I love being a part of a small, locally owned store, with all the freedom and opportunities that provides for us to let our creativity run wild. At the big chain home interiors stores, the look is dictated by the corporate office, but our designers are always experimenting, keeping our store fresh and new. To fuel their fires, I issued a Designers Challenge, asking each designer to create her dream bed for spring. Not surprisingly, their work blew me away and illustrated how to bring your personality and interests to life through bedding. Take a look …
THE MOLLY BED
Molly has a natural eye for designs that celebrate timeless patterns in a brand new way. Her dream bed was inspired by the saturated cobalt blue toile fabric she turned into pillows. She kept her palette tight, using pattern and texture to help tell the story. The black cranes in the back row of pillows are velvet, as is the bolster in front. Can you see the pompons on the striped pillows in the center? “I thought they would be a fun, funky contrast to the toile,” she says. Since the pillows already gave this sensational bed its custom feel, Molly used a readymade duvet to make the whole look more affordable.
THE SUZY BED
You can see Suzy’s personality come out in this gorgeous bed that’s a bit bohemian and whimsical. Suzy likes to mix together prints that are unexpected, while keeping them unified through the color story, using one bold fabric to launch the look. This novel bird fabric served as the muse for this delightful bedding, which sold almost immediately when we put it on the floor. The back pillows feature a boho tapestry fabric, topped by white linen pillows banded in a funky gold and pink Greek key tape. She finished off with a retro-inspired circular pillow in gold velvet. Picturing this bed for a teen girl, she designed the duvet with Sunbrella fabric. Spills? No worries — it wipes right off.
THE LIZ BED
Liz was thrilled when industrial farmhouse look became so big with designers this season. Raised on a farm in Northeast Kansas, she’s a fan of vintage bedding that would have been at home on her grandparents’ bed. She designed this romantic bed using this season’s hottest color trends: blue, green and blush. Her inspiration fabric was the soft, vintage-inspired floral, which she layered up with a blush pink toile (that features a pastoral farm scene) and basil green buffalo plaid. Check out her wonderful finishes on the pillows and the two-sided duvet. Ruffles, fringes, embroidery, accent tapes. Love!
THE ANNE BED
Anne wanted to create a bed with a fresh, preppy feel that also featured her current color crush: navy and kelly green. Her inspiration fabric was the blue and green floral, which she mixed with a bouquet of bright, contemporary patterns, like the animal-print inspired blue polka dot and the bold green-and-white floral in the duvet. Anne says everything is more special when you finish it with a fun trim, so she pulled in a few of her favorites from our extensive trim bar. The romantic bedspread is a great contrast to the bold colors in the duvet. To finish the ensemble, Anne added an embroidered pillow that described how she felt when she looked at her dream bed: Happy!
THE KATHY AND PAULA BED
Sisters Kathy and Paula are the second floor managers at the store and design most of our custom beds.
So for our Designers Challenge, they teamed up to create this spa-inspired bed. The blue and sage floral fabric — which is literally called “spa” — won their hearts. They paired it with a blue and cream buffalo check, used on the reverse of the duvet and in a set of accent pillows. This duo likes to finish their pillows with unique trims, so you will see a wonderful mix, including a blue tape bordering the cream pillow, ruffles and pleated flanges.
THE DIANE L BED
Diane knew she wanted to create a dream bed that reflected a new traditional style rooted in timeless classics, yet retold with a fresh flair. She picked this soft floral and teal velvet fabric, but wasn’t sure yet what else to include in her design. Sometimes a great bedding ensemble just has to unfold over time. Diane laughs that she woke up in the middle of the night and knew what she wanted to put on the flip side of the duvet: a muted plaid. Diane’s original design featured a lumbar pillow in a playful cheetah print, but it sold before we had a chance to take the photo!
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This column was adapted from Mary Carol Garrity's blog at www.nellhills.com
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