team is small — approximately 14 named members including a President, Business Director (a former CFO of Florida East Coast Industries), Associate Partner / Production Director (overseeing 30+ active projects), interior designers, assistant project managers, and a Showroom Manager — and is led by Julia Sanford, whose prior career includes NBC art direction for the Today Show and the 1996 Olympic Broadcast. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and varies by project scope, complexity, and scale. The firm is independently owned, with no disclosed venture capital, private equity backing, parent company, or subsidiaries.

Name

Starr Sanford Design

Legal name

Starr Sanford Design

Website

https://starrsanford.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1990

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Starr Sanford Design is a Jacksonville Beach-based architecture and interior design firm founded in 1990 that provides custom residential, historic renovation, boutique hospitality, and new-urbanist community planning services to high-net-worth clients and developers across the U.S. and internationally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Architectural Design Services

NAICS

Architectural Services (54131), Interior Design Services (54141)

SIC

Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700), Services-Engineering Services (8711)

akta.pro primary industry

Architectural Design Services (BPAHAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Interior Design Services (BPAHAKAB)

Keywords

• Custom residential architecture
• Interior design services
• Coastal architecture design
• Hospitality design firm
• Community master planning

Headquarters

HQ city

Jacksonville Beach

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Custom Residential Architecture: Full-service custom home design including site analysis, architectural design, and construction documentation for high-end residential projects in coastal and traditional markets.
2. Interior Design Services: Complete interior design services including space planning, material selection, furniture procurement, and project installation oversight through the Starr Sanford Collection showroom.
3. Commercial and Hospitality Design: Boutique commercial design services for hospitality venues including boutique hotels, resort villages, restaurants, and mixed-use commercial spaces.
4. Community Planning and Design: Master planning and conceptual architectural design services for new urbanist communities, traditional neighborhood developments, and sustainable resort communities.
5. Starr Sanford Collection Showroom: Retail showroom offering curated home furnishings and decor items, with Sarah Geer serving as Showroom Manager and Decorating Specialist managing client relationships and project execution.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Starr Sanford Design is a Jacksonville-based architecture and interior design firm that provides custom residential architecture, historic renovations, and commercial and hospitality design with a specialty in coastal vernaculars and traditional New Urbanist design. The firm also delivers community master planning and conceptual architectural design for developers of new urbanist and sustainable resort communities worldwide. A retail component, the Starr Sanford Collection showroom, supplies curated home furnishings and decor that complement the firm's interior design services.

Product overview

Starr Sanford Design is a Jacksonville-based architecture and interior design firm offering a comprehensive suite of design services. The firm operates across four primary service lines: Custom Residential Architecture (custom homes, historic renovations, coastal architecture), Commercial & Hospitality Design (boutique hotels, resorts, commercial spaces), Community Design & Planning (new urbanist master planning for communities worldwide), and Full Interior Design Services (with the Starr Sanford Collection showroom/gallery as a retail complement). The portfolio demonstrates expertise in coastal vernaculars, traditional neighborhood development principles, and sensually sustainable design practices.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Starr Sanford Collection: Showroom and gallery operated by the firm featuring curated interior design products and decorating services

Products and services

• Custom Residential Architecture Full-service design and architecture of custom homes for affluent clients in coastal and traditional markets across Northeast Florida, including new construction and historic renovations in communities such as Ponte Vedra Beach, Jacksonville Beach, and Avondale.
• Commercial & Hospitality Design Boutique commercial and hospitality design for hotels, resorts, restaurants, and mixed-use properties, including projects such as Mahogany Bay Village, Doro, and Kaiya, combining architecture and interior design under a single engagement.
• Community Design & Planning Master planning, design charrettes, and conceptual architectural design for new urbanist communities, traditional neighborhood developments, and sustainable resort communities worldwide, including Alys Beach, Rosemary Beach, Las Catalinas, Albany, and Schooner Bay.
• Full Interior Design Services Comprehensive interior design services including space planning, material selection, and furniture specification for residential and commercial projects, complemented by the Starr Sanford Collection showroom for furnishings and decor procurement.
• Historic Renovation & Restoration Historic renovation and restoration services for period properties, applying traditional building techniques, old-world craftsmanship, and historic preservation expertise to renovation and adaptive reuse projects.
• Starr Sanford Collection Showroom Retail showroom and gallery offering curated home furnishings, decor, and interior design products, managed by Showroom Manager and Decorating Specialist Sarah Geer, that complements the firm's architecture and interior design services.

Quantifiable outcome

• 30+ active projects managed simultaneously by production team

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Sky Institute + Foundation for the FuturecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJulia Sanford is a Founding Partner of the Sky Institute, a non-profit organization dedicated to building sustainable communities. The institute brings together architects, planners, scientists, engineers, attorneys, food growers, and scholars to develop sustainable community design solutions. Through this collaboration, the firm has produced extraordinary concepts that challenge the essence of dwellings, subsistence, and conservation.
• DPZ Miami (Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOngoing collaboration with DPZ Miami, the firm of Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, co-founders of the Congress for the New Urbanism. Starr Sanford Design has served as Charrette Architect, Town Architect, and Conceptual Architectural Designer on multiple DPZ-planned communities including Alys Beach, Amelia Park, Rosemary Beach, and others.
• Tavistock Group / Tiger Woods / Ernie ElsmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated on Albany community development in the Bahamas, created by Tavistock Group with Tiger Woods and Ernie Els. Starr Sanford Design participated in design charrette activities for this 600-acre oceanfront resort community.
• Duany Plater-Zyberk & CompanycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerServing as Charrette Architect and Town Architect for Amelia Park on Amelia Island, a Traditional Neighborhood Development based on New Urbanism principles. Developer Joel Embry retained DPZ to help plan the project.
• Studio LFA (Ludwig Fontalvo-Abello)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated with Studio LFA on Panorama sustainable community in Australia, where Starr Sanford Design provided Conceptual Architectural Design and Charrette services.
• Leucadia Financial CorporationmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerServed as Charrette Architect for Rosemary Beach development, a neo-traditional town on Florida's Gulf Coast designed by DPZ Miami and developed by Leucadia Financial Corporation.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Historical Concepts: Historical Concepts is an Atlanta-based architecture and planning firm specializing in traditional Southern residential design, town planning, and resort communities. Directly comparable to Starr Sanford's Southern vernacular, residential, and new-urbanist community work.
• McAlpine (McAlpine Tankersley Architecture): McAlpine is a respected luxury residential and interior design firm with strong Southern and traditional vernacular expertise, deeply comparable to Starr Sanford's custom residential and coastal vernacular focus and similarly founder-driven.
• Studio Sofield: Studio Sofield is a luxury interior design and architecture firm known for high-end residential, hospitality, and retail projects globally. Comparable to Starr Sanford across hospitality design, luxury interiors, and integrated architecture/interior offerings.
• Hart Howerton: Hart Howerton is a planning, architecture, and design firm known for master-planned communities, resorts, and HNW residential projects. Closely comparable to Starr Sanford's community planning and hospitality design practice at a larger scale.
• Ferguson & Shamamian Architects: Ferguson & Shamamian is a New York-based classical and traditional residential architecture firm serving HNW clients. Highly comparable to Starr Sanford in bespoke traditional residential work with strong craftsmanship and historic renovation expertise.
• Ken Fulk Inc. Ken Fulk is a high-end interior design and hospitality studio known for boutique hotels, restaurants, and private residences. Closely comparable to Starr Sanford's hospitality interior design work and premium residential clientele.
• Peter Pennoyer Architects: Peter Pennoyer Architects specializes in classical and traditional luxury residential and institutional architecture in New York and beyond. Comparable to Starr Sanford in serving HNW clients seeking bespoke traditional design with craftsmanship emphasis.
• Robert A.M. Stern Architects (RAMSA): RAMSA is a leading national architecture practice with a strong custom residential portfolio alongside large institutional and hospitality work. Comparable to Starr Sanford in serving HNW residential clients seeking traditional, contextual architecture, though at significantly larger scale.
• Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company (DPZ Miami): DPZ Miami is the firm of Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, co-founders of the Congress for the New Urbanism and Starr Sanford's core planning partner on Alys Beach, Rosemary Beach, Albany, Amelia Park, and Las Catalinas. They are the most direct comparable for the firm's community master planning practice.

Emerging players

• Windsor Smith Designs: Windsor Smith is a luxury interior design firm with a furnishings showroom offering curated home collections. Comparable to Starr Sanford's integrated architecture + interior design + showroom model, though focused primarily on interiors.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks1 record

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/starrsanforddesign
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/starr-sanford-design-associates-inc.

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Starr Sanford Design