Exclusive Iron Cribs by Bratt Decor

We are HUGE fans of Bratt Decor baby furniture and have sourced this beautiful line for our celebrity nurseries for many years. So when we received the news that we were hand selected an an exclusive retailer for the Chelsea Lifetime Iron Crib collection, we were honored and thrilled! This beautiful iron baby crib is available in distressed white or espresso and coordinates beautifully with the Chelsea dresser, armoire, nightstand and more! It even converts to a full size bed for your growing child.
And the good news didn't stop there! We were also selected to offer the stunning J'adore Iron Crib, a unique, oval iron crib available in Venetian Gold, Distressed White and Pewter. This crib begins as a sweet round cradle, later to an oval crib and even on to a toddler bed! Check them out below and click the images to order. As always, if you have any questions, please contact the studio at info@jackandjillinteriors.com. We are always happy to hear from you!

Smiles,

Sherri

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!

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

Celebrity Nursery Design and a Baby Boutique is Born...What a Year!

As we look back upon 2011, I can't help but think about all of the exciting new things that have happened within my companies and for me personally.

We started the year with the excitement of filming our nursery design process for Lisa and Buddy Valastro of the hugely popular reality show, The Cake Boss. Not only did I have the pleasure of designing a celebrity nursery, but they loved their baby's nursery so much that they hired me to design kids' rooms for their other three children as well. It was truly a highlight of my career to enjoy working with this delightful client as well as to have an inside peek at the filming and production of a reality TV show.
Once we were finished with designing and filming for The Cake Boss, we moved on to doing some philanthropic design work for Make a Wish Foundation. We pulled together various manufacturers and designers from the children's decor industry and created a magical fairyland playroom for a sweet little girl with brain cancer. It was a humbling, rewarding and heartbreaking experience. I will never forget Avery and her family and I pray daily for a miracle for them.

Just before the 4th of July, my dear friend and fellow nursery designer, Mary Bauer of Bratt Decor and I decided to give back to our country's brave military men and women by offering a $10,000 Military Family Dream Nursery Give Away. We had some great entries and selected Carlos and Marlene Altamirano as our very deserving winners. We're still awaiting final photos back from the photographer, but we promise this beautiful nursery is worth the wait!

About mid summer I finally bit the bullet and began designing my online baby boutique, Jack and Jill Boutique. It's something that I should have done years ago, but just didn't seem to ever find the right time or have the resources to begin. I'm thrilled with how the baby boutique has grown and have some great plans for its growth and success in the coming years. I have worked with so many great kids' product designers through my interior design firm, Jack and Jill Interiors for the past twelve years, that it only made sense to begin this online kids' store to enhance my design services and round out my offerings to my clients and customers.

This summer, I began talking with friend and colleague, Aaron Christensen of Embellishments about a new business venture. It's funny how much our careers have paralleled over the years. We are both nursery and kids' room designers and we each have our own line of children's wall art. Our respect for one another in this industry led to a great friendship and we finally decided that it would be more fun to work together with another like-minded creative person than to always be going it alone. We've created a new company, The Princess and The Prop Maker. Through this new entity, we will design nurseries and kids' rooms together and create some great new products along the way. We recognize that we each have a unique set of strengths to contribute to this new venture and look forward to pulling them together to design magical kids' rooms and products that are sure to please. Be sure to follow our blog and our Facebook page where we'll share our adventures and provide tips on design and introduce you to the latest and greatest baby and kids' products on the market today.

And finally, I've been contracted by a television producer who has created and is pitching a few different reality and design shows for which I would be the host and designer. I've been contacted by five or six production companies over the past few years, but this company is really working day and night to get us a show. As much as I'd love to design kids' rooms and baby nurseries every day for television, I don't count my chickens before they hatch. I've been down this road before and realize that in order for a show to really take off, all the stars must be in perfect alignment. If I get a show, great...it will be fun and I promise to entertain and provide great design. If I don't get a show- still great...because I love my life and am blessed to have the opportunity to wake up each day to a loving family and to have a career that I absolutely love and feel passionate about each and every day.
So...what's in store for us in 2012? I have no idea! Each day as a nursery designer, artist, boutique owner, wife and mother is a new adventure and full of surprises. All I can say is stay tuned...I promise it will be an exciting year!
Happy New Year to each of you and may you all be blessed with good health, happiness and prosperity in 2012!

Armoires

I have an affinity for traditional decor and I also love repurposing and recycling products when designing nurseries and kids' rooms as well as throughout my own home. By stylishly reusing items that many might see as old fashioned, outdated or passé, I gain a great sense of accomplishment. I believe we should all do our part to be environmentally responsible and repurposing furniture is a great way to do so.
Armoires have served many purposes throughout history. Initially these large cabinets were necessary for clothing storage. Many older homes did not have closets in bedrooms. An armoire was a great way to hang the few articles of clothing the average person possessed in the day.  But as new homes were built, closets were added and armoires became less important. As time went on, we began seeing them used to hold our televisions in the 1980's and 90's. They were a great way to hide away those large, bulky and ugly black boxes when not in use.  But as televisions became thinner, we were able to hang them neatly on our walls, making the armoire obsolete for yet another purpose.
I think armoires are one of the most versatile pieces one can use when decorating a child's room. I really love the look of a nursery armoire and often recommend these beauties to my clients.  A nursery armoire can be used as a changing station for the baby, blanket storage or for hanging delicate little dresses. As your child grows, it can become toy storage,  a computer station, a gaming station or can be used to stack favorite sweaters and sweatshirts. It's a piece of kids' furniture that can serve it's purpose for many years.
I've gathered some great images here for you. Hopefully they'll inspire you to repurpose that old armoire you might have in the basement gathering dust!

Armoire BEFORE 

Armoire AFTER. 

I love chalkboard paint. What a great idea for a kids' room or kitchen! Family messages can be jotted here, sweet nothings written, reminders to clean up your room...the possibilities are endless! (courtesy of http://www.junkinthetrunktrio.com) 

Nursery Armoire I used when designing the Cake Boss Nursery

Why not remove the doors and use your armoire as a shelving unit? Photo courtesy of http://www.paintmewhite.com

Don't you just love the power of PAINT?! Photo courtesy of Apartment Therapy. 

Computer armoire used by a pre-teen girl.

I know this is cheating...it's closet doors painted to look like an armoire! How cute is this?! Image courtesy of Meredith.com

Believe it or not, this is only 7" high...it's for a doll house. What I wouldn't do for a big version of this for my studio! Image courtesy of http://earthntree.com/

Want to see some great armoires for kids? Check out my selection of Newport Cottages Furniture and Bratt Decor Furniture in my Jack and Jill Boutique. 

My Favorite Designers Series- Mary Bauer of Bratt Decor

Sherri and Mary's $10K Military Nursery Give-away Contest

As a nursery designer I have the pleasure of meeting some of the world's most talented designers. Not only do I recommend their furniture and bedding to my nursery design clients, but I have the opportunity to exhibit my products along side of them at trade shows as well. I've met some outstanding people who have, over the years become more than just my colleagues- they've become my friends. Mary Bauer of Bratt Decor is not only one of the most talented women in the children's industry, but she's also one of the most grounded, kind-hearted and thoughtful people I know. Her generous spirit is unmatched and as time goes on, I find myself more in awe of her in her many roles as a designer, a wife and mother. After working and playing together over the years, I now count her as one of my most trusted and valued friends. 

 Many consumers don't really stop to think about they story behind the products they purchase and enjoy.  It' a shame, really. Because as far as I'm concerned, the story of the designer, about how the design or product came to be, and what inspired its creation- makes that particular item all the more priceless in my eyes. Mary's story of how Bratt Decor came to be is one of the most inspiring yet. So sit back and enjoy this little interview and peek at the woman behind that fabulous nursery furniture line, Bratt Decor!

Mary with celebrity clients, Mario Lopez and Courtney Mazza

Where is home? Baltimore, MD

When did you first realize you wanted to be a designer and how did you prepare yourself for this career?

I don’t know that I ever “realized” it, it’s just always been a part of who I am.  Even as a kid, I was always creating and designing everything around me to fit my version of beauty.

How did you get into this business/start the company?

I began when I got pregnant with my first child, and couldn’t find a crib that I loved.  So, together with my ridiculously talented husband, I designed one.

What do you adore about your job?

I love seeing something in my mind appear before me in a tangible way.

What do you like the least?

The paperwork.

When you need inspiration for your designs, where do you most often turn?

Nature.  The patterns and colors in just about anything God created are so perfect and inspiring.  What I love about what I find in nature, is the deeper you look, the more time you take, the more beauty is revealed. 

How might your clients describe your "signature look"?

Glamorous and timeless.

Famous clients? Tell us a little about working with each.

I’ve worked with some, and what I can tell you about all of them, is they worry about all the same things any expectant parent worry about. They want a safe, beautiful space where their love story can unfold.

What's the most exciting thing on the horizon for you?

Our newest crib, J’adore.   It’s a crib/cradle combination,  in an oval shape, made of all hand bent wrought iron, and I’m so loving it right now.

What do you know now that you wish someone had told you when you were first starting out?

That I was, for sure, going to make it.  That little nugget of wisdom would have saved me so much worry and sleepless nights.

You've learned your design studio will self-destruct in 60 seconds, what three things will you grab?

My husband, computer, and dog, all of which are generally found lying around somewhere in there.

Mary and Stephen Bauer and the new J'adore Crib/Cradle