Office for Creativity

Sheila Bridges

My friend who was asked me to help her with her new apartment and look for a new desk for her. This got me thinking about desks, home offices, and how my "home office" is set up. I have a small green painted table with a distressed white painted chair. I have a printer scanner on my desk, a lap top, and a mail holder where I place photographs and postcards that interest me. Above my desk I have a framed piece of fabric, a photograph of my sisters and me, and some other small inspirational things including a poem. I find that having a desk like this with lots of things to look at (I have ADD okay??) is very helpful for someone is the creative field. You can find inspiration in almost everything. Here are some home offices that I found equally inspirational.

Living etc. Bookcases on either side make easy access to everything you need, plus a great view. I have a radiator in front of my window so I had to put my desk on the opposite wall.

James Merrill Photography. This home office has books, space for the computer, and a clear space for reading. Also, amazing chairs, eclectic wall decoration and fun art.

Houzz. OMG I love this one. Its cozy and that stairway on the left that acts like another wall/ceiling is SO fantastic. I also love how everything has its own space.

Burnham Design. This one is also super cozy. It looks like a nice retreat from everything with a gorgeous fabric on the chair, amazing antique furniture and dark painted walls. I wouldn't change anything about this room.

Having a space for all of the things that you require at your own "home office" is very important. I have pretty file folders to break up the monotany of paying bills and other office activities that aren't as fun as blogging or researching designers. What does your home office look like? Please feel free to email me photos for a future post! aliciabdesigns@gmail.com

Alicia B.

Precious Nurseries

TOO MUCH PINK. But there are still some cute elements. From Restoration Hardware Baby and Child.

Designing a room for a baby can be tough, but I imagine it's equally as fun. My friend and fellow designer is having a baby in a few months so we've been talking about how to design the room for her little girl! We both agree to stay away from the cliche pink everything with giant flowers and pink curtains theme etc. So then how do you design a room for a baby without crossing the line into a cliche pink (or blue) mess or just a room for an adult with mini furniture? Here are some of my favorite ones:

This baby's nursery has tons of room for toys and playing. I often wonder if it's okay to have hard wood floors in a room with a baby. Bruises? No? I love the ark though--so cute! Lucky baby to have such high ceilings. By the Art of Everyday Living.

Celerie Kemble actually designed this room. To be honest if I were a baby, I'd be scared out of my wits lying there looking at those butterflies. I do love the white bobbin crib though and love a floppy stuffed animal!

Massucco Warner Miller. This is a perfect preppy nursery for a preppy little baby girl. You can get letters like that at Anthropolgie or Ballard Designs. This is so precious I can barely breathe.

Houzz. No need to wallpaper! You can keep it simple with white or cream colored walls so that it's easier to adapt to as the little munchkin grows up.

David Netto went all out with plush furniture and a soft rug. The drapery is even soft and fluffy. I appreciate that he didn't use one of his cribs from his own line of furniture too because they are rather...prison like (maybe just too modern for my taste).

In the nursery (which later became my father's office) that we (my two sisters and I) all had as babies, we had cute pastel wallpaper and a blue carpet...or was it green? It was a mini room but so cute with stuffed animals and eyelet white curtains on the windows. I think stuffed animals are really the key ingredient...


Alicia B.

Tuesday Fun: Pink Edition

Pink is my favorite color. Possibly cliche and girly, yes, but I don't care. It's a happy, pretty color and there are many ways to infuse pink into a room. Observe.

Do you think this room has pink "infused" in it? I think so. From Houzz, this bedroom is girly but light because of the yellow print drawing your eye to the end of the room.

I had a pale pink rug growing up. The room has the pink carpet to ground it, and then glam/chic wallpaper with pink outlined flowers. By Jennifer Flanders.

This bedroom is a wee bit more subtle with pale pink pinstriped wall paper (I believe its Ralph Lauren) and then absolutely gorgeous drapery fabric used on the pillows and bed skirt. Found in Country Living and designed by Elizabeth Mead.

This bubble gum pink wall is so fun and I love how it is broken up a bit by the white paint underneath the chair rail. This could be very cliche but it is made glam by the venetian mirror and beautiful linen bedspread. West Village apartment by Benjamin Noriega-Ortiz.

Oddly enough, I have no pink in my apartment except for the stripes in my Dash and Albert rug in my bedroom. Perhaps I limited it to my wardrobe (I might be wearing pink shoes today!). Do you decorate with your favorite color? Or mix it up a bit? Grey blue certainly isn't my favorite color but I love the way it looks in my bedroom.

Alicia B.