/RH Baby & Child

Oh Baby! | Inspiration Goes A-Wandering with Melody Hansen

I love drawing upon the artistic vision of friends from differing disciplines to glean creative inspiration. Collaboration is more exciting and satisfying to me than just about anything, and I have so enjoyed the opportunities I’ve had to work with graphic designer Melody Hansen. Our first introduction was made through a mutual friend back when I was searching for someone to help me build this very blog, and our friendship has extended far beyond that project as we quickly found ourselves to be kindred spirits.

As if I didn’t already know that to be true, Melody has proven it in spades with her thoughtful and eclectic mood board for today’s installation of Oh Baby! I’m totally in love…

Melody has managed to capture so much of my two loves of travel and the art of the mix in the subtle details of her lovely mood board. From the hot air balloon mobile to the vintage world map and the Babar art print {traveling the world by whale} to the traditional rug and antique suitcases for a side table, the mix of “colonial adventurer” and “modern curator” is just delightful – totally on point to the adventure that awaits us with this little nugget!
For those of you who are searching for a graphic designer who is adept at understanding your vision and is an absolute joy to work with, you really must reach out to Melody. Thank you, my friend, for your thoughtfulness and for taking the time to put together such charming, wanderlust-filled feast of inspiration for us today! Oh the places we’ll go…
xo
s.
By |August 29th, 2013|1 Comment

Oh Baby! | Inspiration, RH style

I must admit that I have never been one for “buying it all in one place,” whatever “it” happens to be. I love a space that feels like it has been curated over time {thus the name of this blog}. But I have been so surprised and delighted with the new RH Baby & Child collection that I thought I would experiment a bit and design a mood board using exclusively RH Baby & Child furnishings.

Before I share that with you, though, you have to take a good look at these images from the stunning RH Baby & Child Gallery in Corte Madera, California. No doubt these photographs will give you some idea as to why I felt that playing with an all-in-one solution might just work.

Pretty much totally gorgeous, right? And these images really are just a taste of the full collection.

There were about a dozen or more directions I could have gone with this mood board design, but I decided to start with what will be the most important piece of furniture in the space for me. No, not the crib…any guesses? Well, since I need to keep writing this post before you can answer, I will tell you. It’s the chair. This mama knows from experience that many, many an hour will be spent gently rocking in this room, and so the chair will be my throne of comfort and peace, so to speak. Translation? It needs to be seriously, unquestionably comfortable. I have yet to do the “tushie test,” but I’d say this RH Baby & Child chair is already written in ink on my wish list.

Here’s what I  l – o – v – e  about it:

* It’s a modern classic – a wingback with clean lines and no stuffiness in it’s simplicity, and yet a gentle formality that feels very welcoming.

* It is slipcovered. Even better, you can choose to have it slipcovered in the Perennials Textured Linen Weave  {as above in Sand} which is an indoor/outdoor fabric. Translation: if the babe spits up or the diaper fails as an adequate containment unit for a Bangkok blow-out, this chair can be cleaned. Easily. And the indoor/outdoor fabric will be more likely to repel moisture and stains. When you take “pretty,” add comfortable, and up the ante with practical and functional, I’m totally in!

* You have the option of ordering the seat cushion as down filled. When I think about the many bleary-eyed nights ahead that will be spent sitting up and feeding the little bean, the idea of a down pillow for my tush sounds about right.

* This chair is interesting enough that it can transition into another room of the house quite easily, making it a sensible investment.

* It swivels and glides. So when I drop {or, more than likely, when the little cherub throws} that board book just a bit behind me while we are reading, I won’t totally put my back out when I turn around to get it! I’ll just gently swivel the chair and voilà! As we were.

So working from the chair out {my version of “from the ground up” for this nursery} here is the RH Baby & Child inspired room I’ve pulled together.

I chose to go with a very soothing and gender neutral colour palette when I pulled this together, and have since found out that we are having…. {drum roll please} ….a BOY!!! I truly feel that this nursery could work just as well for a girl with a few touches of blush and lace and loveliness thrown in for good measure, but that said, I find it interesting that this design plan does work particularly well for a boy. Perhaps my instincts were already pointing me in that direction before we knew for sure? It’s fun to think so.

I have to point out the details on one more piece of furniture from this design plan that I really do love, and that is the crib. Not only does it look beautiful in its original state, but it converts into a very classic and – dare I say handsome – toddler day bed for when the comes.

I do so love it when form and function meet like this! In an age of waste, I am increasingly passionate about seeing furniture pieces designed to be adaptable such that they get a lot more life lived in them before they get passed on. Well done, RH. Well done.

There you have it! My take on a gender-neutral, totally RH Baby & Child nursery design. It will be fund to see where inspiration take us as I hear from more friends on their take on the dream nursery. What pieces from this collection do you love the most?

xo
s.

By |August 21st, 2013|3 Comments

Oh Baby! | Jessica Gils Goes Nautical

Happy Thursday! I’m delighted to introduce you to my friend Jessica Gils today – a lovely young interior designer who is also a new mom herself! Jessica has pulled together a very charming, nautically-inspired nursery that has me feeling like I’m tucked away in a sweet cottage retreat. I love the calm and neutral colour palette, don’t you?

Curtains // Mirror // Wall Décor // Crib // Pillows // Bedding // Dresser/Change Table // Rug // Eames Rocking Chair // Floor Lamp

Of course, as always, I’ve done a little interview with Jessica so you can get to know a bit about the woman behind the design scheme!

How long have you been an interior designer and what do you love most about the industry?

I studied Interior Design at Sheridan College and Graduated in 2011. Since then I have lived my dream! It is an amazing feeling to go from a quick concept sketch to wiping clean your finished creation, standing back and then shaking the hand of your happy client.

How long have you been a mama and what do you love most about that new and exciting job?

I was just promoted seven months ago to the highest paying job of a lifetime – Owen’s Mom. The best part of being a mom is being able to have the opportunity to have a small glimpse of how God loves us unconditionally. His smiles and giggles are like food to me, but I wouldn’t recommend them as your main source of nutrition (speaking from experience).

Where do you find your inspiration for interior design?

I find the best inspiration comes from the client – their family, travels, compassion and hobbies. Finding the rich history behind these passions and displaying them for a better appreciation tells a deeper story in design. I love to pull inspiration from the midcentury modern era in combination with eclectic antiquities and add a dash of modern graphic. I also look to many Scandinavian designers for their simplistic style and family friendly living.  My favourite blog (besides The Curated House) is The Style Files by Danielle de Lange.

How has motherhood changed your perspective on work/life balance?

Being a mom has changed me completely! To paint you a picture, I had barely graduated from school, was just married, and had just started into my career. But after peeing on 6 pregnancy test sticks – and after 9 months of prayer – I knew when I looked into those new blue eyes that God’s plan is so perfect and wayyyy better than my “5 year career-focused plan.” As a dear friend said to me while at a Houzz conference, my feet swollen and only days before I was due, “Your most important project in your life is your children.” That really put things into perspective and put my priorities into check. With that said, being a mom makes you look closely at your own life and the things you wish to emanate to your children. Habits had to change in both my husband and I such as our relationship with our bodies in food and exercise, as well as inspiring creativity, compassion, and balance. I have also become an expert in time management and optimizing every moment spared to me (like writing this post while nursing – haha!).

What are your baby-mama “must haves”?

My mommy must haves are:
1. Family & Friends
2. Hydra Sense snot sucker
3. Kawaii cloth diapers
4. Coffee

How do you recharge and refuel to bring such positive energy to motherhood and design?

…Coffee

Describe your dream design project.

My dream design project would have to be my future house. Actually no…scratch that. That would probably be one of the hardest design projects of my lifetime. A very rewarding design project for me might be a community centre project like a recreation centre or a healing centre.  

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Thank you so much for sharing your ideas and your heart with us today, Jess! I have no doubt you will figure out just the right balance in your life as a mom and interior designer as you make your way through this adventure. Kiss Owen’s sweet cheeks for me!
xo
s.
By |August 8th, 2013|0 Comments