Pantone's Color of the Year for 2013...EMERALD!

Well folks, it's that time of year again! Pantone has released its HOT new colors for spring, 2013 with Emerald taking the spotlight as the COLOR OF THE YEAR! I had a feeling this would be the case over the past 6 months, as we saw it popping up on the runways and especially given the fact that the Duchess, Kate Middleton herself wears emerald dresses and coats quite often.
Looks like it's time for me to break out the emerald jewelry I've had stashed away since it was so popular back in the early 90's!

Pantone.com

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Pink Toile Nursery

This very girly pink toile nursery was one of our trademarked Gender Surprise Nurseries. When you don't want to find out the gender of your baby, but want a nursery planned specifically for the gender  anyway, you hire Jack and Jill Interiors to design a Gender Surprise Nursery. For one flat fee, I'll plan an entire boy's nursery and an entire girl's nursery for your...right down to every little accessory! Then with your permission, I obtain the gender from your doctor and get to work ordering and installing the gender specific nursery behind locked doors. When you deliver your baby and bring him or her home from the hospital, your gender specific nursery awaits your first peek! It's a great way to add to the fun and excitement of planning for your precious new bundle!
 This particular nursery was initially planned for a home that was destroyed by Hurricane Sandy. Every item was selected to fit perfectly into a room with a vaulted ceiling, an entire wall of windows and another wall with a built-in shelving unit on which we were going to place pretty lined baskets and other baby goodies. When the family was forced to relocate to a new home, we found ourselves with a few design challenges making things work for a completely different space. The overabundance of picture-frame moulding was especially challenging and several items planned for the wall space simply woulding work now, including a very wide branch with birds decal and another decal featuring a favorite inspirational quote from mom-to-be. But in the end, we're all very pleased with this nursery and the clients are thrilled that baby Jules will have a beautiful nursery despite Hurricane Sandy!
The picture frames above the crib will eventually hold sepia toned newborn photos and family photos. I don't like hanging blank frames on the wall, so I cut up some coordinating wall paper and fabric to make a monogram and silhouette to temporarily fill the voids. 

The Doodlefish Kids pink toile bedding, Casablanca Distressed White Bratt Decor Crib, Jubilee Lighting, Pink Toile Nursery Glider Chair by Angel Song, beautiful bookends and jewelry box by Charn and Company, and more can be purchased from our boutique, Jack and Jill Boutique. Wall decal by Leen the Graphics Queen on Etsy. 

Twins Nursery- BOY and GIRL!

It's been a very long, yet productive day! I arose from my home in PA at 3:30 am, drove two hours to Baltimore, MD to catch a two hour flight to Atlanta, GA. Had a one hour wait before boarding another plane for a one hour flight to Birmingham AL. Grabbed a rental car and drove an hour and a half to Montgomery to begin my day of installation by 2:30 pm. After some playtime with the family's German Shepherd to ensure she was comfortable with my visit, I began painting the tree silhouette mural, installed the fabulous wooden monogram signs by Barb's Wood Signs, (coming soon to Jack and Jill Boutique) installed the custom made crib bedding by Persnickety and moved the fabulous Bratt Decor Casablanca cribs and the Little Castle nursery glider into place and voila! A beautiful French Farmhouse themed nursery for twins! I cleaned up, packed up, kissed the dog goodbye- and drove one and a half hours back to Birmingham and checked into my hotel for the night. I'll board the planes again at 7:30 tomorrow to head home. 

Yep...all in a day's work as a nursery designer. I love my job! Some days, such as today- are exhausting yet so rewarding. I feel blessed to wake up each day looking forward to work and loving what I do. 

I have two more rooms to install before mid December. One is in Manhattan for two little girls. We're waiting for the carpenters to finish up the custom built-in bookcases. The other nursery is in Long Island, NY and was supposed to be installed the week of Hurricane Sandy. The hurricane destroyed the main level of the home and the family has moved into temporary housing for now. They are fortunate enough to be renting a very large and beautiful home and have permission to paint and replace carpeting in the nursery. With a few minor tweaks in the design plan, we should be able to install the nursery after all, in just a few weeks. (Baby is due December 18th!)

Stay tuned for professional images of our twins nursery in the coming weeks and for updates on our other projects.

We're booking now for 2013 and as you can see...we will go ANYWHERE to design your dream nursery and for a very reasonable price. Give me a call at 717-323-0288 or email the studio at info@jackandjillinteriors.com for a quote for your dream nursery or child's room.

I'm turning in now...goodnight, y'all! 

Smiles, 

Sherri 

20% off RUGS through Saturday Only!

We have rugs of every style, shape, size and color. You'll even find monogrammed rugs where you can select your colors, shapes and fonts! Check it all out here: Jack and Jill Boutique

French Flair Collection Released and New Boutique is Born!

I'm finally able to share my brand new collection with you! While it's not yet found in any online stores, I'm proud to share that it will be sold in my own, Jack and Jill Boutique first! I've opened up Jack and Jill Boutique to better serve my design clients and new customers as well. I can't begin to tell you how often people call me to ask about products they see in the rooms I design. This will allow me to send them directly to the products on my own site. I consider the boutique to be a new extension of my Jack and Jill Interiors nursery design services.
I'm still loading the many great designer recommended, tried and true products, so be sure to visit often to see the new offerings. We have hundreds of great products from dozens of the most distinguished children's furnishings designers in the world. If I wouldn't use it in my clients' homes or my own home- you won't find it in my store!
So please browse my new baby and kids' boutique and take a moment to view my new collection below. Contact the studio for purchasing information!

Another Gender Surprise Nursery - Is it a Boy or Girl?

As I mentioned in my last post, I've been blessed with a busy spring and summer. Upon finishing up my last gender surprise nursery and sharing our big gender nursery reveal, I was contacted by a wonderful young couple in Long Beach, New York to complete another gender surprise nursery.

Mom-to-Be does not want to know her baby's gender, but Dad-to-Be did want to know. This actually makes my job a bit easier this time around, as I have one parent to help make decisions if something we have selected for the nursery becomes unavailable and we need to find a replacement. When neither parent knows the gender, once I begin ordering the items, I have to make these executive decisions (and find suitable replacements) all on my own and just pray that the family will love the new item in the end.

See the two design boards below and do be merciful when judging my photoshop skills!

Here is a rendering of the room with furniture in place. The bookcase on the left is actually a very nice built in unit. The room has great windows!

Here is a shot of the actual room, now used as a home office. Notice the height and angles in the ceiling. I love a room with character! Regardless of baby's gender, we're replacing the wooden blinds with cream colored roman shades. There will be a colored tape trim on them to coordinate with the pink if a girl, and a khaki color if a boy. The green carpeting is being replaced with a laminate flooring that resembles hardwood flooring.

Design Board 1: If blessed with a boy, we're using this great Bratt Decor furniture, Charn and Co. lighting, Marie Ricci Medallion and a Little Castle Nursery Glider. We've selected this great crib bedding by New Arrivals. The strip of seafoam at the top of the design board represents the ceiling color. I am known for adding color to all ceilings possible! We're replacing the knobs on the dresser with some adorable knot style knobs. Since the family loves boating (they do live on Long Island!) we're featuring a map of Long Island over the changing table and a sepia tone photo of Grandpa's boat will go over the chair. The roughly photoshopped rope on the wall represents a hand painted rope mural I will trail randomly across the wall behind the glider and around the windows. 

Design Board 2: If graced with a girl, we're using the Bratt Decor Casablanca Crib in distressed white and the same Manhattan Dresser. Doodlefish Kids crib bedding and lighting by Jubilee were chosen. The strip of darker pink at the top of the design board represents the ceiling color. We selected an Angel Song nursery glider covered in the same pink toile featured in the bedding. We will add a custom designed tree branch wall decal with pink birds on the wall behind the glider chair and a collection of vintage mirrors and frames over the changing table. 

Other accessories such as fabric lined baskets, toys and photo frames will be neatly arranged on the built in bookcase wall unit. 

So stay tuned to find out which nursery we install in our second GENDER REVEAL NURSERY! Baby is due December 18, 2012. Which nursery is your favorite? Chime in, folks!

Nursery Boom!

I apologize for being MIA all summer...but we were much busier than I would have ever expected. I always begin each summer thinking "I'm going to take a break from work and play with the kids all summer." But it NEVER turns out that way.
Don't get me wrong- I had tons of fun! We spent a holiday with our dearest friends, Mary and Stephen Bauer, (owners of the world famous Bratt Decor nursery furniture line), spent a week in the mountains with my husband's extended family and another week with my extended family. The kids had campouts and sleep overs and day-trips to amusement parks. It was a great summer, indeed.
But it's also been a great summer for Jack and Jill Interiors. I couldn't say "no" to some fantastic new clients who approached me with some great design opportunities.
We are currently working on a Little Prince themed nursery in Long Island, New York which features custom designed Newport Cottages furniture, Charn and Company lighting, Angel Song nursery glider, and Little Bunny Blue crib bedding.
We have a wonderful couple moving into an unbelievable Manhattan apartment who asked me to design a shared room for their daughters, ages one and three. We've selected a Newport Cottages bunkbed and Maddie Boo Bedding along with more Charn and Company lighting and some Land of Nod accessories.
We have also been hired to complete a french farmhouse style nursery for TWINS...a boy and a girl in Alabama. OH how I love twin nurseries! We've selected Bratt Decor Casablanca Cribs in Antique White, Persnickety crib bedding and Jubilee lighting.
And last, but not least, I have another GENDER SURPRISE nursery in Long Beach, New York. Of course, I can't share ANY stats on that nursery or it would give away the big surprise!
We will have photos of each of these nurseries available in the coming months.
We have also been adding luxurious new products such as baby crib bedding, nursery furniture, kids' rugs, nursery chandeliers and more to our online baby store, Jack and Jill Boutique. We're really gearing up for a fantastic holiday season so be sure to check us out for your gift-giving needs.
So you can see why my poor little blog has been neglected for the past four months! It's been a wonderful, happy and productive summer. I hope you can each say the same! Tell me...how did you spend your summer?

Smiles!
Sherri

Wallpaper for Children

I recently came across Little Prince wallpaper, a line of gender neutral designs that instantly transform plain children's rooms into playful and whimsical spaces perfect for a baby's nursery or play room.

Little Prince was created by wallpaper designer, muralist, owner of Princes & Crows wallpaper and mother of one Alix Soubiran. With its bright and exciting print, Little Prince will spark any child’s imagination. Quirky aquatic creatures, mischievous woodland creatures and a wacky circus are just a few of the creative themes in Soubiran’s wallpaper collection. Printed on durable material, clean up is a breeze. Each detailed design is created and hand painted by the artist herself and then digitized for paper printing.

I can’t wait to feature one of her timeless designs in a nursery or playroom. Any takers?

To see more of Alix’s work visit http://www.princesandcrows.com/

Gender Surprise Nursery - REVEALED!

The moment you've all been waiting for! We can finally share the photos of our Gender Surprise Nursery with you! If you have just joined us and haven't been following, here is the scoop:  Mom-to-be did not want to know her baby's gender, but wanted an over the top nursery ready and waiting for her to bring baby home. We designed two complete nurseries together (one for a boy and one for a girl) from top to bottom, selecting every tiny little detail from the bedding and furniture to the artwork and accessories. We then waited patiently for a few weeks for the next ultrasound appointment. The OBGYN snapped a photo, sealed it up in an envelope and sent it to our studio revealing baby's gender to me alone so I could complete the nursery behind locked doors!  I ordered up all the gender specific items and staged them here in our studio awaiting installation day. We drove to NJ hauling all the goodies, kindly kicked the family out of the house and installed every little detail in secrecy! When completed, we taped brown paper over the windows to keep neighbors from peeking and locked the nursery door to keep the surprise top secret until after baby was born. Luke Conner was born on June 12  weighing in at 7 lbs. 14 oz and 21" long, and he is quite a cutie pie! Luke and Mom came home two days later to her beautiful nursery. She said "The nursery is breathtaking and made me cry. Perfect beyond belief. Thank you for such a wonderful surprise!"  I love a happy ending...don't you? :) Cheers, Sherri Custom artwork by the talented Heather Davulcu. Contact us for purchasing information. These super cute foam blocks are made of the softest minty fabric and make a wonderful toy and decorative item. They are by Gibout Toys and will be for sale in our boutique very soon! Custom velvet nursery glider by Angel Song at Jack and Jill Boutique. Furniture by Bratt Decor and bedding by Olena Boyko. Nursery chandelier by Jubilee. All can be purchased at our Jack and Jill Boutique. Click here and follow the links for purchasing the entire nursery! The sonogram photo that revealed baby's gender to me alone! I thought it would be fun to frame it and give it a home in the finished nursery.

Nominated for Reader's Favorite!

I'm so honored that our recent French Parisian Nursery was nominated by Project Nursery editors for their Reader's Favorite contest. The contest only runs for three days and ends at 3 pm Monday.
Would love your vote! There are four projects in the running...the project with the most Facebook Likes will win the honor.

To vote, follow these two simple steps:
1. Be sure you're logged in to your Facebook Page
2. click on the link here: Parisian Nursery
3. Wait a moment for the little icons to load up at the top of the photos (Pinterest, Twitter, FB "Like" button) and click the "like" there.

Thanks for your help!
Sherri

Using Charcoal Gray Paint

I found this article interesting and wanted to share it with you. Gray has been so popular in nursery design for the past couple of years! Here are some useful tips for using a bit darker shade in any room of the home. Enjoy!

Color Guide: How to Work With Charcoal Gray

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Save 20% on Silk Bedding! Limited Time!

Save 20% on exquisite silk linens by Olena Boyko for two weeks only! Sale ends on June 22. Use coupon code Olena20 at checkout!

Newport Cottages Furniture Sale!

Huge sale going on at Jack and Jill Boutique! Newport Cottages is offering a 20% off sale through the month of June...exclusive to our baby boutique!  Find baby cribs, kids' beds, dressers for kids, armoires for children, kids' entertainment centers, baby changing tables, playroom furniture and more!

French Parisian Nursery

Well it has been a very busy spring around here! We just finished installing our latest nursery, a French Parisian nursery done up in roses, silk crib bedding, Chelsea espresso lifetime crib, plush vanilla nursery glider, and topped off with a custom mural and wall hangings! A ceiling medallion stating "Anything is Possible" and a sweet mocha crystal chandelier top it all off for this lucky baby girl!

My wonderful client initially contacted me when she began her adoption process a couple of months ago. She wanted a gender neutral nursery, because she really didn't care if she adopted a boy or a girl. (What a loving, generous mother she will be!) So we planned the room, ordered the Bratt Decor Chelsea Lifetime Crib in Espresso, the Angel Song Glider, and all the other major elements of the nursery, leaving the accessories and finishing touches unfinished for a while. Once she was matched with a birth- mother and found that she would be adopting a baby girl, we went to town making the nursery girly. Mom-to-be loves Paris so the theme of the artwork and accessories were easy. We selected a custom color-matched wall hanging by Heather Davulcu and two other coordinating canvases. I then designed the ribbon mural and solicited Heather to come in and paint the ribbon for us and add her matching roses so they would coordinate perfectly with her wall hanging we already had in place. I will add that Heather is such a positively delightful woman and and a very talented artist.  I really enjoyed working side-by-side with her while installing this nursery. You'll be seeing much more of her work in future nurseries, for sure!
It all came together seamlessly and is a perfect reflection of the client's taste. Baby Olivia Grace is one lucky little girl!

Contact our studio if you wish to purchase any of the items seen here. We're happy to hear from you!
Cheers,
Sherri