There’s always something going on in New York City, and Holiday House 2012 presented by Traditional Home is no exception. Holiday House was founded in 2008 as a showhouse dedicated to raising breast cancer awareness by survivor Iris Dankner. According to their website, “Holiday House is about the celebration of life, with each designer selecting a holiday or special moment in life as an inspiration for their design.” The event brings together top designers in the industry, and all proceeds go to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Tobi Fairley was chosen to design Traditional Home’s sponsored room and the honor is well deserved. She is amazing at taking the traditional style and adding an exciting, vibrant, and chic twist.

image courtesy Tobi Fairley

Tobi drew inspiration from the spring season, a time when life and color return to nature. She used soft, smokey, and enigmatic pinks with an organic forest green for the details, two colors which embody the lively spring spirit. Black and white furniture, wall coverings, and art create a sense high style and fashion.  In addition to beautiful custom furniture from Hickory Chair, Tobi used a Cortina Black Diamond wool and sisal rug to anchor the space.

image courtesy Tobi Fairley

We were lucky enough to catch up with Tobi this week and ask her a few questions:

Merida: What were some of the inspirations and influences for this room?

Tobi Fairley: The inspiration is truly Spring Forward and Fashion Forward: the idea of couture details that you would see in Fashion paired with a Spring Palette for a soft, sophisticated and timeless look.

image courtesy Tobi Fairley

M: You write about the Breast Cancer Research Foundation and its significance to your own life, did their presence in this event give you extra inspiration to create a truly special room?

TF: The room developed for me intuitively and I wasn’t consciously thinking of the charity, but I think things always happen for a reason so its probably no coincidence that my design was both feminine and pink! And I was wanting to recreate the soothing feeling of a room I did for another Charity Showhouse in 2007 also for a Breast Cancer Charity. It is one of my most loved designs to date, so I was definitely “channeling” that space when I designed this one. Again, probably no accident.

M: What is one piece of design advice you would give to an at-home or up-and-coming designer that can be seen in this room?

TF: Design is in the details…the embroidery on the drapery, the grosgrain on the sofa, the contrast welt on the settees all give the room depth and interest. Customizing in this way helps make a design truly unique!

image courtesy Tobi Fairley

Holiday House NYC, located on 2 East 63rd Street, is open until November 25th, so there is still time to stop by and support a great cause!

Read More on Tobi’s Blog>

Shop Cortina Wool and Sisal Rugs>

Dering Hall

Dering Hall has added yet another feature that is changing the world in which we are inspired and how we connect with designers. Their new “Portfolio Search” tool allows design enthusiasts alike to browse for inspiration by category, style, and/or designer location then take their inspiration to the next level.

How does it work? First decide how you want to search for décor ideas – you can narrow down photographs by category (architecture, interiors, landscape), room (kitchen, living room, bedroom, etc.), style (modern, traditional, eclectic, etc.), and designer location. Make the search as broad or narrow as you wish. When you find a photo that you like, you can click on it to get details about the architect and/or designer. From there you can click the designer’s name to browse their full portfolio for a more well rounded sense of their style, read through their bio and shop their products.

Libraries - photo courtesy of Dering Hall

Living Rooms - photo courtesy of Dering Hall

Bedrooms - photo courtesy of Dering Hall

Launched last week, this tool now makes it easy to find inspiration and then act on it by connecting with the designer. As Dering Hall founder Peter Sallick says, “These images provide invaluable design inspiration and are a massive new design resource creating value for our designers and for our users alike.”

Congrats Dering Hall, and thank you for making our life that much easier! Looking forward to using the new tool!

Check out Merida’s products on Dering Hall here >

Studio Four's Showroom

Nestled atop Broadway in the heart of New York City, Studio Four’s clean white walls and loads of natural sunlight create the foundation for their playfully sophisticated upscale showroom space.  Historically fans of Merida’s plant fiber rugs and the natural texture that accompanies them, Studio Four used Merida’s Made in MA wool line as an opportunity to play with soft texture and color.

Studio Four's Showroom

When brainstorming samples to carry in their showroom Studio Four decided that they wanted to create something one-of-a-kind for their clients to ensure a unique and fulfilling experience for them.  As such, they decided to play with color with the Made in MA Collection.  To select colors, they put themselves in the mind of their customer and thought through current color trends.  As Kate Reynolds, Partner at Studio Four, says “I feel like the fashion design and interior design industries feed off of each other for color inspiration, so it’s always fun to translate a favorite color combination that I’ve been wearing into a product for the home.”

Waffle Weave in Custom Colors, Designed by Studio Four

Basket Weave in Custom Colors, Designed by Studio Four

Felted Cable in Custom Colors, Designed by Studio Four

The colors that they decided on are bright, bold and beautiful!  As Reynolds said, “the samples are for the bold designer who knows how to use color and is not afraid to take color risks.”  Some of their favorite designers that they had in mind when designing the collection include Amanda Nisbet Design, Tilton Fenwick, Katie Ridder, Lindsey Coral Harper, Angie Hranowsky, Jeffrey Bilhuber and Ashley Whitaker.

Felted Cable and Basket Weave in Custom Colors, Designed by Studio Four

Pinstripe in Custom Colors, Designed by Studio Four

All in all we think Studio Four’s colorful take on our Made in MA Collection is divine.  We love to see how everyone interprets this collection in his or her own individual way.  To see Studio Four’s custom samples, visit their showroom at 900 Broadway, Suite 201 in New York City.

Interested in custom coloring a Made in MA rug? Email us for details.

Artist Jeff Soderbergh has been a leader in the reclaimed materials movement for over 20 years. He salvages wood, glass, and metal from old mills, farms, and demolition sites to create gorgeous one-of-a-kind furniture pieces. Since 1990, Soderbergh has been using furniture as a way to connect with history. He believes that by reusing materials, and even changing their intended use, creates a nostalgic connection with the original item. He does this by preserving the integrity of the material, and showing it off in a new setting. Each material comes with a story that can be told artistically giving each piece a special meaning. Soderbergh also maintains strong partnerships with the sources from which he gathers materials, making each story well researched and well-rounded.

all images courtesy of reflectart.com

Based in Newport, RI, Soderbergh specifically works with materials from the Northeast from 1500-1950. However, his work has become so popular that he now uses materials from around the world to create his custom pieces. He is most well-known for a gorgeous table he created from the Vanderbilt family stable. The table was featured in House Beautiful’s Kitchen of the Year. Soderbergh has also been praised in Architectural Digest, which called his work “gracefully green”.

Soderbergh is a pioneer of green furniture.  He creates headboards from church windows, chairs from mill equipment, and tables from barns. His eye for using architectural elements to create visual puns has put him at the top of a newly flourishing field of sustainable high-end furnishings.