Category Archives: NBID

Professional Interior Design

September 24, 2012 · 7:00 am

DIY Maps on Closet Doors

Maps are nostalgic.  They take us back to a time and most definitely a place: a city that you visited, were born in or went to college in.  We all can relate some part of our life to a map.   I used to hang souvenir maps of amusement parks on my wall as a teenager.  I relived and dreamed about my trips to Disney World, Cedar Point and Sea World.  When I was designing Hudson’s nursery we made sure to include a map of New York City, the Hudson River being his namesake.

Wanting to take NYC maps in our decor to the next level, I decided to wallpaper the closet doors in the childrens’ room with MTA maps.  These are the easy to get, free maps of our subway system in New York City.  All you have to do is ask a MTA booth attendant for one.  So over the course of a few months  I randomly asked for them until I had about 6 or 7 maps.

To hang the maps on the doors I had some criteria, the most important being that it had to be removable with no damage.  The maps also needed to withstand wear and tear that a 2 year old can inflict on it.

I bounced ideas off of my DIY and interior design friends and several ideas came up.  One was to mod podge the maps to canvas sheets and wrap the doors with the canvas.  This was a great inexpensive idea because rolls of canvas for framing doesnt cost much but I wanted something that would be more durable.

The next idea was combining the maps with clear contact paper, the drawer liner type.  This idea stuck with me but I had many questions about how the end result would look.  Contact paper only comes in 24″ width rolls so that meant that there would be a seam.  Would the seam show?  Is clear contact paper really clear?

I decided to go with the contact paper idea because a single roll of supermarket contact paper could cover 2 closet doors and this project was only going to cost me $6!

Then I sat wondering how I would hang it.  Would I roll out the contact paper sticky side up and arrange the maps on it first, then hang it like real wallpaper?  Or do I tape the maps to the door and then cover it with the contact paper?  I went with the latter.  I sparingly used double stick tape to stick random sizes and shapes cut from the MTA maps on the door. Then I covered it with full sheets of contact paper leaving extra at the top and bottom to wrap around to the back of the door.  The side of the doors where they meet each other also needed to wrap to the back, but I didn’t need to wrap on the hinge side.  Ensuring the contact paper wrapped to the back of the door was an important part.  The contact paper will surely peel if it stops at the edge of the door or on the side of the door.

So did the seams show?  Nope!  Is the clear contact paper truly clear?  YES!  I was prepared to except that the image would be hazy or blurred from the transparent looking vinyl but it wasn’t, it was just as clear as without.

As an after thought and bonus I realized that this vinyl surface could be written on with dry eraser markers.  I haven’t let Hudson do it yet, but I think that he will have fun drawing out a path on the maps or marking up sites he’s been too.  Macy has also used the maps as a quick reference as we were heading out the door and discussing which train to take.  She’s been riding the rails for 6 years now but she is just now interested in knowing how to get around, not that she will be going anywhere alone until she’s like 20.

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September 12, 2012 · 8:00 am

Toddler By Design – part two

 

I love modern childrens’ furniture.  Its a trend in juvenile products that has caught on like wildfire.  But the funny thing is, most of the popular modern pieces are reissued mid-century designs.  Something fabulous and unforgettable was happening in the 50’s.   My second child Hudson is my modern child,  I happily splurge on designer furniture for him that is a fraction of the size and cost as the originals.   My inner child lives vicariously on those indulgences without sacrificing my adult decor style.  I’ve already featured my son’s bedrooms as he progress from Nursery to Toddler, and along with a toddler comes (lots of) toys and play spaces.  Here is how I live happily with ours.

Part 2 – Play Area

While his bed and dresser are in the bedroom, Hudson’s toy box, table and chairs are in the living room.  He drags all the toys out there anyway so I decided not to squeeze them into the shared bedroom.  There’s a funny little family story about how I’ve been on the hunt for a coffee table for a few years.  With transitions in our life, moves and changes in spaces, I finally thought I was ready to pick something.  Then Hudson needed a play table and pouf!  I gained a “coffee table”, at least is looks good in my living room!

Hudson’s play area may intrude on our living room space, but I’m happy with the modern childrens’ furniture that I get to add to my collection.  Like little works of art, the Eames Elephant and Panton Junior chairs are not just pleasing on my eye, their colorful, sculptural and nearly indestructible construction are perfect for my son’s rambunctious pretend play. And like all of our polypropylene furniture, they clean up like brand new with a Mr Clean Magic Eraser.

Modern childrens’ furniture isn’t cheap.  You have to appreciate that you are paying for the design to justify buying it.  I’m a big advocate of buying licensed design products, I don’t buy knockoffs, its sorta a professional courtesy.   That doesn’t mean that I think there aren’t great designs out there without a big name designer name attached to it.  Target and Ikea are excellent companies cranking out modern and on trend products.  Hudson’s toy box is from Ikea and his table is from Target and they all look perfect together.  We also pick up more expensive items one at a time.  Obviously the pink Panton Junior chair is Macy’s, so we’ve had it for a few years.  Hudson got the orange one for christmas and the elephant for his birthday.

My kidos love building blocks, this natural wood set from Melissa and Doug, sits out in a wire basket (from Moon River Chattel in Williamsburg, Brooklyn) ready to be made into an architecural masterpiece on a whim.

So there are “toy box people” and there are “cubby box people”.  I was once a “cubby box mom”, all of Macy’s toys were housed in cute little pink wooden boxes that sat on a shelving unit.  I would stress over the collections being separated properly and spend way to much time organizing it all.  I got over that and LOVE throwing all of Hudson’s  toys in the toy box now.  But it doesn’t mean that its completely an unorganized mess.  The majority of the childrens’ bedroom closet is shelving designated for board games, playsets and a few cubbies. And within the toy box, I came up with a solution to keep collections like cars, puzzle pieces, block sets & Schleich animals grouped for easy play.  I reuse the cloth pull string bags that sheets and other home items are packaged in for a few of those popular toys…..and then I toss them in the toy box, done!

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September 10, 2012 · 4:39 pm

Toddler By Design – part one

Preschool of Art rendering by Nikki Berry

Just shy of 10 years ago there was a major shift in my personal design style.  After beginning design school and absorbing knowledge of design theory like a sponge, I had a gravitational pull toward modern design, especially design that spoke of a child’s delight.  My design school projects always leaned toward fanciful and whimsy, my biggest dream was to design interiors for Disney.  As I developed my senior thesis on symbolism and a child’s built environment I was inspired by Post Modernism, Maria Montessori and the grand idea that arose to create Kindergarden for children.  I would have benefited significantly to have seen the MOMA’s latest exhibition: Century of the Child, as scraping together resources for my thesis research was tough.   But my intelllectual design voice was understood and my senior project that bloomed from it was a gorgeous, modern Preschool of Art.  It was 2005 and the boom of modern children’s product had not yet taken off.  But with sources like Design Within Reach’s children’s store JAX, The MOMA store, Kido, Modernseed and Vitra my modern preschool was well furnished and flowed with symbolic references that would appeal to the child in all of us.  Little did the jury panel know, I was really just nesting for my next child.

Part 1 – Bedroom

My daughter Macy, now 10 years old, is an old soul.  Her style has always been more traditional.  She might have been a Victorian they way she likes to collect tchotchkes. So when my design style changed to modern I used the birth of my second child Hudson, now 2.5, as a reason to buy all the reissued mid-century childrens’ furniture and toys that I really wanted for myself. Giraud, Eames, Panton, Nelson and new comers Stark, Ouef, & Dwell Studio are high on my radar for Modern children’s design.  All of their products work in harmony in a home like mine where I collect mid century  and modern furniture and color is always welcome.  Where form is the priority and the history behind a piece always the price tag.  Items like the Panton Jr chairs and Eames Elephant will never be packed up and stored away when my children are older.  They are pieces of art to me.

I’d like to share how my toddler design collection is coming along.  I have already shared Hudson’s Nursery HERE.  Its a big hit on Pinterest and one of my most popular posts.  He and Macy share a room in our Brooklyn apartment, these pictures are only of his spaces.

Hudson’s side of the bedroom is in transition right now, its sort of an in-between phase for him.  While he’s done with a “nursery look”, the main components of his room aren’t ready to be replaced yet.  His Ouef Sparrow crib will soon convert to a toddler bed and he will continue with grey, green and aqua colors but I have changed out some smaller details to update his Nursery into Toddler room.  Later on I have I have ideas for a navy and orange room with bunk beds for his young boy bedroom.

Hudson’s Oliver the Owl nursery was inspired by the Dwell Studio Owl bedding. So now that his bumper and matching quilt are phased out I could work in the sheeting from the Dwell Studio collection.  We’ve also begun picking up softgoods, like the navy Star Wars pillow by Pottery Barn Kids, that we know will transition to his young boy bedroom.

We adore maps, especially the NYC MTA maps, making them art for the room was an easy addition. I just completed this awesome DIY wallcovering on the closet doors in the childrens’ room.  Look for a post on that soon.

Since I added plenty of map graphics in the room we replaced the framed vintage subway map with a circus letterpress print we pick up on a trip home to Nashville from the legendary Hatch Show Print.

We love books!  We started collection our favorite childhood classics even before we had children.  The wide window sills in the bedroom make for an easy book shelf and I used an Ikea Lack wall shelf that we no longer used as a color pop and platform to display the books.  The canvas art is my creation along with the Arctic Friends painting.  The Blue Brooklyn Brownstones illustration is from Claudia Pearson.

Im not done yet!  Check back in later for the second part of Hudson’s toddler spaces: the play area.

 

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July 9, 2012 · 7:00 am

Do You Know Vera?

Vera Neumann

No not Wang or Bradley.  Neumann.  Ive been in love with her prints for half a dozen years but only until recently did I figure out who she was.  The first time I came across her signature logo was at an old dusty dress shop on a town square in the middle of no where Tennessee.  My friends and I were antiquing and came across scarves and napkins.   We saw potential in the beautiful patterns to become pillows.   I was curious from the beginning about who Vera was but in my initial internet search many years ago there was nothing that gave me any knowledge about the person or company that illustrated these colorful patterns.

As the sewer of the group, I took home everyones Vera treasures to turn into pillows.  But I hung on to my set of napkins afraid to break them up until I knew who Vera was.  My napkins were pink tulips in various completed illustrated stages, some line drawings, some painted.  Being that they were pink and I had a 3 year old little girl at the time I gave them to her to use in her dress up and pretend play.  They were often set at her tea table or wrapped as blankets around her stuffed animals.

The first set of pillows I made for my friends were scarves in brown polka dot and floral patterns on cream backgrounds.  I sewed ice blue satin to the back being very careful not to cut the scarf incase we wanted ever wanted to take apart the pillow and reclaim it.    I loved them so much, it was hard to send them to her because they also matched my Dwell Studio bedding at the time.

Vera Neumann Scarves made into pillows

The third Vera treasure moved around with me from Tennessee to New York to North Carolina and back to New York again.  It was a larger scarf in two shades of springy green with polka dots and a center circle design.

Vera Neumann scarf

Then it was in New York this spring that I ran across a book about Vera Neumann.  Eureka!! I had finally found Vera!

Vera: The Art and Life of an Icon

image via: craftycookups.blogspot

Excitedly I searched and found so much information from recent product launches with Crate and Barrel, MAC cosmetics and Anthropologie to blogposts celebrating her endless illustrations, Etsy sellers crafting with the linens and information on her company history, which is still very much active.  Here is an excerpt from The Vera Company website:

“The Vera Company owns the extensive library of prints, original artwork, scarves, and the trademarks and copyrights of the late, iconic American artist, Vera Neumann. Vera was a pioneer in design who successfully cross-licensed her designs into linens, scarves and sportswear. Her company began at her kitchen table in 1947 and grew into a multi-million dollar international business. All Vera products started as original pieces of art from her own hand and sported the distinctive Vera signature (often with a ladybug) trademark. After years of being dormant, the beloved Vera brand is back and is experiencing a resurgence among old and new fans alike – for once you know Vera, you adore her.”

Between the 40’s through her death in 1993, with several company changes, Vera designed everything from wallpaper, bedding, table linens to dresses, blouses and her signature scarves.  All signed with her name and sometimes with a ladybug.  8,000 of her designs are copyrighted in the Library of Congress.  With so many works of art designed over a span of 50 years a Vera original can pop up anywhere.  An iconic Vera scarf was all Marilyn Monroe wore in her famous “Last Sitting” shoot in 1962 by Bert Stern.

Marilyn Monroe in Vera Neumann scarf

So I missed the boat on the Anthropolgie products released in 2009, the collection was called We Love Vera.  Apparently it happened during the month that I moved from New York to North Carolina.  So I see how I missed that,  I really wasn’t out shopping while I moved my family across the country and I guess my catalog wasn’t forwarded either.  Design* Sponge gave an excellent report on the launch here.

We Love Vera dress Anthropolgie 2009

We Love Vera skirt Anthropolgie 2009

We Love Vera dress Anthropolgie 2009

We Love Vera skirt Anthropolgie 2009

I also missed the MAC Cosmetics launch, but some products are still available online here.  The embossed “scarf” corner of the face powder is a perfect design element to represent The Vera Company.  Here is a good blog post on the rest of the collection (BTW this blog author gives EXCELLENT make-up tutorials on YouTube, I just realized she the same girl who taught me how to apply my Red Queen halloween make up).

MAC cosmetics Vera Collection face powder

But I did NOT miss the Crate and Barrel launch of dish towels and aprons.  Mainly because I receive the CB catalog every few weeks and I had already learned about Vera from the book.  So she was in my radar now.  I picked up a few dishtowels (the ones pictured below) and they go nicely with my green backsplash and orange Air Chairs.

After getting excited about discovering the beauty of Vera I realized I still owed my friend a pillow from the scarf that moved around with me for half a dozen years.  I turned that green dotted scarf into a large euro size pillow with luscious white silk envelope back.

Vera Neumann vintage scarf pillow

Vera Neumann vintage scarf pillow

Vera Neumann vintage scarf pillow

So now you know Vera and next time you are out vintage shopping or maybe just at the mall, pick up some brightly colored works of art and start your own collection.

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April 9, 2012 · 6:25 pm

Vintage Singer Sewing Cabinet

About 10 years ago I received a hand-me down sewing desk with a 1970’s Singer included.  The Singer sewing machine was a beauty but I didnt feel like I  was the right person to invest in its resurrection, so I chucked it.  But I’ve hung on to the sewing desk.  Its been used in several of our homes usually as an entry piece because of its small size.   It came to me in very good condition as a solid wood piece in a hickory stain and although I adore natural wood we recently decided that we would like to paint it gray.  It turned out to be an excellent idea that I dont regret it at all.  We used an oil base Benjamin Moore, color #1483 – Cos Cob Stonewall, its a cool medium gray with green undertones.  It was the same paint that I used to match an Ikea Hack to Hudson’s Oeuf Sparrow Crib.

I don’t have any pictures of how my cabinet looked before we painted it but I do have the manual that had some other models pictured on the back.  When I thought about sharing my DIY of this cabinet I did a little research to find another existing cabinet like mine without much luck.  I did find two similar models just like the ones pictured on the back of my instruction manual.  One is in the excellent shape that mine is in and is going for $300 on ebay in Phoenix and the other not so great shape for $50 at a thrift store in Mesa, AZ. Both with the same type Singer Machine that I chucked.

When we moved into our Brooklyn apartment we stretched the limits of our imagination to repurposed this vintage beauty yet again. I affixed waffled dish towels with a staple gun to serve as an apron with inverted pleats.  This apron allowed us concealed storage underneath,  but you wont believe what we put under there……the kitty litter box!  We had no hiding spot for the cat box in this loft style apartment and by coincidence our size box just happen to fit.  I’ll spare you the gorry details but I promise its under that curtain and yes from one angle it can be seen but wrapping the entire cabinet was not ideal for kitty entry and ventilation.

We have been so pleased with the way our cabinet fits right into our changing style, its been a chameleon of sorts and I suppose I’ll always make it work for us.  I believe thats what a piece of  furniture with good bones does, its always in style and it can be updated with just a change of accessories or a coat of paint.  In fact I am already working on restyling this piece with new objects d’art  I received for Christmas: a Dwell Studio Urchin and a CB2 Neville House.  I was especially excited to match up the Urchin’s bronze coloring to the existing pulls on the Singer cabinet because for a while I considered replacing them with something modern.  Nope, they are complimented perfectly now and I’ve made the first step in adding bronze as metal accent to my home.  Our CB2 Ada lamp stays, (it’s another perpetual piece in the Berry residence) but I am in the market for new art.  Any ideas  anyone?

Dwell Studio Urchin & CB2 Neville House on a refurbished vintage Singer Sewing Cabinet

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February 27, 2012 · 11:15 pm

An Eames Elephant for Hudson

Purdy Matter on one of the original 1945 plywood Eames Elephant

I’ve been in love with designs from Charles & Ray Eames since I learned about them in design school and to celebrate my graduation my husband gave me my first piece of their iconic furniture, the LCW.  Since design school, each time I get a chance to “need” a new piece of furniture I always pick out mid-century modern classics.   My history of furniture teacher said that furniture is the best investment you can make, so that could be my excuse or it’s just that I have an obsession with that era and with chairs in particular.  As Hudson’s second birthday was approaching on February 4th we were at a loss about what to get him. We felt that we over did it at Christmas and he didn’t need nor did we have any room in the toy box for more toys…..but I always have room for a new piece of furniture :)  So we decided that it was now or never, he was the perfect age to play with an Eames Elephant and if we didn’t get it now then it would not really be a toy for him later.  I just adore this little elephant and just as the rest of my mid-century lovelies Im really into learning about the history of its design.  Unfortunately doing just web research I can’t find much info on the origin of the 1945 design.  I had hoped to find a drawing or a picture of the Eameses with one of the original two prototypes.  Im sure that in a real book somewhere is all the info I want so ill be on the look out for that, until then I have a bit of history to share and I also have found some great new pictures of how people are having fun with the reproductions of this precious pachyderm.

The only known original Eames Elephant is safe in the hands of the Eames family

The plywood elephant was among a menagerie of plywood animals that the Eames designed around 1945, the same time they were designing and experimenting with splints and chairs.  But none of the creatures – elephant, frog, seal, bear and horse – ever moved beyond the concept stage.  Their fabrication was too challenging to be mass-produced with compound curves and tight angles. Two elephant prototypes were made and displayed at the Museum of Modern Art from 1945-46 and the only surviving elephant is safe in the hands of the Eames family.  To celebrate the 100th birthday of Charles Eames in 2007, Vitra decided to master the art of producing the plywood elephant and released limited edition plywood elephants, 1000 each in natural and red stained maple.

source – kandpreadme.blogspot.com

Hive modern still has a limited edition plywood elephant for sale see it HERE!

source – moderity.se

The response was overwhelmingly received and all 2000 copies sold out immediately at $1900 each!   Since the cost and limited production made for an instant collectors item, Vitra decided to develop a second series of elephants made from plastic in 2009.  A nod to the fact that the Eameses were the first to use plastic in furniture in the 1950’s and also making this new series affordable to buy for the intended user – a child!  Current pricing of the elephant is $290 and comes in red, ice-gray, white, lime and pink.  You can find them stocked and ready to ship online in stores like DWR, Hive Modern, All Modern, Modern Seed and Design Public.

Vitra Eames Elephants

This brochure for the new elephants is FANTASTIC, besides being made by a graphic design student, it has the flat pattern of the two components for constructing mini paper elephants.  So its marketed for kids but I’m thinking of all the other things I could make like….a fondant cake topper, swoon!

see the brochure HERE

If  you are a furniture lover or design professional without a child, don’t let that deter you from adding this beautiful sculptural piece to your home, it looks like a “stool” to the adult crowd or consider the Vitra miniature in either Red or Natural plywood for $185 as a book shelf decoration.

Vitra miniture

With the release of the 2007 Limited Edition elephant, Eames Demetrios, the grandson of Charles Eames and director of Eames Office and Chairman of the Eames Foundation, produced a film ” A Gathering of Elephants” to stir excitement for these beloved creations:

Hudson loves to trumpet along with the elephants and move to the african drum beat, its a great little film!

Then, just this january a second elephant film was released, “Elephant Safaris – in to the Wilds

Im excited to share that this film was brought to my attention by a tweet from Eames Demetrios himself!

Its only been a few years since the release of the new elephant and I’ve searched around to see how its being used and displayed.

Check out this playroom at the new London Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse!!

At the Vitra Design Muesum (what are Bleu and Pinky doing there?  wink wink)

I found several Flickr pictures that show this outdoor “elephant pin” from the Basel Vitra Design Museum.  They must be rearranged daily, each picture had them doing different things.   It makes the little guys seem to really have a playful personality seeing them “running around” this pin.

Singapore: Saturday In Design via How We Create

In Hong Kong, an auction of artistic re-designs of the elephants for  the ‘Ambassadors of Design’ via Alive Not Dead

And of course my own contribution to the bank of elephant images

Hudson and the Eameses

Nose to Nose with his pet elephant

This little elephant is so much fun to photograph, I can’t wait until a warm spring day when we can take him outside and take more pictures!  Hudson already loves playing with him, since the back is sloped he likes to run his cars off of it like a slide and once I caught him trying to climb through its backside, that would have been a good picture!

Eames Elephant in Ice Gray

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February 12, 2012 · 4:49 pm

Deer Hunting

I love animals.  I love their beauty and I love when their beauty is represented in interior design.  Just as long as no animal was injured for us to enjoy that beauty.   We have amazing manufacturing techiniques today and I see no reason why we can’t duplicate all the beauty of the animal kingdom …so that there is still an animal kingdom for the next generation.  Thats why I am in love with faux deer heads.  Resin or wood, painted or even mixed media, there are some really fine options out there to celebrate your love for animals.

Brooklyn Bedroom

This is my Brooklyn bedroom, I used a white resin deer head from Z Gallerie to mix up the media in a gallery arragement.  We lovingly named our deer Bambi :) and have even decorated him at christmas!

Bambi in his holiday best

I get asked about our deer all the time and I thought I might give my readers some resources to hunt down a good one . Heres our deer from  Z Gallerie  – Small !6″ $50

And also from Z Gallerie – Large 39″ $250

Dwell Studio has a great paper mache selection of animal heads in pretty colors for kids or adults – 13″H  $76

I found several great faux animal head examples on Etsy!  So glad that there are American artisans taking part in this design trend.  Here are a few of my favoirtes:

 Mahzer & Vee has many animal statues in fun colors! Faux Taxidermy Deer Head – 21″H $100

Lucy Haus has deer heads in gray, white, gold or any color you would like!   Cocoa Gray Faux Deer Head Mount – 23″H  $150

 BeJanked is offering rhinestoned moose and elephants that are sure to be a conversation piece! The original Rhinestone Taxidermy: Moose – 13.75H $600   Elephant – 18″H $275

Ruby’s Lounge  also has wallpaper embellished resin dear heads in many patterns and colors.  Kelly Summer – 18″H  $335

Lastly, I am really excited to feature this whimsical alternative to real animal taxidermy.  Jordan Elise has created Horrible Adorables, these “quirky faux taxidermy mounts of strange creatures and wonderful wonders”.  Each odd little character is one-of-a-kind, constructed of foam, wool felt and real glass taxidermy eyes.  I found these creatures at the Regnegade Craft Fair in Brooklyn last year and have thought about them ever since, I think I might have to have one for Hudson!

Check out more of the Horrible Adorables at Jordan’s Etsy shop , Artstarphilly and creature gallery

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November 14, 2011 · 10:04 am

Dwell Studio Modern Thanksgiving Contest

I’ve had such a fun weekend!  I have shopped for my dream Thanksgiving table as part of a contest for Dwell Studio.  By using Pinterest, My Modern Thanksgiving board was easy to pull together through my favorite online retailers.  But I couldn’t just stop at the tabletop….I designed the entire dining room!  My design started with two favorite pieces from my personal collection: Orange Air Chairs from Jasper Morrison & Marimekko Unikko print fabric. From there my inspiration was vintage Scandinavian design and gold tones. Add it all together and it equals a beautiful dining room that is Modern yet speaks of vintage uniqueness. Each piece is carefully selected to balanced in the room based on its shape, color and style significance.   My choices are a mixture of highs and lows and I tried to stay off the beaten path of mainstream resources, maybe you’ll see a store that you didn’t know about or havent thought about shopping from before.  Some of the items I own, some are on my wish list and some are on my “in my dreams” list.  There are more than 35 items and I invite you to view my Pinterest board here for product resources.  If you aren’t on Pinterest, you are missing out on the latest design tool and social obsession, give it a try!

Dwell Studio Modern Thanksgiving by Nikki Berry

If you have a closer look at my selections I’ll walk you through why it all works nicely together.  While it looks like a room that took years for someone to collect items they love individually (& I do love each item!) there are a few common elements that pull it together.  First of all the colors orange and gold compliment each other in many tones and ranges from bright orange & rust to shiny brass & antiqued gold.  Since I gave the core of the room a grounded warm gray, those colors have a nice canvas to stand out on.  Then there are the repetitive shapes: the linear chandelier and centerpiece, the starburst mirror and tubular objects and the triangular facets in the mirror, short glasses, candlesticks & silverware.  Relating elements in a room gives your eye a reason to search out and find details.  It’s a pleasing feeling to find that each piece is there for a reason, its how an “undecorated” room has purpose yet the style is still personal.

Enjoy my design and check in at the Dwell Studio Blog to see who inspires me and how the contest turns out. A big thank you to Dwell Studio for hosting this contest, it was a fun & easy challenge to take part in and the prize offerings are very generous!

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September 22, 2011 · 11:40 pm

Vintage Handkerchief Inspired Nursery

Turquoise, lavender and peach were the request of my latest client for her nursery.  Vintage childrens’ handkerchiefs and animal planters immediately came to my mind when I envisioned that color combination.  Luckily a vintage style was also what suited my client who loves quilts and sweet girly decor.

Vintage Handkerchief Inspired Nursery Rendering by Nikki Berry

This being an eDesign service my design suggestions had to be currently available and accessible to order online.  To achieve a vintage feel from modern products I focused on the color scheme and mixed and match bedding.  Like a quilt, if the colors work together the patterns don’t matter as much.  The client prefered to have the wall paint a light turquoise and with that as a starting point I added purple and turquoise softgoods to balance out the color weights. Peach is not a color that is not currently trending in the product market, so it is to be added in the accessories and vintage finds that the client is currently searching for herself.  I did suggest to paint the ceiling a slight peach color that compliments the warm wood flooring and gives the color a purposeful presence as other peach items are curated in the room.

Vintage Handkerchief Inspired Nursery Design Board

Vintage Hankie Inspired Design Board

Drapery- Land of Nod: purple damask /Anthtropologie: white floral

Vintage Hankies – Fine Collection Store Ebay

Paint –

Fabrics – Etsty Shops: Grimmlynns & Cottonthreadfabrics.  Fabric.com: Jennifer Paganelli & Michael Miller

Quilt – Custom made by CarleneWestberg, Quiltville Etsy Shop

Lamp – Pottery Barn Kids

Knobs – Pottery Barn Kids

Rug – Land of Nod

Bird Art – Rosenberry Rooms

Pillow -Anthropologie

Bumper – Land of Nod

Crib Sheet – New Arrivals, Inc: Pinwheel Punch baby bedding

Mobile – Custom made by Nature Child Etsy Shop

Fairy Art -Rosenberry Rooms

While my client awaits her new arrival she plans to scour flea markets and antique stores for a few childrens’ handkerchiefs and animal planters in just the right colors.  In case she isnt feeling up to it, the lovely people on Etsy have got vintage finds covered.  Here are 12 vintage items that would fit right in as accessories and craft project materials for this nursery.

Vintage childrens' hankie and planters for a nursery

Vintage Childrens’ Hankies and Nursery Planters

1.Wefleaqueens Etsy Shop 2. Flintcreekvintage Etsy Shop 3. Dustylorraine Etsy Shop 4. Bbbdesigns Etsy Shop

5. Robysnesty Etsy Shop 6. Sosovintage Etsy Shop 7. Twolittleowls Etsy Shop 8. Wildwoodsummer Ebay

9. Murdups Etsy Shop 10. Bewitchingvintage Etsy Shop 11. Flintcreekvintage Etsy Shop 12. Gypsyrosalie.com

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August 15, 2011 · 3:52 pm

NYC Apartment Tour part 1

My posts have been a little SugarCoated heavy lately.  I cant let you all forget that Im an interior designer too!  While I dont plan on posting work from my professional portfolio on my blog , I do have my personal and freelance design projects that I am happy share.

Tonight I am attending a product launch party for Dwell Studio at the NYDC.  Being an interior designer in NYC has amazing benefits such as the social events the vendors sponsor.  Its market time here and many designers have to spend major bucks to be in town this week but its only a $5 train ride for me!  Dwell Studio has been part my personal design for many years, each year I watch as the company grows and reinvents themselves; always being a front-runner and trend setter instead of a follower.

Im so excited to attend the launch party and possible meet the founder Christiane Lemieux tonight that I thought it would be a good time to show some pictures of my own home.  You can see that I am often inspired by Dwell Studios modern and eclectic style. In this post you will see my Manhattan apartment in which we had a true “living room”, it is set up as a studio while our daughter enjoyed the one bedroom.  We lived in two different apartments at 71 Broadway and the location and building will always have a special place in our hearts.  It was when NYC was truly new and exciting for us.  We were semi-permenant tourists and we enjoyed both worlds as residents at play.  In my future NYC Apartment Tour posts I will show more of the amazing building we lived in, built in 1899 siting next to Trinity Church at Wall street.

71 Broadway Ny,Ny

Studio Living in the Finacial District

NYC Apartment with views of Trinity Church

Divided Eating Area in Studio Living

Trinity Church Dusted in Snow

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August 3, 2011 · 2:14 pm

Hudson’s Oliver the Owl Nursery

Oliver the Owl Nursery

Being an interior designer I had high expectations for myself to create a nursery for my son that was beautiful; being a craftswoman I had high expectations for myself to create a nursery for my son that was custom-made.  For Hudson’s nursery I delivered both. I named this nursery design and the owl on the quilt Oliver the Owl after Hudson’s middle name. Although I was inspired by the Dwell Owl bedding that was brand new at the time, I decided to design and make all of his softgoods myself.  The bumper, quilt, sheets, canvases, drapery & rug were created by my hands.  The framed art, mobile and dresser were also customized to better fit into my design.

This nursery started with the gray Sparrow crib from Oeuf that I had choose whether I was having a Hudson or a Olivia.  Second came the fabric, a F.Schumacher called Zeynatta Mondatta.  Actually the fabric came years before, as it was a sample I held on to from my D&D Building fabric trips. I just had to have it but didn’t know what I would ever do with it, it was fate! I ran across it one day going through tear sheets and files and I instantly knew I’d found the inspiration for his room.   In designing his bedding I had an allowance on how much of the zig zag fabric I was going to invest in, it was a very expensive fabric and luckily a fellow interior designer was able to get her hands on a yard sample for me (perks of the trade) and that helped out a bunch with the cost.  In sourcing the other fabric locally in North Carolina I was tipped on a gem of a fabric store in the middle of nowhere.  Mary Jo’s in Gastonia, NC, I couldn’t believe my eyes when I went there and it takes a lot to impress me.   After the foundation theme and colors were decided, I started with product research and created an inspiration board and a board for his bedding design.  I was proud to show them off at our baby shower, it was the only way for people to know what we were up to.

 

My Initial Frame

Here’s how his nursery came together:

  • To make the bumper I went to several baby boutiques to inspect the custom designs that were displayed.  I took a hundred measurements of my crib and every bumper I ran across and I spoke with other designers about how they specify construction to workrooms.
  • The quilt is composed of minky on one side and heavier weight fabrics on the other, its meant to be more of a top piece, decorative quilt.
  • The owl applique is hand embroidered.
  • The crib sheet (and later a pillowcase) was made from a twin sheet in just the right aqua color from Bed Bath and Beyond.
  • The tab top drapery was modeled after another window panel my daughter has (super easy project).
  • The rug is faux fur that I stitched heavy weight canvas to the back so that it would lay flat!
  • We paid homage to Hudson’s namesake with artwork of a subway map of NYC, it was from a calendar that we already had and it was just the right colors.
  • The RAR rocker was on my list of must have chairs (being obsessed with designer chairs), but I was on the fence whether to go with a color or white.  White won for future versatility as it often does, but I also really love white furniture.
  • His mobile was from CB2 but I had to paint a few of the pieces blue.
  • The Koppang dresser is an Ikea Hack, customed painted in a Ben Moore oil paint that was an exact match to the Ouef crib.
  • Its fun to stumble upon something that you know is just perfect: the Foo Dog bookends are from target, the FADO ball lamp from Ikea, the Where the Wild Things Are pillow is from Urban Outfitters and my husband insisted on having an Ugly doll.
  • The paint is  Laura Ashley-Apple 6 from Lowes
  • The initial frame is another project of mine that I will talk about soon
  • Newspaper tree canvases  – modge podge, paint and newspaper, check out how I made these here

Lastly to be decided were in his room were the  canvases.  As you can imagine I had a lot on my plate making the bedding and in the back of my mind I had an idea for newspaper trees but I just couldn’t get to it before he was born.  The canvases and (as well as few other items) were completed a few weeks after we brought Hudson home but he’ll never know we didn’t have everything ready for him!

Hudson's First Shoes

35 weeks along with Hudson, Captured By Jes

Just a few weeks before Hudson was born my sister photographed me and  incorporated his special fabric.  Now a year and a half later she photographs a lot of people.  You can check out her site  www.capturedbyjes.blogspot.com

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July 26, 2011 · 3:32 pm

The 9 Year Evolution of Macy’s Bedroom

My baby girl turns 9 in just a few days.  I always like to look back at old photos around this time of year and now that she’s older we look together.  It’s amazing that places and things I thought she’d never forget, she has forgotten.  I decided write a post showing the transformation of her room from Nursery to Tween; it would be fun to do and great for her to look at too.  I came across some decent vintage photos last week, although I never had publishing them on a blog in mind when I took them, I think they are good enough to share.  What is most important from this post is that you will see how I took Macy’s nursery design to a toddler design; to a whirl wind of changes during our moving adventures; to what she is now an: 9-year-old on the brink of a being a teenager or whats now called a tween.  Her colorway has not changed in these 9 years but amazingly enough I have made it work and grow with her.  We’ve had some major transitions in our lives but I’ve always made sure that no matter the space, size or shape she has had a familiar room that she was proud of.   Now that she has become older with less toys and her own taste we have promised her a design change this winter. She wants blue and I dont blame her!  She’s been surrounded by pink for 9 years & I want a change too!

Macy's Nursery 2002

Summer Fruit Bedding From Pottery Barn Kids

Macy’s Nursery

There was no theme for Macy’s nursery.  I simple picked what I liked based on colors.  Her bedding was Summer Fruit by Pottery Barn Kids and although it set the colorway for her room I didnt add fruit anywhere else.  I had a logical reason for choosing a butter yellow color for her walls, I knew the rest of the room would have entirely enough pink in it.  From toys and clothes to accessories and art, I didnt need to be surrounded by it on the wall too!  But I couldnt resist, the top 20 inches of her wall was a cotton candy pink!   It said “baby girl” without screaming it.

Macy's Toddler Room 2006

Kasey Quilt and Madeline Bed from Pottery Barn Kids

My DIY Version of a Land of Nod storage unit

Macy’s Toddler Room

Out with the baby gear, in with toys!  While Macy was still in her toddler bed I created a toy storage unit to vertically house her bulging toy boxes.  This is a copy from a storage unit in Land of Nod but mine was custom designed to match her room by me!  It was available for years but is gone now so if you like it you’ll have to make it and dont worry,  its sew easy!  I bought the wire shelving from Bed Bath and Beyond, its not cheap but its sturdy and can be used anywhere later on if you decided to do away with the cover.  I made the cover out of 2 pairs of cotton duck cloth drapery.  I actually only used 3 of the panels and opted to not cut the 4th because I only needed a small section for the top of the unit. (I saved the 4th panel and used it a few different ways in her room you will see) I added a coordinating stripe fabric on the top, scallop and inside front, but that was all extra and not necessary.  I came up with the idea to use drapery because it has a good hanging weight and its already hemmed on the sides and bottom.  It also proved to be cheaper than buying fabric by the yard.

When Macy was 3 1/2 she got a big girl bed.  The Madeline canopy bed from Potter Barn Kids.  To avoid changing the wall colors and the rest of the rooms accents, I went with a quilt and sheeting that had the same yellow, light pink and dark pink combinations.  I guess I made a good choose because her Kasey quilt and Madeline bed are still a staple of PBKs collection.  The transformation of her room literally happened in a few hours.  The white glove delivery put together the bed and we rearranged the room.  I made a few additions like the dress up wall but that was basically it, everything else already matched!  Her dresser became the nightstand, the rug was a neutral, the shades with ric rack that I sewed on still matched and the yellow fabric and striped fabric on the toy unit were a perfect match to the quilt!  Here I used the extra drapery panel on the canopy at the headboard to block an unsightly electric panel.

Macy's Mini Bedroom

Macy's Full size Manhattan bedroom

Macy takes Manhattan

Not long after Macy got her big girl room we had to pack it up and put it in storage :(  We moved to NYC and lived in corporate housing that was fantastic but not meant for a child.  Macy was small enough that she could fit back into a toddler bed temporarily and we were able to give her a slice of her bedroom design in the corner of our one bedroom luxury apartment in Lower Manhattan.  Look at how cute she was!  She only had to endure this “mini bedroom” for 5 months until we made NYC our permanent home and transferred our own furniture there.  I feel that decorating in a small space is more about editing than adding and although I didnt attempt to do any painting to the 13 foot walls, her beautiful furnishings made her room her own.

Macy 2nd Manhattan bedroom with the view of Trinity Church

Trinity Church bedroom view at Christmas

Macy's 2nd Manhattan bedroom gallery wall

Macy's Manhattan Playloft

The Pottery Barn Kids Kitchen in the Playloft

Macy’s 2nd Manhattan Bedroom

While on our first tour of NYC we moved into a second apartment within the same building and Macy got an even better bedroom.  This was her view! A 13 foot window and balcony view of Trinity Church.  It was breath-taking during all the seasons, especially winter when it looked like a gingerbread castle dusted in powdered sugar.  Her room was similar to the first apartment just bigger.  Big enough that we put the christmas tree in there instead of in the living room.  This time I did do some decorating on the walls, still not painting but a gallery wall that also had an Ikea shelf as a writing ledge.  But most fantastic about this apartment is that Macy got a playloft!  Lucky Duck!!  It was her little hide away or tree house we called it sometimes.  She had so much fun up there!

Macy's Tween Room 2010

Macy's Tween Room Storage Unit and Cafe Table

NC children's bedroom gallery wall

Chinese lanterns over the canopy

Macy’s Tween Room 

For our 14 months in North Carolina, Macy’s room was updated from a toddler style but had the same foundation in colors.  She had new polka dot sheets instead of fish but we kept the Kasey quilt and pink gingham duvet.  We gave her a bolder pink wall and a fabulous chinese lantern installation over her canopy!  The largest lantern was illuminated with a switch that she could operate while in bed.   We gave her PBK kitchen to my niece Emma, but Macy kept the food and dishes, I couldnt get her to give those up as she still likes to play pretend sometimes!  The toy unit was still in use but its near the end of its life and the girly cafe set from Target that she got for her 2nd christmas is soon to be replaced this christmas with a modern boy version for Hudson. And I finally used that 4th drapery panel on a window!

Now that we are back in NYC, Macy and Hudson share a room but their bedroom styles remain separate.  She has her half of the room and he has his. We have painted his side but are refraining on hers since she will get an updated look very soon.  Check back this winter to see how it turns out!!

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June 24, 2011 · 12:56 am

Eames LCW

 
 The first Chair 101 class is starting, quiet please everyone.   Now pay attention because there will be a pop quiz at the end of the series!
 

LCW in Ash

LCW in Palisander

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Today we will be learning about the LCW – Low Chair Wood by Charles and Ray Eames.  In my opinion this is the most iconic chair and a great place to start this series.  Besides it being  first in my personal collection, its my favorite and there are rules to even sit in it at my house: no eating, drinking or writing (seriously, its my baby)!   The LCW chair works just about anywhere—from homes and offices to schools and public areas.  It continues to be an icon of Modern Design and is valued for its comfort as well as a status symbol. The Eames Molded Plywood Lounge Chair (1946) has been referred to as the “most famous chair of the century” and was hailed “Design of the Century” in 1999 by Time Magazine.
 
 

Ray and Charles Eames

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During the postwar Good Design movement husband and wife team, often just refered to as The Eames, sought to create inexpensive, comfortable, and modern furniture that could be mass-produced and  consistently used plywood in their work.  They have been a huge name in the design world since then, 70+ years later.  Many of my future lessons will feature Eames designed chairs.  The LCW was not a one hit wonder for them but it was the chair that started them all.

Eames Plywood Leg Splint

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In 1937, Charles had become head of the department of experimental design at Cranbrook Academy in Michigan and worked with friend and architect Eero Saarinen (you’ll hear more about him in future lessons!)  investigating plastics and furniture. The original concept for the molded plywood chairs was conceived in 1940 when Charles and Eero entered a line of furniture into an “Organic Furniture Competition” held by the Museum of Modern Art.  They won the competition but production of the initially designed chairs was canceled due to America entering WWII.   Charles continued on with plywood experiments and was awarded a contact with the US Air Force for Plywood molded leg splints.  It was this same technology that he used to create the LCW in 1946.  The chairs were manufactured by the Evans Products Company (Eames’ wartime employer) company in California and distrubuted by the Herman Miller Furniture Company in Michigan (another BIG name in the the mid centure furniture movement)  In 1949 Herman Miller took over production completely and is still the only licenced manufacture of the chair in the US.  Vitra (remember them for later) presently manufactures for Europe.
 

Production line in California

  

Furniture Brochure

Sales Catalog

 

Vintage Ad for LCW

 
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The LCW is composed of  plywood made by molding thin sheets of lightweight maple vaneers into gently curved shapes, giving the material a soft and inviting appearance.  Its uninterupted smooth form is contributed to the rubber shocks that are glued, not screwed into the backrest and seat.  These shock mounts give flexibility to the chair, making it more responsive to the human body.  This made the LCW one of the first chair to have a responsive backrest.  The molded plywood family has many other chairs and tables that are also still sought after today.  The chair has a sister LCM – Low Chair Metal, with metal legs and cousins DCM and DCW, “D” standing for Dining.  The dining chair has a narrower seat, longer legs and doesnt slope back as much as the LCW.  Have you ever sat in a LCW?  It is amazing that a chair without any padding or upholstery can be that darn comfortable.  The seat is higher at the knees and reminds me of sitting in an Adirondack chair.  There is no lumbar suport but its not needed with the ergonomic placement of the backrest.  Its not a really a lounge chair (just wait they did that too) but its definately a chair that you can sit in for a long time. 
 
So what makes bent ply or molded plywood a good material choice? The cross grain lamination technique create sheets of wood that are extradordinarily strong and can perform in ways that natural solid woods cannot. In the forward of Bent Plywood  by Dung Ngo & Eric Pfeiffer, (a book I gave my husband that actually has a plywood cover) Rob Forbes, founder of Design Within Reach, speaks of plywood furniture (and an Eames leg splint and LCW is pictured), “The very heart of modernism is embodied by the processes that evolved from this combination of human art and industrial woodforming technology, and we have made it the heart of our business”.
 

Starbucks art

BR ad September 2006 in Dwell mag

 

Martha Stewart Living featuring LCW

Being an icon nearly since its introduction you can only imagine how many are around.  Chances are that you have run across this little chair a few times and didn’t even know it.  A few years ago it was on wall murals and art work of every Starbucks.  It is constantly used by stylists in magazine articles and in store displays.  The LCM is in all fitting rooms in the Gaps in Manhattan and I often see it in window displays at Banana Republic (sorry Old Navy its out of your price range)  In doing my research I remembered this BR ad that I had from a Dwell magazine in 2006, it’s so important they made the model get out of her seat for the picture, ha!   

MoMa exhibit archives

 

Macy seeing "mommy's chair" at the Mint Museum in Charlotte, NC

It’s on the permenant collection of the MoMA and I don’t doubt in countless other museums (I know it was in the Mint Museum in Charlotte,NC)  My daughter takes great pride when we run across it and always says “Mommy its your chair!”  

Eames Chair coasters from MoMA

Inhabit pillow

There are also many products that pay homage to is famous form. I have the Eames chair coaster from the MoMA store  which feature 4 of their famous chairs, the LCM being one of them. If you see a book or poster graphically featuring famous chairs it is never left out and Inhabit makes awesome pillows featuring mid-century chair silhouettes.

Molded Plywood Order Form

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According to this order sheet, the original price of the LCW was $20.95!! I did a little searching and the vintage ad pictured above from 1952 the prices went up to $25.  DWR currently sales the LCW in one of its 4 basic colors for $780, in 2008 it was $650 and 2007, $630.  When I bought mine in 2006 it was $600!  Wow that’s a price increase of 30% in just 5 years!  My history of furniture teacher in design school gave us some wise advice:  “Don’t buy fancy cars, invest in furniture”, now I really know what he means! Of course if you really want to have this chair but don’t have the space or quite enough cash for it you can buy it in a scaled down miniature at 4.5 inches tall and $200  from Vitra. But for that price, I think that you might as well save up a little more money for the real thing.
 

My living room

 
 

Hudson enjoys relaxing in the LCW!

Lastly, my beloved little chair may live by a lot of rules in my house but that doesn’t mean its off limits.  I believe that you should teach children to respect furniture no matter its cost or design status.  Hudson has found the LCW to be a perfect chair to lounge in while he’s watching Yo Gabba Gabba!

Thanks for joining me!  Tune in again next week to learn about: the Barcelona chair

 

Thanks to Avital Gertner for contributing her flickr photo of the starbucks art.

Informational links:

http://www.eamesoffice.com/

http://www.hermanmiller.com/

http://www.industrialdesignhistory.com/

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June 17, 2011 · 10:26 am

Chairs 101

Entanglement of Chairs by James Nizam

 

 source

I am working on my new design series called Chairs 101.  I am crazy about chairs, my obsession started in design school and was awarded at my graduation when my husband gave me my first designer chair, the Eames LCW.  Since then I have added a few others and will be excited to show off my collection as well as other important chairs during this series!

Why do I love designer chairs?  There are several reasons, one is that out of all the many ways that a person can collect important pieces in design, whether it be a work of art or a whole house, one little chair is by far one of the most affordable and obtainable.   A splurge on a single chair doesn’t require much space or special installation to make a whole room feel styled and complete. 

The other reasons for my love are deeper in design theory thoughts.   The evolution of chair design has always paralleled the development of architectural styles and eras. During the last century chair designs have had a lasting impact on furniture design because of their innovative materials and the advance in construction technologies.  A multitude of chairs have been designed simply because of the fact that there is no idea form for a chair and that there can be many solutions to perform its function.  When I study a chair I see so much: a sculpture, a voice, a time period.  The mood it can create and its purpose in social society are all part of the package, wrapped up on four little legs and using only 2 square feet of floor space!  It’s a compact design that makes a serious impact in the design world.

Modern Chair Eye Exam from Blue Art Studio

 

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A chair can be a beautiful work of art that is well designed, studied, and written about.  It can become a celebrated icon. Some of the most iconic chairs have emotional persuasion that speak as loudly as well noted architecture and are often designed by architectural masterminds.   I run across designer chairs in department store displays, hotels, restaurants, advertisements and magazine spreads.   When I find one in person I take my picture in it ( I told you I was obsessed)!  There are many products that feature designer chairs like pillows, posters, coasters and miniatures, they are an easy way to bring a piece of a icon into your home or office. I dont collect the miniatures myself, I’d rather save up for the full size chair and I also have no problem obtaining just one of each, who says that you have to have a matching set?

The Bible of Designer Chairs

source

One of my required books in design school was the bible of chairs: 1000 Chairs by Charlotte and Peter Feill.  I will be referring to it myself while writing my posts to get my facts straight.  (Dont worry, Im not going to talk about all 1000!)  I will be writing about not just the history and importance of the chairs but showing you some of the places designer chairs are used and some of the products that celebrate their form.  In my series I intend to share the worlds most influential and celebrated chairs with you.  If you aren’t a design-ish person, you will be surprised at how many chairs you can recognize but have never known the story behind. 

In the tradition of a blog series I will be making these posts on Fridays so check them out as you wind down for the weekend.

Cheers! Nikki

Tune into class next week to learn about: Eames LCW and LCM chair

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May 31, 2011 · 10:20 am

Modern Moroccan Nursery

Moroccan style is very trendy right now. It’s a visually stimulating style with an abundance of detail.  Vibrant colors, delicate wood carvings and intricate mosaics all give it a dramatic, mysterious and luxurious feel.  With the right combinations and restraint, the seemingly endless layers of fabric and busy ornate accessories that are the traditional Moroccan can to be reinterpreted as Modern.  A vein of unity such as a main color or repetition of an element can streamline it to become more Modern. 

Making a whole room have a Moroccan style can be as easy as adding  a few of the elements that are a must for creating a Moroccan design: the arch, a pouf or floor pillows, a painted or inlaid table, representations of animails, lanterns of colored glass and a mixture of patterns and jewel tone colors.  The best part in creating a  Moroccan style is that it’s not meant to match, it’s an eclectic style that is global and well traveled.  

I was asked to do a Modern Moroccan Nursery and it was educating for me to source the products as well as fun.  This was an eDesign project in which all of my suggestions needed to be readily available at national or online stores. This design was for a baby boy and the client definitely wanted to have blue in the room.  My inspiration boards paired blue with orange, green or multiple colors to give it a modern restraint.  In the end the client went with Scheme A and ordered nearly the entire inspiration board.  Besides the 3 schemes I compiled, I also prepared individual boards showcasing just accessories, art, rugs, pillows or tables in case she wanted to swap out for an item she liked better.  I am including the Tables board in this post because it had the most beautiful examples of traditional Moroccan furniture.    

Baby Gavin Moroccan Nursery Scheme A

 

Baby Gavin Modern Moroccan Nursery Scheme B

 
 

Baby Gavin Modern Moroccan Nursery Scheme C

 
 

Table options board

 
 
 
 
 

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May 25, 2011 · 4:27 pm

Gallery Walls

Doing gallery walls are like working a puzzle to me.  It’s very satisfying when the pieces fit together just right, with a balance of scale and an aesthetic relationship. I have a huge assortment of tear sheets and photographs of gallery walls.  Retail stores and hotels are great resources to find them.  I often look to them for ideas but mine never end up exactly like what I’ve seen.  Thats what makes them an inspiration, they just get my creative juices going!  With several moves in the last few years, I’ve had the opportunity to do several gallery walls.  Sometimes when I do one, it begins as a starting point that I know I will be adding to or swapping out pieces later.  Other times I put it together with no intentions to make any changes.   

Macy's Manhattan bedroom gallery wall

 
 

NC children's bedroom gallery wall

 
Nikki Berry Nikkiikkin

Bklyn childrens room grouping

 
My first wall was Macy’s bedroom in Manhattan. We had 13 foot ceiling, so I had a huge space to work with.  Luckily I had enough floor space too because I laid all the frames out on the floor and moved them around until it was right before I attempted to put any on the wall.  This was the same technique I used for Macy and Hudson’s combined wall in NC and Brooklyn.  Our Brooklyn apartment also has 13 foot ceilings and the children’s room has two full walls of windows, so it was hard to find a good space for a gallery wall.  I ended up disbursing most of what we previously used to other areas and putting a small grouping over the closet doors.
 
Nikki Berry Nikkiikkin

Bklyn living room grouping

  In our Brooklyn living room I was unsure of what art or pictures I wanted to use on a huge 12 foot wide x 12 foot tall wall.  This ended up with me procrastinating for a few months until I broke down, photographed all the pieces and the wall, put them in Photoshop and worked and edited the space just as I would have (and have done) for an interior design client.  This was just the way to do it and it made complete sense to me. But it had my husband and friends rolling with laughter that I would go to this length and put so much effort into it.   My effort will pay off again because on this wall I already have two large portraits to add,  so it will be tweaked in few months and I plan on doing it using Photoshop again!  It is my intentions that this wall will always be changing and growing as we wish to start collecting local art.

Bklyn bedroom grouping

For the next gallery wall in our Brooklyn bedroom, I told my husband that I didn’t want anything to do with it, that he should take a stab at it  as punishment for laughing at me!  And he did, but the way a man would.  He just started nailing and hanging it all up without a plan.  Of course he showed me up because it worked perfectly and it looks just a good as mine with a lot less fretting.   
 
 

 

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