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When I was a little girl, my favorite color was yellow. Bright, sunshine yellow. A customer wanted to put a little zing in her daughter's bedding to fit her personality. She wanted it to be simple with a splash. We chose Serena and Lily's classic bedding in berry with yellow marni euro shams and a great bolster made by Bebe Chic.
A touch of yellow is just so lovely. Love these rooms...
See you...
Christina
There is a boy who comes into the shop with his mom. He is around 8 years old. Every time he comes in he asks his mom to buy him this vintage print that sits in front of the signature Scalamandre wallpaper. I told her she has brought him up very exposed to art. Well, his dad is a consultant to Sotheby's and Christie's. Sigh... I wonder what art he will have on his wall.
See you...
Christina
So much elephant merchandise is flowing into Cici Crib this fall. Our store window is filled with elephants. Smart and steady. From gifts to decor, what's not to love... New Jellycat elephant...
Chic Jonathan Adler clock for the wall
Babar books always make good gifts...
Our most popular bookend..
Hooded towels,burps and bibs, perfect for baby, from a company that makes it's products in Texas.
Large wooden elephant for the wall...
Can't forget the vintage. The vintage toys add a unique decorating touch..
And my absolute favorite is this little vintage wool rug, how great it would be in a nursery...
See you...
Christina
Ok I won't even go into my vacation or lack there of, but everyone is healthy, safe and sound. That is truly the most important. During my time off, my mom had gone to an auction and purchased this 1920's French print for Cici Crib. Exactly a year ago, she received a liver transplant. It has been a long road, but she is finally getting back to doing the things she loves. It's a miracle, and I had an extra big smile when I received the pic.
See you...
Christina
Crystal boudoir lamps were very popular from the 1940s-1960s. They can be the perfect touch for a little girl's bedroom. They make some reproductions today, which for the most part are made of plastic. The vintage lamps are twinkling crystal. At Cici Crib they make a transformation from dusty, rusty lamps to beautiful table lamps. I take the lamps apart, replace old pieces and CLEAN them. Then they are sent out to be rewired.
Finding the correct shade is a whole other story. The lamp bases are too big for chandelier shades and too small for most lamp shades. Eventually we find the correct drop and have them custom banded in pretty colors. Tons of time and love are put in before they reach their final destination.
The lamp below is trimmed in one of the most beautiful calm lavender linen from Rogers and Goffigon. It is going into a nursery that I will photograph shortly.
See you..
Christina
There are times a designer misses the concept of what a client is looking for. This is a fine example. I thought the customer would be as excited as I was about this concept. Great clients. Wrong concept. It mixes touches of blues and oranges with a neutral cappuccino color. The carpet in this NYC apartment is a Stark neutral. It will remain. The customer is pretty firmly traditional, but would like a more modern nursery. The carpet looks like this..
I wanted to use a grasscloth wallcovering that had a delicate orange trellis.
After I chose it, I saw it was used in the Kips Bay showhouse, in a very large room. As you can see the pattern is not overwhelming.
I designed this long changer finished in white lacquer. It had closed storage on the right side, drawers in the center and a hamper on the left side. Each piece would come apart and be completely painted. This would allow for future flexibility. Later on, one could use the hamper and dresser in different parts of the room, for example.
On top of the changer we would affix this standard tray.
The crib is very clean, but still maintains it's traditional roots. It would be entirely in white.
The glider is the classic glider that I have in the shop slip covered in a linen. The bedding would have dashes of blue and orange. Pic of the side of bumper is below.
Fabrics would be a thin orange stripe piping and ties with white matelasse and Annette Tatem soleil orange fabric that is separated by a large ric rac lace.
I wanted to use a 7' round rug that would achor the room.If the baby was a girl it would be this one.
A boy...
Possible artwork. Vintage educational posters...
Although the client decided not to go in this direction. The ideas will remain in the Cici Crib library....
See you...
Christina
A mom asked me for help in finishing the decorating of her daughter's room. She already purchased the furniture and some fabric and wallpaper. Now she asks me to make it all work. This can be a very difficult task and sometimes it can really work out smoothly. Her new furniture is fairly modern, but the new wallpaper is pretty traditional. Here are her items. The top piece is the wallpaper and the fabrics below the wallpaper are all very raspberry.
I chose some fabric, trim and carpet to pull it together. The new carpet to me is so very important. The client is unfortunately on the fence about it.
I would really like to use this lamp that I did for another customer. This client loved the lamp. She described it as a girl in a ball gown..
I chose some additional pieces that would complement the client's pieces.
A great ball chair...
And a nice bench for the foot of the bed...
There is a dressing room that is sandwiched between the bedroom and bathroom. It is somewhat small and has a built in vanity with a green marble top.
It is a great little space that right now looks so ordinary. I want it to pop. Like opening a jewelry box of fun little trinkets. I want it to to be Dorothy Draper inspired. I chose this crazy fun wallpaper..
I love this Frances Elkins chair
It's definitely an interesting and challenging project. See you...
Christina
I just couldn't resist these vintage diamond shaped mirrors at the flea market. How great would they look over nightstands in a very chic girl's bedroom. Their design is so clean. A very fine beveled edge makes them even more refined.
Diamond shapes are everywhere. Great David Hicks fabric..
The diamond mirror would look just perfect above the this very fancy half circle..
See you...
Christina
A few weeks ago, Blauen invited me to visit their atelier. So fun to peak behind the scenes of my vendors. Blauen is an old world baby bedding company. With European roots, it is perhaps the most luxurious and fine baby bedding company that this world offers. It is known for a very, very traditional look that is often times embellished in fancy lace and trims. Located in Long Island City, amidst the many warehouses and art studios, Blauen's home is sun filled and clean. Every item is lovingly made by seamstresses that have worked there for many years. It is so wonderful and unusual to see how proud the employees are of their products.
Boxes of trims and laces are nicely organized and are ready to use...
I saw many finished products...
I wanted to design a crib set for the shop in a way that was alittle more modern. I wanted to use Blauen's sensibility and update it a bit. So I picked some fabrics for inspiration and thanked the lovely people.
The bedding arrived and it is just beautiful!
So lovely!
See you...
Christina
It's sometimes really hard to change the store around for a new display. Everything seems to move when one new item comes into a small shop. Lots of new boy stuff have come in lately. The final push for change came last weekend when I purchased a great poster at the fleamarket. The space poster dated 1967,made by NASA, celebrating Project Apollo is just fantastic. It was taken out of an old school.
Headboards,nightstands, chandeliers, bedding, bedskirts, mirrors and artwork all had to move around the shop.Looks great once it is done. So now the space poster is a happy neighbor to the vintage space rocket sled.
New bedding comes from Israel. Each bedding set comes with a duvet cover, fitted sheet, pillowcase and standard sham. That's a nice set.
The world pillows have been a big hit.
New animal heads came in from Haiti. Hand made from paper mache. The elephant head is the largest.
Check out the vintage Ringling circus poster with the animal heads and wooden silhouette animals..
It's looking good.
See you...
Christina
Our forever long winter will never end this year. Will it snow for opening day? Celebrate baseball! So much love that kids will fill their walls with baseball art. Makes a big statement by blowing up these images on 36" stretched canvases...
See you...
Christina
I have been working with a lovely client who subtly shows her refined Texas roots and her flair as a jewelry designer. We have been working on her daughter's room. The design is a bit in the transitional phase. The toddler is quickly moving into the world of a big girl. We planned for a future bed, nightstand and desk. For now it works for her age. She loves to sit and read with her mom on the double glider. She loves her crib. And she loves her dollhouse. We wanted a timeless design that the little girl could grow with. The carpet is a delicate pink and green lattice by Schumacher.
There was much discussion about the window treatments. The client wanted very soft formal treatments. We exactly translated her wish. I so love the chandelier that was chosen. When she saw the electrican putting toThe client had to take out her jewelry making tools to put it together. It is perfect.
For the window treatments, we decided on a Hinson & Co. fabric and splurged a bit on the Schumacher trim.
We did a fairly large bulletin board that will eventually hang over a desk.
I love the pushpins the client found. Made from vintage earrings...
The bookshelf was custom Newport Cottages. The metal fairies that flank the venetian mirror are vintage. I am not sure where the fairies came from. Maybe they were a part of a weather vane. I purchased them from an antique mall in Ohio. It is the unexpected element in the room.
On the bookshelf are crystal lamps from the '50s. We purchased the vanity tray on ebay. It reminded the client of her grandmother. The vintage porcelain southern bell is actually a music box.
For now it is room for a little girl. I will take more pics of this room as it evolves into a room for a big girl.
See you..
Christina
It is true that our tastes change over time. I am seeing more clients that would like to refresh their current, relatively newly decorated rooms. The rooms are currently traditional, but they would like to make them more transitional. Add more modern. Give the room lightness. Add something that is unexpected. Ok the last sentence is my theory. My current client has a little girl that is growing out of her crib. The nursery was very traditional. We will have to keep some of the furniture from the nursery. Her crib bedding, named Greta, was from Serena and Lily. All very lovely.
The pink in the Greta bedding is a bit dusty. It is a tough pink to work with, since it is hard to find complementary pink fabrics. The old decorator made a valance out of the same damask pink fabric and the walls are also the same pink. Lots of pink!
Realizing how difficult the pink was to match, the mom bought the complimentary sheets for the big girl bed in the same Serena and Lily pattern. Called Gracie, Serena and Lily has since discontinued it.
So now, my job is to change the nursery into a little girl's bedroom and add a modern feel to the space. So lucky that this Gracie bedding can easily harmonize with some modern elements. The mom also bought this fun Andy Warhol print that we will use as inspiration.
For the bed, I would like to do a high headboard upholstered in white faux patent leather.
I found these pillows at the last gift show that will add a little sparkle to the bedding. They are so delicate and sweet. From one of my favorite companies, Sivaana.
At the end of the bed I would like to put this upholstered brown and white linen storage bench .
We will keep the nightstand.
I found a crazy fun lamp to put on it. We may change out the shade. But how fun is it!
We will keep the simple white dresser
And add this mirror.
A nice bookshelf is needed...
A loveseat will sit underneath the Warhol with a very cool fixture
I wish I could blink and it would be done. How easy that would be....
See you...
Christina
A customer came into the shop looking for a gift for her good friend's new baby girl. She wanted to give her vintage blocks that spell her name. The customer knew she had room on a shelf in the nursery for short name. I needed to sort through my collection to find the letters. I was excited to find the blocks that she needed. Looking through them, you can see a little bit of cultural history. Most of the blocks date around WWII.
So sweet the images are...
Love these stylized animal blocks...
Silhuettes are just fantastic..
I heard the friend's gift was so very well received. The mom loved the blocks for her daughter Cici!!
See you...
Christina
A gutsy pink called Honeysuckle was named 2011 color of the year by Pantone. Ok I am kind of puzzled by the name, honeysuckle, but I will go with it. It is a color that is very familiar at Cici Crib.
A room that I worked on is almost complete. It is for a little girl who loves pink. I believe in creating rooms that grow with the child. The little girl is lucky to have enough storage space in her double closet. I just added a little bit of style to the room. Even the inside of the lamp shades are swathed in pink to create a little glow.
We reupholstered the tufted bench in a faux pink croc..
The window treatments are sheers with touch of sparkle, to keep the room light and airy. The vanity is anchored by the custom bulliten board.
The bulliten board is covered in rasberry linen. An inexpensive starburst mirror serves 2 functions...
The wall opposite is long and framed with fashion prints.
Yes it is a pink room, but not too overwhelming. Just sweet as honeysuckle...
See you..
Christina
I sold my vintage sock monkey in the store last week. A bit sad about it. I will miss him. Another customer picked up her bumper made with this great monkey fabric..
Monkeys are such a popular inspiration for decorating a baby's nursery or a child's room.
Vintage sock monkeys makes their appearance...
New Arrivals bedding and accessories....
Monkeys used in wall stickers...
More mod monkeys...
Look how Tobi Fairley decorated for her daughter's playroom. Tis the season...
Happy Holidays! See you...
Christina
It was the end of a very busy weekend due to our jewelry show. Overall, pretty disappointing. Lots to learn on doing trunk shows... I came home from work last night to find my son James and his friend pleading to go to the Sunday market. Teenage boys willing to get up at the crack of dawn to go shopping ?? How could I say no.
This morning we started out in the freezing cold, on a day I didn't expect to find much. Season has ended and dealers are just getting rid of stuff. Who could believe it would be such a fantastic day. Once at home, we got to rake over our treasures. The boys purchased binoculars, a very special coin and an army mask from desert storm. Not exactly Cici Crib merchandise, but it made them happy.
I so love the vintage table I purchased. Thanks Miles for schlepping it to the car. I will eventually have the base painted. James' friend asked me what color will the table be. Maybe hot pink, I said. He burst out laughing. James added, my mom is a girly girl. Ok, maybe I am...
But how nice is this table in a little girls room with one of Cici Crib's mid century inspired modern lamps on it.
Everyone loved this sled, definitely made in the 1960's, when space exploration was all the rage. Space Rocket XS-17 Orbit Control.
Loved the graphics on the wooden base. A great piece of wall art. So I did, what you are not supposed to do to a collectible. I took it apart. All the extra parts will be saved. How fantastic would this look in a play room or boys bedroom wall...
A vanity tray and container for a very fancy little girl..
And this lamp, I just couldn't let go. An architectural melange of styles. Never the less, it is a great castle. It is ceramic with a wooden base and top. Took forever to clean up, but now looks perfect. I could see Jonathan Adler getting inspired over it. It could go either in a boy or girls room..
I want to line this peach crate with burlap and use it for display purposes.
Loved these kitschy girl pictures. Their hair is made out of yarn. They made me smile. Something so charming about them..
A weekend that started out a touch disappointing, ended on a very light note.
See you..
Christina
I found these brushed aluminum letters at a flea market not long ago. They are quite large. The dealer told me they came from an old car dealership. The letter A went into a little boy's bedroom. We mounted the A on top of a large aluminum framed bulliten board. I still have the letters F and C. I wish I had more. The font is so simple and clean..
Collecting letters and putting them up thoughtfully can be a really fun way of decorating a nursery.
Shabby chic letters in a shabby chic nursery...
You don't need an entire alphabet to make an interesting statement. Just begin by collecting the odd letter at a flea market and look what you can create...
This is one of my favorites...
This is no ordinary mural in this modern nursery...
At Cici Crib, Binth's alphabet poster is oh so stylish.
This print has alphabet whimsy..
Crib bedding with an alphabet pattern.
Many different alphabet directions.
See you..
Christina
I would say one of the nicest parts of my job is meeting some really good people. I remember the first time Bari made her way into Cici Crib. Her smile filled her entire face as she talked about the upcoming birth of her daughter, Leryn. We discussed many details of the nursery. After months of planning and waiting, the moment finally came. Leryn arrived in early July. It' s so nice to see good things happening to good people. Bari wanted the nursery to have a bit of a bohemian feel. Very soft and relaxed. Perfect for baby. The bedding completely inspired her. It is by Elizabeth Allen.
A petite chandelier was needed in this cozy little nook.
Storage bins from Macbeth were purchased from Bari's registry at Cici Crib.
The artwork is from Oopsy Daisy.
Birdies and butterflies are delicately painted through out the room The inspiration was taken from the bedding, as well as the artwork.
A lovely nightlight fits right in.
And, of coarse, a vintage pin caddy that came from Bari's nursery when she was a baby.
Thanks Bari for sharing your daughter's lovely space.
See you..
Christina
Everyone is returning from their various summer journeys. It's time the kids get back to school. I am back from Pittsburgh for a bit. So far, everything is going very well with my mom and sister. They are getting stronger every day. My mom has a new future. It is just amazing what the doctors can do. I am so thankful! The huge weight that lies on my shoulders is beginning to lift. Life is ok right now... Tina and Beth have been great caretakers of the little shop. I am thankful for them too!
We put together a new window display celebrating the return of school. I picked up these cheap vinyl floor tiles from Home Depot to cover the base of the display.
I recently purchased this giant abacus from an auction that was selling items from a schoolhouse from the turn of the century. It is enormous. It would be fabulous in a great playroom or bedroom that needs to fill space because of high ceilings. It would look great on top of a bookshelf. A piece of sculpture.
Bookends came into the shop in late August. The vintage globe also makes a nice addition to the window.
Another set of new bookends...
So we put it all together along with some other items and made a welcoming display.
See you...
Christina
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