home interior design

#whyitworks--Make space for family time

When we design a home for our clients, we want lots of room for real life. Yesterday, I walked around a home we recently completed with a client as she told us how much mileage their family spaces were getting. I was thrilled!

It's so easy to think that to have a beautiful home means everything has to be perfectly ordered with all the signs of playtime and movie night and piano lessons hidden away. Let me show you some of the ways we struck a balance between great to look at and great to live in at this client's home.

Instead of sticking a few toy boxes in the corner, we took a big portion of the first floor and made it a stylish playroom. Sure, everyone sees it when they walk in the door but it says everything you need to know about this family. They've got an awesome kid with a big imagination and her world is a huge part of their world.

Photo credit: Deepi Ahluwalia

Photo credit: Deepi Ahluwalia

Photo credit: Deepi Ahluwalia

Photo credit: Deepi Ahluwalia

As much as we'd all like to say we are reading the New York Times editorial page at night let's be real. We're getting cozy on the couch with our favorite show and our favorite people. So, we took this extra bedroom and turned it into a moody movie room. The day bed (with a real mattress) is the perfect spot for a family Netflix night.

Photo credit: Deepi Ahluwalia

Photo credit: Deepi Ahluwalia

Photo credit: Deepi Ahluwalia

Photo credit: Deepi Ahluwalia

Now, this is a family big into music and memories. When our client took us into her garage and said, "what can we do with these cases of albums that I used to listen to with my grandfather?" I couldn't have been happier. It was the perfect opportunity to take something so full of sentimental value (and also drop-dead gorgeous) and turn it into art. Now, this room has become a full-time music room with a record player for all the incredible albums and, now that we've had our way with the piano, one heck of a spot for lessons! P.S. There's a karaoke machine that's been a big hit, too.

Photo credit: Deepi Ahluwalia

Photo credit: Deepi Ahluwalia

Photo credit: Deepi Ahluwalia

Photo credit: Deepi Ahluwalia

I think designing your home should be a lot like getting dressed in the morning. You pick out clothes that make sense for what you're doing that day. Your home shouldn't be any different. If you want a lot of laughter, play and time together, create places in your home that you can't wait to hang out in and make it easy to do what you love.

For a behind-the-scenes look at Niche, follow us on Instagram @camilles_niche

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#whyitworks--Playing with paint color

#whyitworks--Playing with paint color

Ask any of my clients and I'm pretty sure they'll tell you one of my favorite things to do is paint their walls white. I've found this soft, luminous white paint that is the perfect base to build up rich color throughout the space with furnishings and accents. But, there are ways to use paint as a tool which I love. Here's a few ways we've used it in recent projects so you can learn the tricks, too :)

#whyitworks--5 minutes to fab on Thanksgiving

#whyitworks--5 minutes to fab on Thanksgiving

As much as I love beautiful design, I love simplicity and low-stress solutions even more, especially around the holidays.

Because let’s be real people, we’ve got enough going on without trying to compete with Martha Stewart. She’s got scissors just for cutting quesadillas! I can’t Martha, I just can’t. 

So, for those of us who want a lovely holiday look when they serve that turkey they didn’t raise themselves (still looking at you, MS), let’s take a peak at my tablescape MVP's. They're fabulous and insanely fast.  

#whyitworks--Nook Office

#whyitworks--Nook Office

I'm pretty sure we all fall into one of two categories with our homes. Either you've got a lot of space and you don't want it to go to waste or you love living small and need to make the most of every square foot. (I'm in the latter.) So, let's take a look at how to turn an unused spot into a legit workspace. Cue my yellow arrows!

#whyitworks--mirror, mirror on the wall

#whyitworks--mirror, mirror on the wall

I've never been inside a house without a mirror but I'm rarely in a house that uses mirrors as art. But, they can be GORGEOUS.

Ready for a special installment of #whyitworks? We'll take a look at some incredible ways to use the work of my favorite mirror designer, John Linden, from Mirror Coop, and then enjoy the interview I did recently with John on what makes a mirror "art."