Kelly Caron: Posh Tots

I have recently been both overwhelmed and impressed by the creative interior design options for babies and children. From luxury bedding and luxe furniture options to fabulous boutique chic room themes and over-the-top one-of-a-kind designs, ‘Posh Tots’ now have a whole design category of their own. Check out some of my current favorite children’s rooms from Stanley’s Young America Collection, Dada and Letto Bambino!

This room was called ‘Paint Box’ and was in the Stanley Furniture showroom during the April High Point Market. I love the Pantone DIY (Do-It-Yourself) concept of color blocking. What a great way to add creativity and interest without the expense of artwork.

Here is another room in the Stanley Showroom.  They titled this room ‘Flock’ after the thousand multi-colored origami paper cranes. It is thought to be a powerfully lucky and benevolent charm to have 1,000 paper cranes hanging in a babys’ room.  This Japanese legend promises the baby a long life full of good luck. As the child grows older they are supposed to distribute the cranes as gifts to loved ones for birthdays, weddings and major life events.

Appropriately titled, the ‘Gallery’ room featured cool Jackson Pollack inspired splatter floors.  I love the Picasso quote on the chalkboard portion of the wall that, “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.”

This room was called ‘Fly.’ Notice the bird house details and the clever tree wall mural.  I really like the symbolic concept of a ‘nesting’ place in a babies room and having birds watching over the sweet dreaming baby.

This room was called ‘Fantasia.’  I really wanted to share this room because not only does it maximize a smaller space, but the flower poms are a low-budget high impact decor element.  They could be created in any color scheme, size or shape.

We discovered the Italian vendor, Letto Bambino, while working on private residence for Castello di Casole.  I love how angelic and peaceful this space is.

Here is another view of the room. The layers of white and different textures within the room create a sublime serene feeling.

This chic monochromatic room is from French vendor DADA HOME.  What really caught my eye about this room was the clever horse task table/desk.  I’ve included an additional image of that piece below.

This room was found on The Animal Print Shop blog. It is a perfect gender neutral modern approach to a nursery. I think any baby would have fun seeing these cute faces each day.

All of these furniture items are available through J Banks Retail.

In addition to overall room design are some to-cute-and-clever-not-too-include products!

1. Horse desk from DADA-Home 2. Pouf  by Jiti (Available in J Banks Retail in several additional colors and styles) 3. Giraffe sconce 4. Uptown Crib by Nurseryworks (also available in black with white trim) 5. LULU DK fabrics and wallcoverings from Schumacher 6. Westin Acrylic Rocker in Ecru by Nurseryworks 7. Sobey Dresser by Post Tots 8. Knowledge Tree Bookcase by Posh Tots

1. Owl Backpack (Available at J Banks Retail)2. Play Canopy by Land of Nod for a little Princess or Astronaut 3. Elephant Storage Bins by Rosenberry Rooms 4. Rocking Mini Vespa (Available at J Banks Retail)

1. Hanging alligator and cow wall storage by Rosenberry Rooms 2. Porcelain Trinket Boxes perfect for a first curl or special memento (Available in J Banks Retail) 3. Owl Backpack. All of the pictured books are available in the J Banks Retail store.

I hope this post has been inspiring for you and offered a dose of creativity.  There is lots of fun to be had when it comes to fabulous ‘Posh Tots!’

Kelly Caron, Designer, ASID

Hannah Fulton : Pretty in Pink!

Recently some friends and I threw a shower for our sweet friend, who is expecting a baby girl this month.  Pink was center stage and we took cues from fashion and design to pull the shower together with current style!

The hostesses (and the mommy to be) love chevron!  This paper runner from the J Banks Retail Store ($34 for a 20” x 50” roll) was a perfect way to add a graphic pattern to our tabletop. Another of my favorite J Banks finds are these acrylic wine glasses.  I have a set of the tumblers and the wine glasses in clear, and another friend has the pink, so we combined them on the table and didn’t worry for a second about anything breaking!

The shimmery gold and cream hues were set off by mercury glass votives that were sprinkled along the table. The look was so subtle and pretty, we decided to mirror it on chevron place cards and menus. The left over paper will be perfect gift wrap!

When we designed the cake, we used an ombré concept on the icing, and within the cake for the layers!

There is lots of love for ombré these days –ombré painted walls, furniture, fashion, finger nails and even hair.

We also used this concept for our flower arrangement, starting with light blush colored roses and cascading into deep pink tones.

And speaking of the flowers, nestled into the candelabra of fresh roses are (faux!) hydrangeas which I purchased from the J Banks retail store – at only $12 per stem. These were key in adding fullness to the arrangement, and because they are silk, they are hearty and not fragile, perfect to work with when creating this kind of detailed arrangement.

One of the hostesses is also a J Banks client, so it was fun to see our interior design as the perfect backdrop for our celebration.

The elegant Osborne & Little window treatment fabric created a billowy, soft, dreamy background to our intimate table for twelve.

One of my favorites from the J Banks Collection for Stanford Furniture, the Deb chair, provided the perfect perch for the mother to be to open gifts!

For this chair, our savvy client selected a textured aqua fabric. You’d never know it was suitable for outdoor use!  Not only does it look fabulous, but it performs well and is a suitable choice for her family of five.

I gifted baby (who’s mother and I share a passion for cooking and gourmet foods) with a set of Vietri Bambino flatware in PINK of course!  (J Banks also carries these in blue and clear for other foodie babes.)

The menu was delicious but light (we had to leave room for that cake!).

As guests arrived, they sipped on a bubbly rosé accented with a hot pink rock candy stick and nibbled on caprese sticks, melon and prosciutto pops and crab cakes. Baskets of assorted mini muffins were nestled on the table. A savory goat cheese soufflé was served aside spring greens tossed in a light balsamic, topped with roasted beets, candied walnuts and grilled chicken.

‘….Sugar & Spice & Everything Nice!’

Party guests were invited to create their own favors using pink sweet treats! They chose from cotton candy, pink popcorn, hand dipped marshmallows and more – all displayed in clear glass vessels. We also used this darling book, What Are Little Girls Made Of? (J Banks Retail $7.00) as the guest book for the event!

Despite the chilly temperatures lately, this shower has me in full spring mode!

Check back soon for more inspired entertaining ideas!

Enjoy!

 

Hannah Fulton, Retail Designer

Adrienne Warner : Take an (Italian) Seat!

Ciao Tutti! (Hi Everyone),

Chairs are a real passion of mine. Far more than just a ‘seat and four legs,’ the design options for chairs truly are endless. Recent travels abroad have allowed me to see many chairs that are not typically found in the states and I have discovered some truly incredible pieces.

On a trip to Italy last month, I saw some particularly amazing chairs. I hope you find them to be as inspiring as I did!

A Cecotti Collezioni chair in Milano

These chairs are one of my favorites. They remind me of Beetlejuice.

Chairs at Reverso Interiors, Firenze

Reverso Interiors, Firenze

Reverso Interiors, Firenze

My current favorite, I love the scale and beautiful wood back and arms of these chairs.

Reverso Interiors, Firenze

“Designer Heaven,” these chairs are so chic and comfy.

The Hermes Pippa Chair in the Master Bedroom of our project in Tuscany, Campo al Doccio

Flexform Thomas Chair in the Living Room of Campo al Doccio

Another view of the Flexform Thomas Chair, affectionally known as our short, fat (and fabulous) friend!

Poliform Ventura Chair and Pouf in the Guest Bedroom of Campo al Doccio

Great market finds in Arezzo. This small town in Tuscany has a monthly antique market where we seek out well priced, special pieces for Castello di Casole.

More chairs at the Arezzo Market

This picture is from several years ago but I had to share it in this post about Italian chairs. The chair is made entirely out of Bisazza mosaic tile and was designed by Alessandro Mendini. You can see Joni’s daughter, Sarah, in the bottom right.

If you see a fabulous chair, please send us a photo and tell us why you love it!

Felice Venerdi (Happy Friday)!

Baci (A Kiss),

Sharon Cleland: When Irish Eyes are ‘Designing’

(When we overheard our Irish colleague, International Designer Sharon Cleland, mentioning that she grew up right next to the mountain that St. Patrick himself lived on for six years – we immediately knew we needed her Irish edge for a blog post the week of St. Patrick’s Day!)

Hello everyone and Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

I want to take a moment to share some of my favorite Irish scenes and how they translate into elements of interior design. The rich tapestry of the landscape from the textures of the rugged countryside, peat bogs, cliffs and seascapes to the velvety, mossy fields, century old dry stacked stone walls and meandering country roads all seem to somehow translate into elements that can be used in design.

Tweed Landscapes and Velvet Hills

Taking just a glimpse at this picture you can see the influence that the landscape undoubtedly had on the creation of tweeds.  The color scheme, texture and patterns all mirror the Irish countryside.

Felted tweeds look like patchwork hills of planting fields!

And these rolling hills in the Glens of Antrim look like the could be covered in velvet!

Irish Arans

Seeing herds of sheep, or even experiencing a sheep induced traffic jam are not uncommon occurrences in rural Ireland. The wool of the sheep has allowed the country to produce some of the most beautiful woven goods in the world for centuries, including Irish Arans. Irish Arans, also known as ‘fishermen’s sweaters’ are made of wool that was traditionally undyed and cream-colored. Originally the jumpers were knitted using unscoured wool that retained its natural oils which made the garments water-resistant  and meant they remained wearable even when wet.

I see the complex woven patterns that are found in the Irish Arans in so many domestic products including, throws and even ceramic pieces.

Both the throw and ceramics pictured above are available in J Banks Retail!

Stacked Stones & The Giants Causeway, County Antrim

The Giant’s Causeway has always been inspiring to me.

And the century old piles of irregular meandering dry stacked stone walls will always remind me of my home.

Being stateside I am reminded of these Irish elements in the most unlikely place – during tile selections! The geometry and permanence of tile in certain shades just seems so Irish! Like this stone mosaic (above), and this Carrara honed hex mosaic tile (below).

I hope you have noticed some uncanny similarities and will consider Ireland for a moment as much more than just the land of leprechaun’s and shamrocks!

Irish Blessings,

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Sharon Cleland, International Designer

P.S. This is a picture of the area near County Antrim, Ireland where St. Patrick is said to have worked as a shepherd while a slave.  You can read more about St. Patrick here.