Celebrity Design Reveal: Samantha Harris

When it was time for Samantha Harris to welcome baby Hilary to her family she turned to Katy Mimari of Caden Lane. Katy designed the nursery of Samantha’s first child Josselyn and was eager to reinvent the space. Katy sat down with us over a Design Q&A session.  We got all the details on why she calls Samantha Harris a “Dream Client!”

Hillary’s nursery was inspired by a stylish boutique.

Katy included tons of kid-friendly storage. Curtain panels were custom designed by Little Crown Interiors.

Hillary’s nursery will be enjoyed for years to come.

Did Mom Samantha share with you a vision for her daughter’s nursery? Yes! And we definitely planned ahead! Since Samantha didn’t know what she was having, we actually designed both a boy AND girl nursery for her – which in the long run, helped expedite the install once Miss Hillary made her entrance. For the little girl’s room she wanted to do a Boutique Store theme. She loved the new Caden Lane bedding and wanted to keep the nursery whimsical and flirty. She also wanted to reuse the original white Bratt Decor furniture from her older daughter’s nursery, which she loved so much!

What inspired you most to come up with the design? Samantha loved the light blue and pink color combination of the Caden Lane Boutique Girl bedding. Instead of focusing on the sweet aspects of the fabrics, she wanted to go funky and girlie! We found the most adorable wall art from Wendy’s World Art and designed the entire nursery around the bedding & that wall art! In fact, the focal point of the room is an enlarged version of our store window, complete with sassy dress forms, a polka-dot chandelier, and zebra curtains painted just above the crib.

Is there a favorite item from the Caden Lane collection featured here? The bedding of course! Any smart designer knows that room design has to start somewhere and that one item. Whether it’s wall art, a sentimental piece, or the bedding (the most common inspiration in nursery decor), the inspiration piece sets the tone, color palette, and feel of the room.

Did you come across any design challenges during the process? Not really. We worked with Samantha on her first daughter’s nursery which was just as much fun. Samantha loves color and was just a sweet heart to work with. She knows what she likes, is great at visioning ideas, and is open to suggestions , a designers DREAM client! The only design challenge I can think of was making sure that we painted the boutique window above the crib high enough so that when her big girl bed was against the wall it would still work with the design. We also had to make sure it was not too high for the crib.

What makes this room unique from other nurseries you have designed? Usually I’m not big on themes in a nursery, but I noticed that this room quickly took on a boutique store theme. I think we did it very tastefully though, making sure the design aspects of it would grow with the baby. We incorporated some of the furniture pieces in the room for a dress-up and tea time play area. That helped pull it all together. My favorites were the adorable table and chair, the chalk board easel from Restoration Hardware Baby & Child, the colorful storage buckets from The Macbeth Collection and a mini-clothes tree that perfectly displays the little girl’s dresses, hats, and purses!

Can you share some design tips with our readers trying to achieve a similar look? Everything in the nursery is available at Nursery Couture! It would be very simple to recreate the same look in your own room. A nifty little trick we used for the wall painting was cutting a large circle out of poster board and then cutting it in half. We used the half circle as a stencil to create the scalloped border along the top of the wall. First sketch it with a colored pencil,the same color as you plan to paint so the pencil line blends in. Then go back and just paint between the lines. It was so easy!  Not a great artist? Don’t worry!!! Our talented muralist, Tracy Garcia from Petite Suite can re-create the same boutique window look for you on a canvas!

Another huge design tip is try to plan ahead. You spend so much time and money on designing your dream nursery. Two years later you find yourself packing up the crib, and redesigning the room for a big kid.  Try visualizing where you will put big kid bed, glider, and other furniture. This way you can paint and hang decor accordingly. When we up-graded Josselyn’s room to a big girl room  with brand new Young America furniture, her decor coordinated with the Caden Lane Classic Bedding. She moved up to the Classic Pink Duvet set, keeping the same design only more mature.  When you are looking at wall art, rugs, curtains, etc for your nursery ask yourself “Will a 5 year old enjoy this?” Your bank account will thank you!

What’s next on tap for you Katy and Caden Lane? We are working on our new bedding collection for 2012! Think mod prints with bold colors for the nursery. And we have our own wall art collection that will be available this summer. We are also expanding our love for design into the women’s gift category! So keep checking back,we’re “expecting” big things!

Shopping Resources:

Bedding & Accessories: Caden Lane

Wall Art: Wendy’s World Art

Wall Mural by Tracy Garcia: Petite Suite

First Baby’s Nursery Furniture: Bratt Decor

Big Girl Furniture: Young America

Glider & Ottoman: Little Castle

Zebra Rug: The Rug Market

Custom Curtains: Little Crown Interiors

Chandelier: A Vintage Room

Picture frames: Ribbit-Ribbit and Renditions by Reesa

Storage: The Macbeth Collection and When I Was Your Age

Coat Rack, Table and Mirror: New Arrivals

Stuffed Animals: Blabla Kids and JELLYCAT

Moses Basket: Maddie Boo

Drawer Knobs: Leila’s Loft

Burps, Bibs, Blankets, etc: baby JaR and  Little Giraffe

Apparel, tea set, & dress up accessories: Mud Pie

Table & Chairs, Chalk Board: Restoration Hardware Baby & Child

Letters: Candice n Katie’s Art

Josselyn’s new big girl room makes for a smooth transition!

Want a closer look? See Katy’s project page in our Real Gallery. For more of Katy’s work, products, and celebrity nurseries visit Caden Lane.