Trip to Saratoga ny

Last week we visited Saratoga Springs, NY for my son's crewing regatta, as well as a visit with family. You can see why Travel and Leisure magazine  calls Saratoga one of America's greatest main streets. It is just beautiful and filled with interesting small business boutiques.

One very inspiring shop was the Saratoga Turkish Bazaar. It is filled with color and style.

These slightly sparkly light fixtures would add ambiance to a Bohemian baby's nursery. They are a great alternative to the much used chandelier.

Use the lights as inspiration and build the room. Elizabeth Allen crib bedding works perfectly and is just beautiful.

A great Moroccan pouf for baby.

We could add a little more contemporary furniture, that still has more eastern design elements..

All products can be found at Cici Crib Main Street store. Find your design inspiration and build on it!

See you..

Christina

Cool Vintage for Kids Rooms

Strolling in NYC the other day, a very ordinary storefront lead us to a manly man jewel box of antiques.  Mantiques Modern is filled with the most intriguing oddities.  There were some really cool pieces that you could use to decorate your kids rooms..

I believe this head came from a playground merry-go-round. I had a very similar piece in my shop that sold to a couple in San Francisco for their baby's nursery.

So many interesting things...

Cool T-Rex model  for the dinosaur inspired children's rooms...

Dinosaur for baby scientist

Race cars frozen in a lucite cube..

What a great Robot lamp!

I've always collected oddities. Yes I practice what I preach! My older son loved T-Rex. A huge head still is on his wall.

My younger guy loved this hammerhead I found at a flea market, so he has it above his display case. It sits between old prints of mushrooms. He always loved to go mushroom hunting.

Sealife for a boys bedroom

I think kids get inspired by what's around them. So put some interesting items on a shelf or on the wall, it may have a lasting impression. Some of the great vintage pieces in our shop-

Diver Helmet Container

Real leather tiny cowboy boot

Original Train Print

train railroad decoration

See you... Christina

A Day in Chelsea

We spent a very relaxing day looking at art galleries in Chelsea.  Sometimes I feel I am looking at the Emporer's new clothes, other times it is just what you expect from NYC. Loved some of the paintings at the Stephan Haller Gallery. Works by Llyod Martin

Larry Vox

Red Hat print at James Cohan Gallery,artist is Sarah Rara.

How great to put original pieces of art in children's rooms. The pieces at Praxis International Art was young and fun...

See you..

Christina

Cowhide Monogrammed Pillows

These beautiful pillows are custom made for Cici Crib in the most beautiful hand dyed cowhide. It is an heirloom pillow that can work in a luxurious baby's nursery to a super chic tween  bedroom. Or a nice splurge for a master bedroom or living room.

 

Our sample for the shop..

See more about them in our online shop at http://www.cicicrib.com/browse.cfm/monogrammed-cow-hide-pillow/4,447.html.

See you,

Christina

Quiet Design Touches to a Baby's Room

Quiet lavender was the request from a really nice client for her second daughter's nursery.  She had most of the furniture from her first daughter, but she wanted to make the new baby's nursery special. We focused on the longevity of the decor. She knows how quickly her daughter grows up, so pieces were chosen carefully. We  anchored the space with a really soft carpet and playful wallpaper for over the bead board.

The wallpaper was from Stark and the carpet came from the Sanford Hall showroom in NYC.

  

   

The side table will eventually go next to a bed when her daughter grows out of the crib. But for now we needed crib bedding. We chose a sweet set by Annette Tatem.

The lamp is one of a pair that will eventually be placed on the dresser(that  is currently used as a changer). It is a simple vintage crystal  lamp that we had trimmed in the most beautiful lilac linen.

We chose this delightful turn of the century print of girls playing that we framed. It is just so sweet.

A friend purchased a clock from Cici Crib for the room.

My client tells me that people notice the ceiling fixture first, when they enter the room. I hope it brings sweet dreams to the little one....

The window treatments were made from the most beautiful linen from Rogers & Goffigon in Greenwich, CT.

The ties are just perfect.

We also made an embroidered letter pillow from the linen.

Another whimsical picture is waiting to be hung in the room. We would like to put it over the changer, but curious little hands will cause us to move it to a temporary location.

See you..

Christina

Our Online Shop is Open!

This is a big day  for  Cici Crib. We  opened our online shop! The online shop has many gifts that are available at our Main Street  location. We are adding more items every week. Vintage items will have a bigger presence on line!  Custom items will be added  as soon as our system will allow it. I didn't realize how complicated the ecommerce process is.  I hope you check it out!

Visit to the Mark Gallery

A client and I are looking for artwork for her living room. On a very dark and drizzly day we stepped into a moment of sunshine when we visited the Mark Gallery in Englewood NJ. Gallery owner Arielle Mark is both welcoming  and knowledgeable about the stable of artists she represents. Finding the right piece is a very personal and quiet process.   We picked some works, and Arielle delivered them to my client's home.

This large piece called Haza by America Martin won our hearts. Martin is a young artist out of LA.  But not for the living room. It will be the showstopper in the dining room. Funny how things turn out...

See yu...

Christina

Visit to Bebe Chic

I got a chance to visit one of my vendors that make so much of our beautiful custom  children's bedding at Cici Crib. Located directly across the Hudson River from Manhattan, Bebe Chic is just one of my favorites. Each piece is made locally and with such care and quality. I am always excited to open up the box to see how our vision was translated. Our current look is made by Bebe Chic..

Her very efficient and organized workroom...

Some inspiring classic fabrics ...

Creating very classic bed skirts...

New looks being put together..

Some customers prefer quilts to duvets. An example of their quilting...

I picked a fabric for my new Spring bed...

Can't wait to see how it turns out.

See you... Christina

Happy Tangerine New Year

Tangerine Tango is the pantone color for 2012! It is bold. A no apologies, fantastic orange...

Ducduc has forever used this color inside all of their casegoods..

Tangerine Tango is sprinkled throughout the shop. Art  for a baby's nursery..

 Custom lamp in the great color...

Love these Euros..

Have a happy and healthy New Year!

See you...

Christina

Kyle Bunting Beauties

There are certain design elements that will have a permanent  room in my design brain. One is the work of Kyle Bunting. His group of designers create pieces from cowhide that are just spectacular. I remember seeing a rug  in Amanda Nisbet's room at Kips Bay last Spring. See post.

At Highpoint I saw rugs that were Bunting-like. Mass produced, less expensive, but fulfill a niche.

But there is nothing like the real thing...

So beautiful.

See you...

Christina

Getting Ready for a Trunk Show at Cici Crib

We are getting all new merchandise in for the show this Friday and Saturday.We went looking for  unusual holiday gifts for kids.  Briati Jewelry will return with her very special fine jewelry for girls. She is bringing a nice collection of earrings both studs and drops for little ones.

Much more fun jewelry will be brought in. Feathers and little leather bracelets. Layer them like Chan Luu..

Bunches of these little bracelets make great inexpensive holiday gifts...

Slap watches that you can trade with your friends....

But some kids may want to get their hands dirty, Time for a dino dig..

Some little guys would prefer a softer dinosaur...

Hope to see you  this Friday and Saturday...

Christina

Highpoint Part II

This is a story of two vendors. I saw them on the same day and they couldn't have been more different. Visiting  Bevera Design House, I felt like I was at my mother's dining room table raking over all the new acquisitions she had purchased at the latest auction.  I think I could have spent all day there sipping tea and chatting about their collection.  A very personable and inspired group of artists that sell a very well curated group of products and art. Each piece in their collection has a real story behind it.

I particularly liked the work of Rebecca Szeto. She took the thorns from the lower branches of  rose bushes and created Kiss. Not only  do the thorns make a statement, but notice how the shadows cast another element to the piece.

Szeto also recycled her old paint brushes and created little personalities. Just as a side note, the brushes below are sitting on a console made out of  discarded NASCAR parts.

From there we went to see the Lily Pulitzer Home collection. What a complete difference. Like going from an intimate theater production to Broadway. A sharply produced commercial production that was just  fantastic.

The entrance was inviting.

The collection was so Palm Beach sunny. It was too bad we couldn't get much more from the showroom staff as they were pretty indifferent to say the least.

Below is a jewelry and lingerie station . Can you believe how useful this is..

Talk about storage. Looks like an "ordinary" Lilly Pulitzer ottoman.

But no, shoe storage as well..

The spirit was bold throughout the showroom...

Lily is a major fan of pink and green. A favorite decorating palette for a girl's bedroom..

It was a fun day at market! See you...

Christina

Highpoint Part I

Wow is just about all I can come up with when describing Highpoint. Highpoint is the largest furniture show in the country. With more than 10 million square feet of showroom space, it was a race to see as much as we could. I went with a designer friend. We felt like kids at camp! We started out the day with a discussion on global trends by Hermine Mariaux. She just returned from Maison & Objet in Paris. In a nut shell- She believes the future of color will move away from grays, turquoises, acid greens and pinks and gravitate towards  browns, golds, spice and other jewel tones. Deep reds and blue ultramarines will be significant. It's just a forecast....

From funky to traditional to modern, Highpoint has everything.

From the invisible...

To super saturated color with out apologies...

I love these pod stools for kids rooms. So comfortable for an adult as well as a child.

Lots of interesting rugs. Always looking for rugs, that work in tween bedrooms..

Upholstery with solid direction...

And ofcoarse beds...

To interesting dressers...

By the end of the day we were so tired, but couldn't resist taking this pic of these glasses  for a giant...

Day one at the market was so much fun. . More to come ...

See you...

Christina

Warhol and the Poodle Part II

We finally got some good pics of the client that had the Warhol in her little daughter's room!  See  first post. Just to reiterate, her daughter was moving into a big girl's bed and the mom wanted to make her room a little more hip. The mom didn't want to change everything about the room. She already purchased the big girl bedding.  The window treatments and some furniture would remain as well.

The first thing we did was remove the chair rail. No more crib. A big girl bed was in order.

The little coffee table was custom sized so the little girl can use it as a table with her little chairs.  The chairs also have double duty as a step stool to get in  and out of bed.

The  sofette fits nicely in the space.

She needed a pretty, but bookshelf for all her favorite things...

A real pop of pink make it oh so sweet..

But her most favorite thing is the poodle lamp!

See you..

Christina

A Ray of Sunshine

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...

Lily Z Designs

Palmer Weiss

See you...

Christina

The Boy and the Very Elegant Gentleman

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

Elephants are Marching in!

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