Rock of Ages

12/11/2015

This fall I was approached by Kelly LaPlante, Editorial Director of Marché Mag to collaborate on a room design. Marché Mag is the journal of Trove Market (marché is French for "market"). Kelly and her team share daily stories, inspirations and ideas centered around themes of design, sustainability, reuse and buying local. The Marché team also curates Trove's Instagram feed and creates inspirational sets using Trove merchandise on Polyvore.com, another inspirational website.

The goal of our collaboration was for YouthfulNest to create a style board inspired by the essence of Trove's eclectic offering of vintage pieces. Since my favorite style is eclectic, this seemed more like fun than work. In fact, I enjoyed it immensely. So much so, that I wound up knocking out two boards with one rolling-stone. Both share the same rock music inspiration. Color scheme, furnishings and styling details were applied to an edgy teen room and even an over-the-edge nursery.

Let me take a quick step back and introduce you to Trove Market. l discovered Trove in one of my usual online searches for new furnishings and décor sources. What intrigued me about this unique, online consignment concept was that I could actually search for vintage and previously owned pieces in the city where my clients live. That means they could go and see a piece in person to decide if it was truly right for them and there would be no shipping cost. I love incorporating vintage pieces in my designs for an eclectic look, but it's tricky to do when they cannot be seen prior to purchasing. Nearly half of all the items selected for each style board were found using the Trove app.

Getting Satisfaction

This teen room design is not only ageless, it's also unisex. This could be the funky glam space for a spirited teen girl or boy. As always YouthfulNest selects pieces across the board on price point. Main pieces of furniture that are intended to outlast the years and even room design are usually of a higher quality and therefore have a higher price tag – while the trendier looks and smaller décor pieces can be fetched at a lower price point. The must-have furnishing piece for the teen room is the over-the-top ornate, Menara bed frame (twin-king) from Anthropologie. The must-have splurge accessory for this room is of course the guitar. Look for one on Trove, at a local thrift shop or other online source.

SHOP THIS LOOK>>> Rock & Roll-ing Stones – gender neutral, teen bedroom

When gathering pieces for a baby's room, I was happily surprised to find the few essential nursery pieces in the same styling as the teen room. The crib being the most important. I did find other simpler cribs in a black finish, but in this design the crib is not purely functional, it takes center stage. The must have furnishing piece is a black crib shown here by Zoya B. Alternative styles at various price points are also shown on our page SHOP THIS LOOK>>>. Refinishing a vintage crib would also make for a nice D.I.Y. project. The must-have splurges for this nursery are the quirky, baby dolls, both from Design Life Kids.

SHOP THIS LOOK>>> Rock-A-Bye Bébé – gender neutral, nursery room

Two Birds With One Rolling-Stone

While the plan was for YouthfulNest to create a single look for a teen bedroom, I started to wonder...could this bold look go bébé? Would we be able to track down the right nursery essentials to keep the edgy, bold styling intact?

This nursery became a real design challenge and an opportunity to illustrate the growing trend for more unique and sophisticated kids' bedrooms. On a practical level, this approach means that the rooms can remain functional for longer and not requiring a redesign after only a couple years. The idea of making purchases that have staying power from birth through...well, young adulthood if not longer, is smart and savvy, but not always easy to accomplish.

Herman Miller Eames Lounge Chair, REPRODUCTION – Trove Market listed $1,750 AUTHENTIC DESIGN avg. $4,000

I think YouthfulNest accomplished the task of bringing together a look that rocks at any age. A perfect example is the selection of the Eames lounger chair. I knew we needed leather seating that oozed cool. In my visual search I landed on the Eames lounger. It is the epitome of understated coolness. I was thrilled to find one in black (a reproduction) on Trove. This is has to be the hippest nursery essential, not to mention one of the most sophisticated iconic furniture designs in the world. This piece, either original or reproduction, is ageless and timeless, just like rock and roll itself. It's a piece that easily can go from baby room to a new life in a teen room, a college apartment or a first home.

A few of my other favorite pieces that made the right statement in both rooms was the luxurious faux fur throw from Pottery Barn, Union Jack rug from Lulu & Georgia, the vintage Neoclassical wall mirror from Trove and the dramatic wire chandelier from Parrot Uncle.