Surprise! Caitlin and I didn’t make our bedroom finish date deadline which was ummmm two weeks ago. But I promise it’s for very exciting reasons and two of those reasons are in the blog post:) So last time we spoke I told you about my harrowing journey to find my incredible vintage nightstands. Locking those down really needed to happen before I could finalize my custom bed measurements. That’s right, after 13 years of not owning a true bed frame, your friend Jess got to customize her dream one. If you are wondering if I’ve been sleeping on the floor for all those years, that’s not 100% true. In NY I had one of the cheap metal frames, in Melbourne, we were on the floor, and for the first year in LA, I temporarily got to borrow a frame until I moved into my studio where I got a cheap platform with a drawer. But as long as I’ve been in my “new” place (3 years, 5 months, and 18 days), it’s been me on the ground. It’s been fun and it’s been real but it hasn’t been real fun (one of Les Bunge’s favorite farewell lines). So after reading all of that, I’m sure you can only assume that I am OVER THE MOON that the wonderful Buildlane (an awesome custom furniture design company for designers) offered to build me a bed. Grateful doesn’t even begin to cut it.
Ok, so while my initial design inspiration was from the daybed at the apartment my dad was renting while living in Paris, I have ZERO photos. This daybed had two or three thin cushions stacked on top of each other. The look was so chic. The colors were also warm but quiet – golds, tans, browns, and creams. Since I can’t show you, here are some stunning photos I found that have also been very inspirational…
The photo on the left has an overall vibe that I very much love and connect to. Plus, look at those accent chairs and how those two colors look so good together. Happy but cool:) On the right photo, if you click the arrow to the third slide you’ll see that incredible banquette from the Hint restaurant at the Puro Hotel in Kraków. I just can’t get enough of the texture play and how the light hits those colors. My bedroom gets similar dappling light so I have more than one important reason to get this bed in my room asap.
Here is the official plan from Buildlane. Their portal is so easy to use and you get plans like these to confirm that everything is how you imagined it. I know this bed is simple and pretty similar to a lot of what you can see on the market but getting to customize every last inch with fabric I love is beyond special. Here is the overall idea:
I knew I wanted a low, rectangle headboard, slipcover look, and two front pleats. I also knew I wanted to mix linen and velvet. And while I can’t predict the future, this bed is meant to be versatile and stay with me maybe forever. I didn’t want to design something so specific that it would only ever work in my current bedroom and with the current style/color palette. I want it to grow with me as my style and or homes evolve. So before we get into the fabrics I have one more surprise:)
There’s A Bench Too!
After I posted my nightstand journey, the amazing and wonderful Katy Skelton emailed me to thank me for mentioning her incredible new nightstands (trust me the pleasure was all mine). Since I had found nightstands already she very generously offered to gift me her Farren bench if I was interested. I think I started typing “YES!” before I finished reading her email. Here’s the thing about Katy’s work, they are forever pieces. Emily still has her Safari bench from 2016 with no plans of ever letting that baby go. Her lighting is also so special and I’ve seen firsthand the beautiful high quality (Emily has also used it many times). Remember this little room I designed? The sconce next to the wall mirror is one of my all-time favorites. 10000/10.
Then to my delight, Katy accepted COM fabric (customer’s own material) for the bench so my wheels really started turning.
Shopping At Kravet
Then came the fabric shopping. Buildlane introduced me to Kravet (the marketing team, not the brand. I, of course, knew about Kravet!) in hopes of us working together. Spoiler, they did! I first went on their site and was so excited and overwhelmed by their seemingly endless amount of options. I promise you will find what you are looking for there. It’s impossible not to. But since I am a total noob at fabric sourcing and really wanted to them in person, I was able to grab Catilin and Mal for a little trip to their showroom at the Pacific Design Center. Mal did unfortunately get stuck in the elevator for about 10 minutes so we went for a delicious lunch after to make up for it:)
Ok, THE FABRICS!
I got to work pretty quickly with my handy scanner (my version of picking out things for a wedding registry, ha). As you can see the linen section was incredible (and only a part of it). I decided to go more of a classic linen than something more textured.
Then came the velvets. The phrase, “like a kid in a candy store” comes to mind when I look at this photo. But see? Endless.
The Bed Fabric Selections
Here’s what I pulled for the bed. I pretty immediately said no to anything too brown/cognac because I didn’t want it to be too similar to my sofa. I’m trying to branch out:)
I really fell in love with this Clarke & Clarke “Honey” color. It’s happy but not too bright and super luxe in person. Then came the linen face-off. Both were beautiful, medium to thick weight, but the Thom Filicia option (in Sweeting-Ivory) was more of the tone I wanted. Thankfully, I had Caitlin and Mal to support my decision. Plus, as a girl who remembers the first iteration of Queer Eye and the excitement of that time, the idea that I could have a Thom Filicia fabric was just too good to be true. I also just put together that one is called Honey and the other is called Sweeting. Meant to be? I think so. Ok, bed, DONE.
The Bench Fabric Selections
In true Jess fashion, I wanted to go for a pattern but nothing too bold. I first found that incredible Kelly Wearstler black and white embroidered fabric (yes, Kravet carries all of Kelly’s fabrics:)). I was in love but wanted to find at least one colorful option which is when I saw that beautiful green checkered fabric by Gaston y Daniela (one of my new favorite companies for fabrics). Green is a part of the color palette and this one would contrast nicely with the gold and cream fabrics so it was also pretty perfect.
The Final Four
Here they are! The four fabrics I decided on. Curious why BOTH Kelly Wearstler and Gaston y Daniela are on there? Well, after talking it over with Julie (EHD Alum, dear friend, and design confidant) when I got home we both loved the idea of the green check fabric going on the side dowels of the bench and the black and white fabric being the main bench. The shapes are similar but different and the pattern scales are perfectly varied. SUCCESS!
Here is a terrible rendering of that idea…
I promise the fabrics in person together are so good! Well, they would have been so good but bad news was on it’s way…
The Bench Pivot
That dreamy Kelly Wearstler fabric is back-ordered for way longer than I can wait. So after a moment (or two) of sadness, I hit the site to see what other options I could come up with…
New Bench Options
The thin stripes on the left were really pretty on the site but I wasn’t 100% and my duvet also has thin stripes so I nixed that one. I was actually really into the thicker stripes on the right, but this combo is more limiting for the future. And ultimately, it didn’t create the feeling I wanted in the room.
I also thought about just going for it with the green fabric or maybe slightly toning it a little down with a green velvet top. But again, it just wasn’t going to work with the other things I have planned in the room but it’s truly so beautiful in person.
Updated Bench Selections
So after consulting Julie once again, I decided to go with a washed linen that has the same tone as the cream in the green pattern. It’s going to be simple and chic and really what I want (plus versatile for the future!) If you are concerned about the two different linens (bed and bench) next to each other, I’m going to have a colorful end of blanket that will visually break them up:)
Well, that’s it for me today. I again feel so lucky to have these kinds of opportunities and then get to share them with you. If you are a designer that needs custom furniture, use Buildlane, trust me. And for endless beautiful fabric (and wallpaper) options, Kravet is your go-to. I can’t WAIT to sleep in my big girl bed and gracefully put on my shoes as I sit atop my new bench. Caitlin is up next with an update and as soon as we have a clearer deadline you will know!
Love you, mean it.
