Moorish Nursery Design

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I celebrated my child’s first birthday yesterday. ‘Has a whole year passed?!’ Indeed it has! It’s hard to believe my lifesize-elephant-sculpture is now a distant memory or—if you are a new mom you’ll get it—barely a memory at all.

The past year has been a blur to say the least! In this order; I had a baby (while working like a dog at a shelter magazine), got laid off (decided there is a first and last time for everything), totally panicked, came up with a million hair-brained ideas to get by, scrapped them all, focused on raising a child (with my amazing husband), started a new business (interior design), and—this past weekend—threw a wedding-size birthday party for the baby & husband. Because why not?!

In the chaos of caring for a baby and managing a new business with vibrant clients, I completely forgot a local home magazine was doing a piece on my nursery design! It was such a nice surprise yesterday—and weird timing—to see this delightful article (below)… that I am ever so grateful for. Thank you Brooke!!! I’ve included several photos of the project below and even some process shots (far below).

Through the Years
WRITTEN BY BROOKE PERRY
INTERIOR DESIGN BY MEREDITH McBRIDE KIPP

Envisioning a “fun, worldly and adventurous” nursery for her daughter, Franklin Lakes interior designer Meredith McBride Kipp dreamed up a Moorish fantasy highlighted by crisp white drapery, playful elephants and even a hand-painted silhouette of the Taj Mahal. “I didn’t want the room to feel overtly like a nursery;’ says the designer, who chose pieces that can work well in the room or elsewhere in the home over the years.

In lieu of a traditional rocking chair, Kipp opted for a classic deep-gray club chair glider with cream piping from HomeGoods, toning down its “serious” feel with a blue and white stripe Turkish cotton throw and a canvas elephant pillow by Tahari Home. A leather and canvas ottoman, also from HomeGoods, is a work anywhere piece. On the walls, Kipp stenciled a custom-muted ikat pattern on light blue three-quarters of the way up the wall, transitioning to matte white to the ceiling.

The designer brightened the room’s original wood floors with the addition of a navy and white bamboo fretwork patterned rug from India. Its white background works beautifully with simple white drapes from lkea, which tuck beneath custom-built valences embellished with brown tassels. “They are a decorative homage to beautiful Moorish plasterwork;’ she says.

The room’s most charming feature is the nearly life-sized baby elephant topped with an antique riding saddle. A former creative director turned blogger, interior designer and gifted DIYer, Kipp built the playful pink pachyderm herself using a wood frame, chicken wire and papier-mache.

The antique mahogany dining room sideboard, an estate sale find, is repurposed as a changing table (not shown). “I couldn’t bear to paint it,” she says, “so I added a bold band of white contact paper down the front to add interest:’

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Mobile by Michal Dagan. My hand painted Taj Mahal in the background.

Mobile by Michal Dagan

illustrations by Scott Woods (top) and Sally King (bottom)

illustrations by Scott Woods (top) and Sally King (bottom)

 

 

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PROCESS SHOTS OF THE ELEPHANT ET AL:Screen Shot 2015-10-01 at 7.35.42 AMScreen Shot 2015-10-01 at 7.34.34 AMScreen Shot 2015-10-01 at 7.34.08 AMScreen Shot 2015-10-01 at 7.33.23 AMScreen Shot 2015-10-01 at 7.27.27 AMScreen Shot 2015-10-01 at 7.33.04 AMScreen Shot 2015-10-01 at 7.32.10 AM

The Bee’s Knees


As we quickly approach the holidays, you probably need to relax…and want a good, strong cocktail to do so. I’ve just the solution for you. A delightful little drink called The Bee’s Knees: a heavenly blend of fragrant lavender and honey that will calm the nerves and soothe the soul. The recipe is from my mother-in-law, a Vermonter who—as a recent retiree—has mastered the arts of relaxation and laborious cocktails. This one in particular she picked up from the barkeep at a great little restaurant called Starry Night near Charlotte, VT.

Here’s how you make The Bee’s Knees. In a sauce pan steep roughly 1 cup lavender, 4 cups water, and 1/2 cup honey. Adjust/add honey to taste as needed (depending on strength of honey and lavender.) Steep the mixture over low heat (do not boil) until the lavender begins to lose color. You will see it start to turn brown. Stir all the while (about 15 minutes). Drain the mixture through cheese cloth and put the deep mauve liquid in the refrigerator to cool. This will make a little over 1 quart of your lavender/honey mix.



Once the mix has cooled, pour 3 parts lavender mix and 1 part gin into a shaker. We used Bar Hill Gin, a delicious Vermont-born-and-raised gin with notes of raw honey & juniper berry. Add the juice of 1 small lime, roughly a tablespoon of simple syrup (if needed to cut the bitterness: trust your taste buds), a handful of ice, and you’re ready to shake and serve. It will come out the most beautiful shade of pink.

This soothing cocktail is sure to give you the buzz you are looking for. Happy chilling.

Wardrobe Function

Hot off the Oscars, everyone’s talking about ‘what they wore’, but I’m more interested in where they hang it all when they get home. What does that space look like?

Everyone’s got their daily routines and ideally, their zone. My husband, Ryerson, and I just brought ours to life. We sold our fab little 20’s colonial tudor this fall and bought a bigger/older project: an 1805 farmhouse in Franklin Lakes, NJ (yes, BRAVO Housewives territory).

Moving whilst crazed at our jobs was traumatic at best, so we focused our weekend-warrior energies on getting our private quarters finished first. ‘Oasis of organization & comfort’ has been our mantra. As usual, we took the job very seriously and built ourselves some totally over-the top closets. Ry turned the existing walk-in into his own personal haberdashery (sans valet) and I took the liberty of transforming our off-bedroom office into a gallery of glam. I’m a jeans, boots and blazer gal by nature but this wardrobe-chapel is making me see things in a whole new light.

Interior Design & Styling by moi, Meredith McBride Kipp
Photography by Laura Moss
Closet construction by Ryerson Kipp et moi

My coveted Billy Haines slipper chair from the 40’s makes a great statement piece.

Hot pink clutch and gold leather wrap bracelet by cousin Ted Kruckel at Gigi New York. Gorgeous Key Tassel candle (my favorite gifting item) by friend Elad Yifrach, founder of L’Objet. Tray by Royal Limoges from my factory tour purchases in Limoges, France a few years ago during Pairs (Maison et Objet) market— OBSESSED— bought the Asian-laquer-red china to match. The giant wishbone is by Nima Oberoi. I can’t remember where I picked it up, but it was a must-have-you moment. Looks like you can buy it at a number of places now, here’s one.

I rewired and cleaned this pretty, old chandelier (estate sale purchase) to add a little classic romance to the space.

Using a level, I simply hammered rows of nails into the wall to create a display for all my casual accessories. It’s much easier to accessorize when you can see all of your options. This is an easy project I highly recommend. I chose the wall that is usually hidden by the open closet door, but if you are doing this on a more prominent wall, you might want to get pretty brass hooks or decorative knobs to use instead, just to give it a little more polish.

I have too many funky old broaches (this one is Kenneth Jay Lane) lying unappreciated in a drawer, so why not use them to accentuate your boudoir decor?

I used a mixture of brass knobs for my accessories drawers.

Standard options for accessory organizers tend to be tacky, so I like to hide everything in drawers. Here, I’ve used a simple, modern desk accessory to hang all of my hoops and dangling earrings. It’s a great way to display and store them.

To purchase the full story (with before photos) for editorial or commercial use, it is now available at Red Cover.

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