A Family Run Home Renovations Business

Both Matt and Sarah were born and raised in the home building industry. Matt, a fourth generation builder, grew up outside of Hickory, North Carolina and learned the art of furniture making and building from his dad and Papaw. Sarah grew up outside of Brevard, North Carolina, and worked alongside her family on their own fixer-upper mountain home. They married in 2008 and bought a little builder grade house in Travelers Rest, South Carolina and slowly turned it into a pretty modern cottage. Later, they began doing more remodels for friends and even flipped their first house, both while working full time jobs and raising two kids.

They took the step of faith by quitting their jobs and officially started Sain Homes in March, 2019. Since then, they’ve renovated hundreds of rooms for some of the world’s best clients.

Sain Homes now has a whole team that work together to create beautiful and meaningful homes for families all over the Upstate of South Carolina.

Matt Sain | Owner & Builder

Favorite Thing About Your Job: Working with my wife…and the rest of our awesome team + subs.

Favorite Part Of The Project: Being out about. Having a job where I don’t sit behind a desk all day and that everyday looks different is the best. I love working with my hands alongside our team and subs to help make the vision come together. 

Favorite Room In A Home: Kitchen - that’s the place everyone gathers/hangs out the most and where (I think) the most memories are made.

Favorite Snack/Treat While Working: A good cigar or beef jerky.

Favorite Upstate, SC Restaurant: Jones Oyster Co.

What's something/someplace that inspired you? Santorini, Greece. Seeing the natural beauty + ingenuity of how the builders used their local resources to build a city into the side of the mountain. The end result is so beautiful and pretty impressive.

When you're not working you're probably...Chasing our two boys around.

If you weren't working for Sain Homes, what would you be doing? Flipping cars or playing for the Lakers!

Sarah Sain | Owner & Designer

Favorite Thing About Your Job: Doing this together as a family for families. Even our boys can often be found helping out on job sites and I love that they’re learning the trade, too.

Favorite Part Of The Project: The first site visit + shopping with my clients! I really love getting to set up the vision for how I see an unfinished project as a finished space in my mind and then picking design elements out together to create their new beautiful home.

Favorite Room In A Home: I love to cook so it has to be the kitchen when everyone is hanging out at the island sipping drinks and enjoying good food.

Favorite Snack/Treat While Working: An espresso tonic or iced americano.

Favorite Upstate, SC Restaurant: Portofino’s!

What's something/someplace that inspired you? Going to Market at High Point every year is SO inspiring! Walking around looking at all of the beautiful furniture lines, art, lighting, fabrics, and creative techniques by these makers and manufacturers is like a taking in a mega art show for us designers.

When you're not working you're probably...Doing laundry or thrifting.

If you weren't working for Sain Homes, what would you be doing? The Ultimate Dream Job would be a travel TV host experiencing other cultures/food/hotels, etc., but a more realistic job would be running my own vintage furniture store + coffee shop.

Kevin Bakos | Lead Carpenter & Site Coordinator

Favorite Thing About Your Job: I love helping to make someone’s dream happen. If I can catch a whiff of what’s in someone’s heart, I’m in. It’s so fun to see a homeowner walk through their dream for the first time. 

Favorite Part Of The Project: I love seeing the twilight hours of a project. We seemingly go from “final big punch list” to “Welcome home!” in the blink of an eye. 

Favorite Room In A Home: Love a good man cave. Cigar lounge is a must.

Favorite Snack/Treat While Working: An iced pour over. Shaken, not stirred. 

Favorite Upstate, SC Restaurant: Kill me! Why do I have to answer? There’s so many options. Coastal Crust in TR has my heart at the moment. 

What's something/someplace that inspired you? The food in Italy. Everything tastes extraordinary over there.

When you're not working you're probably...Riding my bicycle, or working on an old car. 

If you weren't working for Sain Homes, what would you be doing? Importing old cars from Germany and Japan. They’ve got all the cool stuff!

Grace Guest | Executive Assistant

Favorite Thing About Your Job: Making everyone else's job easier!

Favorite Part Of The Project: The before and afters #swoon.

Favorite Room In A Home: The living room!! Right after I clean and reward myself by lighting a candle? Heaven. 

Favorite Snack/Treat While Working: Beverage Treat: Latte or Snack Treat: Brownie M&Ms. 

Favorite Upstate, SC Restaurant: Fratello's!

What's something/someplace that inspired you? I went on a trip to St. Augustine, Florida and it really inspired me to simply enjoy myself and soak up my surroundings.

When you're not working you're probably...Watching a movie at home with my husband (if we can decide on one…lol!)

If you weren't working for Sain Homes, what would you be doing? Starting my animal rescue farm! 

Madi Guest | Marketing Coordinator & Design Assistant

Favorite Thing About Your Job: Making a home “homier” - cozier, comfortable and practical.

Favorite Part Of The Project: Zshushing at the end cause you get to see all the hard work come together! 

Favorite Room In A Home: Living room - that’s where everyone hangs out the longest at my house.

Favorite Snack/Treat While Working: Whatever random assortment I find in the fridge/pantry. I’m a big fan of cheese.

Favorite Upstate, SC Restaurant: Adam’s Bistro.

What's something/someplace that inspired you? Australia/New Zealand. The people, the culture, the landscape, the food…I loved all of it.

When you're not working you're probably...Going to the movies and hanging out with my friends. 

If you weren't working for Sain Homes, what would you be doing? For sure solving crime!