Love Walking Through Your Front Door

I went onto Nate Berkus' website yesterday to look for photos of his West Village apartment for inspiration for Black gloss trim, his turned out to be blue-black. Anyway, while there I stumbled onto his portfolio for his interior design firm, Nate Berkus Associates, and all I could think was wow! When you think of Nate Berkus, you immediately think of him making over tired and sad spaces for maximum impact on The Oprah Show but what I saw was simple yet elegant, refined yet comfortable and sophisticated but not stuffy.


My litmus test of a great interior designer is if I could see myself moving into their finished design and being completely at home without making any changes and Nate Berkus passed my test. One of the quotes says, love walking through your front door and I would love to walk through the front door of any of his designs.

This photo above is one of my favorites. I wish I knew where all the homes were located but to me, this is the perfect look for a more sophisticated beach house. Not every weekend getaway home needs to be super casual, especially if that's not the way you usually live your life.

This is a detail from the room above and I am in love with those chairs. I wish I could find something similar at the flea market so I could upholster it in a similar fabric.

I think one of the reasons that I'm drawn to Nate's work is that he doesn't seem to use a lot of bright colors or patterns. It's funny that I love looking at fun prints and crazy patterns but in my own home, I like calm and soothing tones. I think it's one of the results of living in a crazy city. When you come home, you want a sanctuary of peace.

Nate may not use a lot of pattern but he does use a lot of great textures and color combinations. There are a lot of colors in the room above but it's still harmonious and soothing.

Great artwork also seems to be a Nate Berkus hallmark. Who knows if he or his clients picked it out, it all seems to flow beautifully into his designs. I love the gallery walls he creates.

The porcelain Nymphenburg rhino on the mantel above looks like the one Nate has on his desk in his New York apartment. I wonder if it's a coincidence or if they borrowed it for the photo shoot.

When you think of beige, you usually think boring but there is nothing boring about the room above. Again, it's the use of textures and tones that keeps it interesting.

The bedroom above and the bathroom below I think are from a private home but they have the look of a fine French hotel like the Ritz in Paris. That bed is to die for and so is the chandelier above the bathtub. Amazing!

And if his great designs and friendship with Oprah weren't reason enough to want to hate Nate, he's also dating the hottest shoe designer around, Brian Atwood. Brian not only designs his own eponymous line but he was also just tapped to turn around Bally, and if anyone can do it, he can. Talk about a designing duo. I look forward to seeing what these two have up their sleeves next!