Page 144 - South Mississippi Living - August, 2026

story by Holly Harrison and Shannon Stage
Bruce and Barbara Woelke
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Sassy Bird Interiors
211 Main St. Bay St. Louis 228.344.3181 | www.sassybirdinteriors.com
Holly Harrison has been a licensed interior designer for over 40 years. Shannon Stage has spent nearly 25 years in the giftware
industry. Together they own Sassy Bird Interiors in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.
We found a cottage that transports you from the quaint main streets of our small coastal towns to the bustling avenues of international cities, with style, charm, and sophistication.
From the lush exterior landscaping to the striking black and brown palette of the interiors, stepping into Barbara and Bruce Woelke’s Gulf Coast cottage is like stepping into a storybook of romantic tales and adventurous travel. You are immediately immersed in beautiful antique furnishings, rich textiles, and a trove of treasures from faraway places. Each piece has a story, weaving together a lifetime of collecting exquisite objects and memories.
Barbara grew up in a military family
living all over the world, but strong ties kept her connected to the Gulf Coast. “I was living in New Orleans when I met my husband. We had been dating two weeks when he proposed. That was 61 years ago!”
The couple moved to Pennsylvania where Bruce worked as an aerospace engineer and Barbara pursued her design interests. She found her dream job as a designer with a premier furniture retailer, eventually becoming their senior designer, where she was free to “do her own thing,” she says. “Before I retired, I was working with my clients’ children. It was so much fun.”
Her exposure to antiques growing up in the South gave her an appreciation for
144 | August 2026
www.smliving.net | SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living
story by Holly Harrison and Shannon Stage photos courtesy of Bruce and Barbara Woelke