Design: Jim Dove Design, Photography: Nickolas Sargent
What an amazing opening weekend for the 2024 Kips Bay Palm Beach Showhouse in Palm Beach's trendy "So So" neighborhood. So colorful, so imaginative, and a true celebration of boundary pushing design with tons of personality.
Nest Studio is honored to be a part of Jim Dove Design's kitchen, inspired by Dorothy Draper, and we love Jim's mixed use of our Step, Facet, Reveal and Classic collections for his cabinet handles and drawer pulls.
Read Luxe Interiors & Design Magazine's feature, including Jim Dove Design's bold and memorable kitchen design. Check out Veranda Magazine's gorgeous sneak peek renderings before the installation magic!
]]>Design: Jim Dove Design, Rendering: Veranda Magazine
The 2024 Kips Bay Palm Beach Show House is around the corner and we're excited to see the transformation of a trendy Palm Beach, FL neighborhood "So So" villa into a bold and inspiring home. Thanks to Veranda Magazine, we get to glimpse renderings of the spectacular interior designs to come. All 21 designers are installing their spaces and the show house runs from February 22 to March 17.
Nest Studio is thrilled to be a part of Jim Dove Design's kitchen, inspired by Dorothy Draper and a nod to the convivial celebration of hospitality, food, drink, and 'the good life'. A creative combination of different Nest Studio luxury and decorative pulls and knobs will help bring Jim's bold vision to life. Stay tuned for the final result!
2023 Kips Bay Palm Beach Show House
Design: Eneia White, Photography: Sean Litchfield, Nest Studio Fauna Collection - Peacock polished brass pulls
2023 Kips Bay New York Show House
Design: Ahmad AZ, Photography: Joe Kramm, Nest Studio Organic Collection knobs and pull
2019 Kips Bay New York Show House
Design: Corey Damon Jenkins, Photography: Marco Ricca, Nest Studio Facet Collection satin brass knobs
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Nest Studio Knot Collection with artist Katie Gong, Photography by Brett Walker
Nest Studio Pinch Collection with Stephen Antonsen decorative pulls in powder coated white, Design by Jill White, Photography by Sarah Oden
Nest Studio Deco Collection matte black pulls and handles, Design by Atelier Davis, Photography by David Livingston
Read more about the Art Deco inspiration behind the luxury Aperture cabinet hardware collection here!
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Last spring, our Knot Collection, a five-year-in-the-making artisan collaboration with Katie Gong, launched with a bang! Knot luxury pulls and knobs are cast from Katie Gong's signature steam-bent wood sculptures. Knot was featured in Luxe Magazine as well as Modern Luxury Interiors. Rachel Cannon installed Knot pulls in her 2023 Flower Magazine Show House moody mudroom design. We are loving all the new Knot installations!
Designed by Nest Studio's creative director and award-winning interior designer, Jessica Davis, Aperture launched late fall and is inspired by the early 20th century's rapid innovation in art, playing on light in the positive and negative spaces of the hardware. With multiple finishes from oak to polished nickel, optional backplates to mix and match, and retrofit mounts, Aperture is becoming a go-to for designers who want full customization!
Morgan Madison unveiled a custom patina finish at the 2023 Kips Bay Dallas Show House. Aperture was also recently featured in Azure Magazine!
Emily Followill Photography
Frederic Magazine did a deep dive process piece on Nest Studio, how Jessica Davis conceives of new collections, and how Jess collaborated with artisans including Jonathan Castro, Stephen Antonson, Katie Gong, Valeriy Khvan, and Ku & Moe to create new collections.
We loved seeing so many vendor partners and interior designers at Design Social Pop-Ups! We will be attending all 2024 events and can't wait to see and meet more of you there!
From the Kips Bay Dallas Show House to Flower Magazine Show House, we loved seeing how your vision came to life with Nest Studio collections. We look forward to all our coming 2024 show house partnerships and more!
]]>We are thrilled to bring you Nest Studio's new luxury cabinet hardware collection, Aperture. In imagining this collection, Jessica Davis, Founder and Creative Director, was inspired by early 20th century’s rapid innovation in art and design. Linear and minimal, Aperture is designed to play with light as it enters the positive and negative spaces of the knobs and pulls. True to its name, this collection is an opening to endless design possibilities offered in mixed finishes and materials, such as matte black and satin brass, as well as solid brass and white oak. Aperture pulls and knobs are also offered in multiple lengths with innovative retrofit mounting points that perfectly overlap prior installation holes - a wonderful way to update and elevate interior spaces and case goods!
Interior designers are loving Aperture's customizability and Morgan Madison recently debuted a custom patina finish in their 2023 Kips Bay Dallas Show House space. |
"Stevie's Passage" Stephen Karlisch Photography
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Photographed by Stephen Karlisch
This stunning bathroom, located in the suburbs of Northern Virginia, is just outside of Washington, D.C. Refined elegance and natural beauty merge with the surrounding elements in this luxurious space.
Benjamin Moore Coventry Gray a neutral gray wall color, provides the perfect serene backdrop. Nest Studio's Step collection of knobs and pulls in polished nickel sparkle against the slate floors and elegant white Carrera marble.
The polished nickel hardware exudes a subtle glimmer, adding a touch of modernity to the overall design. The seamless fusion of natural elements and refined finishes, make this bathroom a true sanctuary of relaxation and style.
]]>Violandi + Warner Interiors' spectacular custom bar featuring Nest Studio's Organic Collection.
Violandi + Warner Interiors takes pride in crafting a distinctive looks for every space they design. This spectacular custom bar featuring Nest Studio's Organic knobs and pulls, is as practical as it is striking. The biophilic cabinet hardware pair beautifully with the black gloss exterior and pop of green inside.
Learn more about Violandi + Warner and their current project in the latest issue of Modern Luxury Interiors Boston.
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Renowned for her awe-inspiring steam-bent sculptures, Katie Gong's designs draw inspiration from the natural beauty of California's landscape. Nest Studio's foundry transformed her knotted wood sculptures into gorgeous solid brass decorative hardware. The Knot collection of designer cabinet knobs and pulls are an absolute showstopper reflecting the perfect blend of functionality and aesthetics. Check out what industry leaders are saying about the luxurious and unique Knot collection.
After receiving a BFA in painting in 2006, Katie had several career pivots before she began experimenting with steam bending wood. Her design process begins with inspiration from nature. She sketches and thinks about different shapes and ideas before experimenting with smaller gauge wood to test her ideas in a study. Once she is satisfied with the results, she creates a few large pieces and contemplates them before releasing them into the world.
Through her sculptures, Katie seeks to capture the beauty and complexity of the natural world, to explore the relationship between humans and the environment, and to challenge our perceptions of what is possible with wood as a medium.
Over the last three years, Katie has collaborated with Jessica Davis, designer and Nest Studio owner, to create a hardware line that featured her signature knot designs cast in brass. Before this collaboration, Katie had always wanted to cast her work but had not pursued it until Jessica approached her with the idea.
“I am just blown away by the quality and Nest Studio’s ability to translate my work from large to small in the hardware form.”
Her collaboration with Nest Studio on a hardware line, called the Knot Collection, has allowed her to extend her artistic vision into a new material. The 4-piece collection includes a petite knob, small and large handle, and a made-to-order statement pull. The hardware is available in polished brass unlacquered, polished nickel and antique brass.
“I opened the box I was drooling over this hardware,” Katie said on receiving her first set of samples and I immediately installed them on a sideboard cabinet. We are redoing our kitchen and bathroom and cannot wait to use all the pulls in both rooms.”
Stephen Antonson’s journey to becoming one of the world’s most innovative furniture and lighting designers took lots of vision and a pinch of luck. The celebrated plaster artisan studied painting and sculpture at Carnegie Mellon but never formally trained in decorative arts. While working early in his career, exhibiting at galleries and summer jobs for antique dealers, he began forming opinions on what he liked and decided to try his hand at creating pieces for his enjoyment.
“When I wanted a chandelier for my apartment, and I didn’t have any money, I would make one. I had this little studio in Brooklyn, and a woman saw one of the lamps I made and asked, ‘What’s that?’ And I said oh, it’s just this thing I made; I don’t think it’s very good. And she said, ‘No, it’s really good, I like it!’ I felt like that permitted me to keep going.”
Today, he works in his Brooklyn atelier, Stephen Antonson by Hand, where he crafts plaster chandeliers, sconces, mirrors, tables, and other objects with his hands and paintbrushes using his signature sculpting method. In 2020, he continued to break new ground by collaborating with Nest Studio to create the exclusive Pinch hardware collection, consisting of six different pieces modeled on his plaster designs and available in a range of sizes and finishes.
Many of Antonson’s works embody biophilic design principles, which Nest Studio founder Jessica Davis recently identified as one of the most important hardware design trends of 2023. Biophilic design draws connections between the built environment and nature, creating a sense of harmony between the home and the outside world.
Antonson strives to take cues from nature without directly emulating it. This is evident in some of his chandelier designs, which have scallop-like ribbed patterns but are not scallop shells, or lamp bodies that have sucker-shaped appendages but are not octopus tentacles.
“I don’t want you to think, ‘Oh, he’s looking at a shell or a leaf. The trick is translating that energy into organic qualities – the lines, the shape, the form,” he said. “How do you translate something from nature to man that doesn’t look heavily derivative?”
His artistic influences are many and varied. He mentions luminaries like Alberto Giacometti, Alexander Calder, and Robert Rauschenberg as major inspirations. Still, he is fascinated by artists and makers whose work he discovers on Instagram.
As Antonson spoke with us, he was excitedly finishing up work on his latest project, an oversize chandelier he’s creating for a buyer who wanted something special for a huge room with high ceilings. It is a biophilic-inspired piece he described as looking “cellular, like something tied to molecular biology.” It was a dream assignment for a creator like Antonson – a challenge to tuly break the mold.
“The client said, ‘I want something wild. I want something that looks like it came from the bottom of the ocean,’” Antonson said. “I love it. It’s not someone saying, ‘Do that thing you did before somewhere else.’ Instead, it’s, ‘I want something new and outside of the box.’”
To create his signature Pinch hardware collection with Nest Studio, Antonson pinched pie tins and coated them with plaster to form their shapes. The pieces were then cast in brass from molds and finished in Polished Nickel, Matte White, Blackened Bronze, or Unlacquered Polished Brass.
'These pieces are so unique in the hardware category,” Jessica Davis said. “They perfectly represent Stephen’s aesthetic and deliver a handmade, personal feeling with complete functionality.”
Designing Pinch didn’t come easy to Antonson. Being his first foray into sculpting hardware, he initially found himself following a conventional route, trying to make shapes that fulfilled others’ expectations of what beautiful hardware should look like. But at one point, Antonson and his assistant stopped and agreed, “This is not who we are.” They returned to the drawing board, determined to go a totally new direction that felt right to them, even if it risked being “a little unorthodox.”
When he first presented the work to Davis, he recalled thinking, “I don’t know if they’re going to go for these, but I feel really good about them. The fact that Jessica’s response was, ‘I love them, they’re great, and they’re not like anything else,’ was really important to me.”
Antonson has found working on hardware to be a big departure from his other projects in that three parties are all legitimate contributors to the creative process. There’s Antonson hand-crafting the plaster shapes, Nest Studio and its foundries interpreting the designs and casting the pieces, and the designers or homeowners making the final creative decisions on how they’re used in their spaces. He loves to peruse the install images of the Pinch collection and is inspired by the creativity, ‘People are mixing and matching finishes, or installing pieces in unexpected places and ways, which inspires me to look at things differently.’
Antonson continuously strives to create unique and innovative pieces that bring a sense of the natural world into the home. While Antonson is undoubtedly a master of his craft, he is always inspired by doing the unexpected. Nest Studio is thrilled to count Antonson as one of its exclusive artisan partners. Shop the groundbreaking Pinch collection today.
]]>We are thrilled to kick off 2023 with a deep dive into the creative mind of Jessica Davis, founder of Nest Studio and Atelier Davis. You'll discover her thoughts on the freshest approach to interiors this year including insight on color trends, the shape of design, and more.
Viva Magenta is Pantone's color of the year. What are your thoughts on this color trend in design? When designing with color, how can accessories, notably cabinet hardware, add contrast or unify a space?
I love this color! In fact, I just added magenta worktables to my office and a magenta outdoor table to my roof deck. While large colorful pieces of furniture or cabinetry may be too bold for some people, hardware, like pillows and other accessories, can provide a dash of color. Our hardware can be powder-coated, which means the sky is the limit for color options. Think of these colorful touches as the unique ingredients that spice up a dish. Moreover, investing in high-quality, luxury hardware makes it possible to re-refinish or strip the surface color when ready for a new look.
Biophilic design is a big topic, and organic materials and shapes have emerged as 2023 trends. Many Nest Studio collections feature organic shapes. How are these collections incorporated into interiors in both big and small ways?
I tend to gravitate toward more machined and precise lines in the hardware I design, so organic materials and shapes are something I seek out when collaborating with designers and artisans. I love the contrast of something very structural with something highly organic. From a hardware functionality standpoint, these shapes are inherently easy on the eye and hand, and their amorphous nature translates well across interior styles.
I love organic hardware in interiors, juxtaposed against the rigid lines of simple modern cabinets and millwork. I also enjoy adding organic materials to a space, such as rattan, wicker, and screwpine wrapping, visible in our Lauhala collection, and pairing the unexpected, like a wicker chair and high-gloss lacquer table. Leather is also super-organic and patinas over time, adding depth and character to a home. A broken-in leather lounger softens over time, which is how I envisioned our Stitch hardware when I designed the collection with furniture maker and leather artisan Valeriy Khvan.
Nest Studio recently launched the Classic Mother, an oversized addition to the Classic collection. On the flip side, you have some funky smaller pieces in the Nest Studio collections, notably Tubular 01. What are some pointers for incorporating different scale items like this into a home?
I love playing with hardware and scale to help cabinetry make a statement. The Classic Mother is the largest pull we have designed – and it is the mother of all pulls. Adding super-sized hardware creates drama and impact in a room. Similar to installing an extra-large mirror above a vanity, a significant pull can be super impactful.
On the flip side, smaller-sized hardware can also make a statement in a room. On my master bathroom vanity, I used L-shape Tubular pulls to mimic the corners of the drawer fronts. Alternatively, the vanity I designed for the recent Kips Bay Dallas Show House played with scale with a series of smaller Tubular-01 knobs arranged in a row like buttons on a dress.
The Nest Studio collaborations emphasize your commitment to hand-crafted, artisanal work. Why do you think people seek closer connections to makers when sourcing home décor, furnishings, textiles, tile, and hardware? Who are some of your favorite makers?
Today, it's possible to source anything from anywhere, but there are definitely similarities in the types of companies and artisans I support. They often share a commitment to quality, sustainability, and community and have inspiring stories. At Nest Studio, we love collaborating with more niche, and unexpected artisans which allows us to continually innovate in the hardware space.
Furniture designer Hellman-Chang is an excellent example of a sustainable, artisan, and super-high-quality business. The company’s story is impressive and they are located in Georgia, local to my design studio, Atelier Davis. On the flip side, you can quickly discover amazing international craftsmen and artisans online. I love buying leather clogs directly from artisans in Sweden via Etsy and sourcing beautiful Indian quilts via Aloka.
Styles come and go but Nest Studio's legacy collections, Classic, Facet, and Transparency, are consistent bestsellers. Why are people drawn to them?
These collections are inspired by iconic styles of the past, from Art Deco to Hollywood Regency and they have a particular architectural nature and simplicity that make them timeless. You can put a Facet piece on a traditional cabinet or make it modern on a flat-front slab cabinet. They are super-versatile and span the gap between modern and traditional.
What is the forecast for hardware finishes and materials in 2023 and 3-5 years down the road? Debra Carter of Carter Hardware recently observed, "As a result of the move toward contemporary, we see more chrome, nickel, and even stainless requested. Unlacquered brass and polished nickel will be around forever, and it seems likely that chrome and steel looks are picking up."
Debra is right on the money with this, which is not surprising because her Los Angeles design clients tend to be forward-thinking. People do not believe me when I say, satin brass is on the outs, while unlacquered brass is here to stay. Chrome is making a comeback. The nice thing about polished chrome and nickel is that, unlike brass tones, these materials are consistent color-wise, whereas there can be many tones of satin brass in plumbing and bath accessories.
Matte black and white hardware will remain popular. The modern finishes add a nice contrast, especially against wood cabinetry and furniture – and they easily match with plumbing hardware and accessories. More companies will offer black and white and more color options with the increased demand for customization.
I see wood hardware becoming a bigger trend over the next few years. Designers are beginning to select hardware to match the wood of their cabinets, which is a beautiful tone-on-tone effect.
What makes Nest Studio so crucial in the landscape of luxury interiors as the market continues to bifurcate at the high and lower ends?
Nest Studio creates a luxury product that is also accessible. I love throwing on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt from the Gap, then dressing up my look with fine jewelry. I think of hardware in the same way.
As the high and low ends continue to pull apart, Nest Studio is perfectly positioned allowing people to add luxury touches with hardware no matter what their budget. You get a little bit of luxury without having to fully commit. And, of course, Nest Studio hardware looks amazing on the finest of millwork and furnishings, just like Neil Lane Couture diamonds look great with a Versace dress.
Thanks Jessica Davis for sharing your insights and predictions with us. We look forward to an even more beautiful 2023! Have a prediction for 2023? Share them in the comments below.
This is the final in a series of conversations with special guests on hardware, homes and the holidays. Today we catch up with our own Jessica Davis, Owner and Creative Director of Nest Studio and Atelier Davis.
Over the 2018 holiday season, Jessica Davis and her family purchased a mid-century modern home in Atlanta’s Buckhead community and in true Interior Designer fashion, started plotting an extensive interior transformation. This new home base, designed by famed Atlanta architect Jerry Cooper, was significant on multiple levels - 850 miles south of their previous house and a completely different aesthetic from their New Jersey Victorian. Davis’ goal was to make the space a family-friendly gathering place while honoring the integrity of the existing architecture.
One of the biggest transformations was in the kitchen renovation. Davis opened up walls between the kitchen and dining room to let the natural light flow throughout the space. This adjustment provided a beautiful view into the wooded surroundings.
She smartly salvaged magnolia paneling during the demo phase and repurposed it on kitchen cabinets, pantry and built in coffee bar.
“I love playing with contrast in interiors - using the wood paneling and combining it with black countertops and cabinetry - then installing era-appropriate white terrazzo tile on the floors to really make the space pop,” Davis said. I used a beautiful handmade tile from Fireclay as the backsplash to add another dimension of texture and color.”
An exception to the theme of contrasts is a black microwave that’s barely visible nestled within a dark kitchen island. “I think that most people would select a stainless microwave because that’s what’s considered the modern finish, but I really wanted it to go away,” she said.
It's no surprise that Davis' house is a showcase for Nest Studio hardware throughout including a decidedly unexpected choice for the kitchen. We chatted with Davis about her hardware designs and upcoming holiday plans.
Deco Collection
at play in Jessica Davis's airy kitchen.Our Deco series is not specifically mid-century, but it is a nod to some of the lines that exist in mid-century architecture. What’s unusual is that I used the unlacquered brass pulls. That type of brass is not necessarily a mid-century modern finish, but it works because of the contrast and the fact that the pulls are clean-lined.
The pulls are the perfect finishing touch for the space and really pop off the black cabinets. I used the same Deco series, but in our Matte Black finish, on the magnolia cabinetry to bring a similar contrast to that space.
I
I love the racetrack shape and the way that we designed it to make it feel like it’s floating. You don’t really see the connection of the two racetracks to one another.
Definitely. I feel like I always gravitate towards Art Deco shapes and architectural forms. The series is named Deco because it is truly inspired by the modern curves and clean lines of that era. I'm very inspired by this period of art and design and you can see a lot of this translated into my other hardware collections.
This year I'm excited to be hosting Christmas at home with my extended family. People always wind up gathering in the kitchen no matter where you intend them to go. Our large kitchen island is the perfect space for hors d'oeuvres, cocktails and buffet-style presentation.
We started getting into the whole matching holiday pajamas thing, which is fun, and my kids love it. This year, we're even putting our sweet poodle Cheerio in matching pajamas although I'm not sure he'll be happy about it!
For a couple of years I actually wrapped our magnolia kitchen cabinets with giant ribbons to make them look like extra large Christmas presents. It was challenging because I had to wrap it in such a way that I could still open the fridge and the cabinets. The ribbon looks like it’s continuous, but it’s not.
I love decorating for the holidays. Each year, it's a design challenge for me because this house is so different from our Victorian. Figuring out how to do Christmas in a cool, modern way is always fun for me.
A mulled cider cocktail is always a top choice around the holidays and when it’s cold outside.
My husband’s family always likes to do turkey at Christmas. I feel like I just finished eating turkey leftovers so I like to mix it up and also have something different on the menu like leg of lamb or lobster.
I do like eggnog and my son is already drinking it. If he could drink eggnog year-round, he would.
Special thanks to David Dunn and Dana Pollack for taking part in our previous Q&As. Whether you’re hosting at home or traveling, Nest Studio wishes you a holiday season full of happy times with loved ones, delectable dishes, and delicious drinks.
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This is the second in a series of conversations with special guests on hardware, homes and the holidays. We had the special honor of speaking with Dana Pollack, founder of Dana’s Bakery and author of the Dana’s Bakery Cookbook.
When the pandemic broke out in 2020, Dana Pollack and her family relocated from New York City to a more spacious home in Roslyn, Long Island, hiring high-profile interior designer Cara Woodhouse Interiors for their redesign. The result is light, airy and perfect for Dana's family with one small, very deliberate, exception - the stunning barroom.
Among the signature details in the intimate, elegant barroom are its inky black walls, black and white marble countertops, floating shelves, forest green carpeting, and wood grain-pattern wallpaper on the ceiling. Nest Studio's Glaze pulls in soft white are the perfect highlight when showcased against the bar's darker palette. Glaze is Nest Studio's signature collaboration with ceramic artist Jonathan Castro.
“I wanted the barroom to be this very moody, dark and kind of eccentric place where we could entertain and hang out,” Pollack said. “It just felt like this space was really meant to be what it is.”
We asked Pollack to tell us more about the project and the use of Nest Studio hardware.
I hired Cara Woodhouse to help us do our big renovation and we discovered Nest Studio through her. We started with the ceramic Glaze hardware in our barroom. She told us it was going to make the room, and I’m so glad we did it, because it really is such a statement piece in the room. That put Nest Studio on my radar, and when it came time to design our primary bathroom, I knew I wanted to do something with the hardware there as well.
Cara is now one of my best friends. She’s like a sister to me and people think we’ve known each other forever, even though we only met when I hired her for the project. I really love Cara, her attention to detail, and her way of mixing colors, shapes and patterns. I don’t think I ever would have had the confidence to do some of the bold things that we did in the house if it weren’t for her very well-thought-out process.
My house has a lot of very bold patterns and accents, yet they’ll be timeless – they’re not the kinds of things you’re going to get tired of or that will go out of style. It strikes the perfect balance, just enough without being too much.
Cara gave us a lot of options, and Glaze was just so unique. I’d never seen anything like it before. It’s like a nice highlight and contrast because everything else in the room is so dark. It’s so light and I love the handmade details of it.
I would say the balance of light and dark both represent my personal style. I feel like I’m a mix of many different things and the house reflects that. The barroom is definitely fun and playful and, in a way, whimsical, and the bathroom is very tranquil, light and airy. I have both of these kinds of qualities.
We were one of the first to use the latest collection: Tubular. It’s light but it’s very much present and adds a quiet, sophisticated statement to the space. The Glaze hardware is a moment; Tubular is a moment without being overpowering.
Even though we celebrate Hanukkah, I love Christmas and we’ll get a Christmas tree. We’ll have different families and friends over on different nights – it’s a great excuse to have people over.
I have daughters who are 3 and 6 years old and I enjoy getting them in the kitchen with me. They love to help and sit at the counter. I get them cooking, I let them help me chop things with special kid knives – it’s a lot of fun. They also help me in the barroom and make mocktails for themselves.
Ooh, that’s hard! I’m going to go ahead and say the sugar cookie is so good for the holidays because it’s so easy to make and you can transform it for any occasion. You can use them for Christmas, Hanukkah, Thanksgiving, birthdays and you can decorate them and make them your own.
We also have a recipe for apple popovers, which are like individual apple pies. It’s great because apple pies can sometimes get really messy. This is almost like an empanada, but apple pie, and it’s delish. So I would say one of those two for the holidays.
We are very much an entertaining household and I’m constantly having people over, cooking dinners and hosting holidays. It’s really all about the kitchen and the barroom. The kitchen is the perfect entertaining space with a lot of seating and the barroom is where everybody goes to get their drinks and lounge. When my husband has people over, they’re always in that room hanging out, watching the games.
I love a good Dirty Martini and Aperol Spritz.
I feel like egg nog falls into the same category as candy corn – either you love it or you hate it. And I’m down, but if you drink too much, you’re definitely getting a stomach ache. Everything in moderation, right? That’s the key.
Wherever you're gathering in your home, Nest Studio wishes you a holiday season full of happy times with loved ones, delectable dishes and delicious drinks.
]]>The following is the latest in a monthly series of spotlights on Nest Studio’s showroom partners. In this edition, we meet Debra Carter, showroom manager at Carter Hardware in Beverly Hills, California. The decorative hardware and plumbing showroom is owned and operated by a family that has been involved in the industry for several generations.
Nest Studio's founder Jessica Davis once worked at a design firm that was a customer of ours. When she started thinking of going into business, she reached out to our owner, Tony Carter, for advice on quality manufacturing partners. We have a longstanding relationship that has grown over the years and have been thrilled to be a part of Nest Studio's success.
Over the next 10 years, I hope to see the innovation continue. Nest Studio has always been a leader in bringing something new to the table for the hardware category. They have been and will continue to be a trendsetter in luxury hardware.
My family, the Carters, got started in hardware stores in Russia over a century ago. When my grandfather’s family migrated to the U.S., there was a store in Los Angeles called Acme Hardware that was one of the first decorative hardware showrooms in the country. They had high-end plumbing and door hardware, and my grandfather made a lot of their pieces.
We have an extensive history in the industry. I’ve been here 25 years. My brother Tony, who’s the owner, worked in several places before deciding to open his own business. Our family has over 180 years of combined history in the hardware business.
What I pride myself on, and I know my associates do as well, is that we listen to what the clients are saying. We can point them in the direction we think they should go.
This is why coming to a showroom is important - clients can touch and feel the hardware and really see the difference in quality.
At Carter Hardware, we merchandise hardware together by style - it's an easy way for clients to decide an overall direction, before getting into the specific pieces. For Nest Studio, we have a robust assortment of their collections, their legacy series: Classic, Facet and Transparency along with Deco and more.
We can tell people that our employees have extensive experience in the industry, and that's what the new customer grabs on to. For existing ones, it depends on what they’re looking for, but I think it would be how we’ve laid out the showroom a little easier for people. We hope that all of that plus our experience, kindness and service are what keeps a client returning.
We also have one of the largest cabinet hardware selection displays on the planet and people tell us that all the time.
Classic is number one. I have a group of designers that solely use Nest Studio, and the Classic, Deco, Pinch and Transparency collections are the perennial favorites.
Classic. I tend to prefer a more traditional design aesthetic and the Classic collection is timeless and can be used in a variety of interior spaces.
I think we’re going to see more contemporary modern. I have been working here for 25 years and 90 percent of our clients are traditional and then I have a few designers who are very contemporary. But I see the trend moving toward a more clean, minimal kind of contemporary.
As a result of this move toward contemporary, we are seeing more chrome, nickel and even stainless being requested.
Also, unlacquered brass has always been a big seller for us even though in the design trade, it comes and goes. Unlacquered brass and polished nickel will be around forever, and it seems likely that the chrome and steel looks are picking up.
Literal 1980's inspiration. There's no denying that design is cyclical, but it should always have a new spin when it comes back to the forefront.
We hope you enjoyed this month’s Studio Spotlight on Carter Hardware. Nest Studio is thankful for the valued partnerships that have helped us to get where we are today.
If you would like to be considered for an upcoming Showroom Spotlight, please contact Lauren Bristow at marketing@neststudiocollection.com.
]]>This is the first in a series of conversations with special guests on hardware, homes, and the holidays. We had the special honor of speaking with David Dunn, partner and director of design, at PS212Home in Palm Springs, California.
In 2017, David Dunn began a seven-month, top-to-bottom renovation of a mid-1960s condo he purchased in a Palm Springs gated community. The architect and designer had a two-prong mission – create a home he loves and a showcase for the work of his firm, PS212Home.
“I pushed myself to be bolder and have a little more fun than I’ve had in the past because we do invite people to see what we did here,” Dunn said. “All of the work is modern. One of the things we try not to be is cliché mid-century, which you see a lot in Palm Springs.”
One of his major changes was to open up the kitchen to the main living area, providing ample natural light and views of the beautiful mountains and the Palm Springs desert landscape. The mid-century modern home sits on the fifth fairway of the community’s golf course at the base of the San Jacinto Mountains.
“It’s really a personal decision. Some people I meet prefer to keep their kitchen closed, but I prefer an open floor plan to have a better flow of people and conversation,” Dunn said.
One of the hallmarks of the transformed home is its bold use of color, such as its yellow range and hood positioned between warm charcoal grey cabinets in its kitchen; and the primary bathroom’s floral wallpaper, blue vanity and wall tiles. Additional transformations include the conversion of an unused second bedroom to a workable den surrounded by bookshelves, much needed bathroom updates, and, of course, the incorporation of Nest Studio hardware throughout. We asked Dunn to tell us more about his design and hardware choices.
I was first introduced to Nest Studio at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) about five years ago. Nest Studio impressed me and made the quality product we want in our showroom. You can tell just by seeing and feeling the pieces how different the collections are from anything else out there. I like the fact that Nest Studio is also a small, independent brand, and it’s clear from looking at the product that innovative design and quality manufacturing are Nest Studio’s highest priorities.
I truly enjoy working as a partner and collaborator with my clients because ultimately, it’s their space. My expertise in design hopefully leads them in the right direction. Our business, PS212Home, specializes in kitchens and baths so most of our projects focus on these areas. I enjoy designing these spaces - highly trafficked spaces that can be both beautiful and functional.
I work in tandem with clients until we are both happy with the final design. It really is a collaboration with my clients because, ultimately, it’s their home and I want to give them what they want, make it the best in terms of design, and lead them in the right direction.
I chose Mod for the kitchen because I love the simple geometry of the design, and Organic for the opposite reason – they are very cool and different shapes that work beautifully together. Mod is more aligned with the architectural heritage of the house and Organic is a nod to the beauty of the desert surroundings.
I used Facet on the closets throughout the house. One of the features of our home is that we have floor to ceiling closet doors - 8 feet tall! Instead of doorknobs, I used the larger Facet pulls with an escutcheon plate on all of those. I think the oversized Facet-02L pulls in polished chrome were the perfect scale and presence for these tall doors.
In the primary bathroom, I used the smaller Facet-02 in pulls polished chrome for the cabinetry. Make no mistake, I'm not a golfer - I'm here for the architecture - however there is a cheeky little nod to the game with the golf ball like design of these knobs.
I also love showing Facet to clients in the showroom. Clients can immediately appreciate the quality of Nest pieces - they're quite heavy, made of solid brass, and you can really feel the difference when holding them for yourself.
We’re hosting Thanksgiving here. We’re probably going to have 15 or 16 people, mostly family and friends. I love Thanksgiving and I love to cook for it. It’s a lot of work but always a lot of fun.
When I lived on the East Coast, we had a “friends Thanksgiving” the Sunday before Thanksgiving with the same people each year. That was a great tradition that we maintained for many years, but once I moved out to California and people sort of spread out that has stopped. With that same group of people we used to have a caroling tradition too, the Sunday before Christmas. When I used to live in Hoboken, NJ, we did this every year for 15 years or so. Now it’s just about making sure that you’re spending time with family and friends who are important to you.
No surprise, people tend to gather in the kitchen, since it's an open floor plan. I have a bar-height counter and people hang out there or enjoy the festivities from the adjacent living room.
A Manhattan is the perfect holiday cocktail. I like bourbon Manhattans the best – I usually use Maker’s Mark and a little bitters.
Personally, I’m anti-egg nog.
Whether you’re hosting at home or traveling, Nest Studio wishes you a holiday season full of happy times with loved ones, delectable dishes and delicious drinks.
]]>The following is the latest in a series celebrating Nest Studio’s 10th anniversary. In this edition, we look back at the genesis and staying power of its first three collections, Classic. Facet, and Transparency
Six years ago, Charlotte Maier was working in a showroom that boasted one of the largest selections of architectural hardware in San Francisco. Three of its products were unlike any of the others.
“The Classic, Facet and Transparency collections completely stood out from everything else in our giant showroom,” she said. “I remember falling in love with the brand.”
Today Maier has the pleasure of incorporating these legacy collections in projects as an interior designer for Atelier Davis and a member of the extended Nest Studio team. (Scroll below to see some of her favorite installs.)
A decade after their release, the trio of legacy collections remain among Nest Studio’s best-selling and most influential. Although there have been some minor modifications to a few pieces, the collections remain essentially unaltered from the time of their launch. Maier attributes their longevity to the balance they’ve struck as being progressive in their design without being “overly trendy.”
“Hardware – especially cabinet hardware – tends to be so mass-produced,” she said. “We’re used to seeing very standard bar pulls, for example, in a builder-grade satin nickel finish. Our designs have stood the test of time because they’re interesting, they’re timeless and they aren’t seen every day.”
The first of Nest Studio’s hardware lines was the Facet collection, which was actually designed by Jessica Davis a year before she founded the company in 2012. Inspired by the Machine Age and the Modernist movement, all of Facet’s pieces incorporate a hexagonal shape that has been the subject of, shall we say, the greatest form of flattery.
“Facet is probably our most knocked-off collection,” Maier said. “It goes to show that even from the beginning, we were a trendsetter in hardware. There are some big brands that have knocked off this shape and we were the first to have it.”
Unlike other hardware brands, the Facet collection, like all of our hardware, is made of solid brass. Additionally, Facet was developed from a ready-made shape, but we added custom features like the reveals (the grooves at each end) and the companion knobs to truly create a signature collection.
Also released in 2012 was the Transparency collection, an Art Deco-influenced series which was groundbreaking in its use of mixed materials. Transparency is named for the transparent, light-reflecting acrylic that is combined with brass, which is satinized, or plated in chrome or nickel. While shoppers may have been able to find acrylic incorporated in the designs of interior products like furniture and decor at the time, it was unheard of in hardware.
“One of the most unique details in the Transparency series is the exposed slot screws, which make it feel very mechanical. It invites a closer look when you first see it,” Maier said. “As of today, there is still nothing like it on the market and remains one of our best-sellers.”
In 2013, Nest Studio released what remains its all-time bestseller, the Classic collection. Drawing inspiration from female design icon Dorothy Draper, the collection is known for its signature clipped curved corners, remarkable versatility, and a silhouette that is both classic in essence but unique for hardware.
“Classic is special because it can be used in super-bold contemporary spaces, but it is also very traditional in essence,” Maier observed. “It can go in any kind of space.” For a bolder use of Classic, the collection’s Classic-01 and Classic-05 models are show stoppers when placed front and center on cabinets.
In celebration of its 10th anniversary, Nest Studio revisited the Classic collection and developed a few new pieces that offer exciting variations on the beloved design. Classic is one of a handful of collections that lacked a traditional knob, but that is about to change. The new Classic knob is a beautiful compliment to the established collection with its petite size and clean lines it's perfect for kitchens, baths and closets.
Nest Studio will also release a dramatic addition to the Classic series, the Classic Mother, an oversized statement pull. The Classic Mother pays homage to our founder, Jessica Davis, and all other groundbreaking women in design. Watch this space in the weeks ahead for more detail.
Below Maier shares the stories behind some of her favorite projects that included Nest Studio’s Facet, Transparency and Classic collections.
A native of Athens, Georgia, Maier actually met Davis while she was visiting the San Francisco showroom where she worked. Maier coincidentally relocated to Atlanta around the same time Davis did and would begin working for Nest Studio and Atelier Davis in 2019. When Maier moved to her new home, she couldn’t wait to install Facet in its guest bathroom, which still had its original 1960s hex pattern floor tiles. She also chose the hardware in a polished chrome, an ideal match for the period of the home.
Boutique Interiors, another Maier favorite, assigned names and backstories to a pair of condos it designed in a retirement community in Missoula, Montana. The project is a unique showcase of Nest Studio’s legacy collections, using the three best-selling collections for playful, varied designs. The first, "Pied a Terre," tells the story of a sophisticated and feminine “Uptown Girl” who loves to host and sip champagne by candlelight. The second, "Trousdale," tells a much different story about a mover and shaker in the music scene, and used pieces from the Organic and Lauhala with Ku & Moe collections. You can read more about both of these remodeled spaces on our blog.
One of Maier’s all-time favorite Nest Studio installs was this bathroom project by Cecilia Casagrande Interiors. “What I love most about this install is that it’s extremely bold,” she said. “There’s a wild jungle wallpaper and black cabinets with Classic hardware installed beautifully on the vanity.” She recalled that the photographer on the scene liked the hardware so much that he purchased it for his own home.
Our legacy collections, Classic, Facet and Transparency remain bestsellers for a reason. Their timeless designs combined with the highest quality brass construction deliver the perfect finishing touch for any interior space - from traditional to contemporary. Show us your favorite installs by sharing and tagging us on Instagram @neststudiohardware.
]]>The following is the latest in a series celebrating Nest Studio’s 10th anniversary. In this edition, we look at the company’s history through the eyes of its first hire, Chief Operating Officer Jessica Burne.
What’s in a name? For Jessica Burne Davis, a wild coincidence that would change her professional life, and perhaps the hardware industry itself.
Skimming a local online message board in 2014, she spotted something jarring – a job posting under her name, Jessica Davis.
“My first thought was, oh my God, what did my kindergartner do? Did she post by accident on this message board?” she recalled. “After my heart freaked out for a second, I realized I was actually reading a job post that was ideal for me by someone with my exact same name.”
That person was Jessica Davis, the founder of Nest Studio. “Jessica B.” would become the first-ever hire at Nest Studio, using her maiden name Jessica Burne (which she was already accustomed to using professionally) to avoid confusion with customers. Together they proved that two Jessica’s were better than one, combining different but complementary skill sets to build Nest Studio from a basement operation to a worldwide trendsetter in the design industry.
Prior to joining Nest Studio, Burne graduated from Lehigh University with a degree in finance and began a career at JP Morgan. Initially in the company’s private banking division, she was soon moved to a group formed to assist clients with investing in fine art collections. The work would regularly expose her to extraordinary homes and works of art.
“I always gravitated toward the business end of beautiful things,” she said.
Enter Nest Studio. At the time of the job posting, Burne was interested in returning to work after taking a few years off to start a family. Although it wasn’t related to fine art, she recalled seeing the beauty of the hardware and feeling a strong spark of interest.
As one half of a two-person company in the early days, Burne oversaw work ranging from shipping packages to sales in order to get the operation off the ground. It’s an experience that’s given her insight into every aspect of the company, which today comprises multiple departments that she oversees as the Chief Operating Officer.
“It’s been so rewarding to me but also invaluable because not only can I help manage, I can help train and I understand down to quality control or packing all of the challenges and how to troubleshoot them,” she said. “It’s unusual to have someone who’s had every single role in a company.”
It should come as no surprise then that Burne has a hand in virtually every step of a collection’s life cycle from design to distribution. Her favorite phase is the beginning, where “the magic happens.”
A new Nest Studio collection is typically born of a Jessica Davis sketch -- sometimes detailed and sometimes less so. (Burne recalled one product being inspired by a doodle they found in the white space of a magazine). The two will then collaborate to flesh out the concept’s size and dimensions and create a model with Sketchup that can be used to 3D print a prototype that they can hold and handle.
“The scale and ease of use is something that we consider early in product development,” she said. “The tactile feel of the hardware in someone's hand can be as important as the beauty of the design.”
A collection will then move on to the production stage, which she considers an exciting challenge. Nest Studio’s goal is to produce hardware that lives up to our highest quality design intent, but finding manufacturers who grasp that vision and have the ability to deliver it isn’t always easy. Case in point: One of the hallmarks of the best-selling Transparency series is a complicated assembly that is meant to invoke the Machine Age and Art Deco design.
I“There are manufacturers who say, ‘We can stamp the metal instead of using screws.’ But it doesn’t look good if it takes away from the original design,” she said. “We’d much rather have authentic pieces than value engineer the things that make them so special.”
Burne is a self-described Excel spreadsheet “geek” and analyzes sales figures to determine if Davis’ design intuitions are indeed backed by empirical data. For example, she pointed to Davis’ early embrace of satin-brass finishes at a time when few others offered similar products. A decade’s worth of data has shown it to be Nest Studio’s top and most consistent seller.
“What makes the partnership so successful is that Davis has this innovative ability to forecast trends,” Burne said. “And what I love is being able to see the concrete data on the back end that supports that.”
Although choosing her own favorite collection is too hard (“They’re all my babies!”), she concedes Organic is the nearest and dearest to her heart. It was the first that she was involved in from conception to production and its influence from the British sculptor Henry Moore brought her back to her professional art collecting days. Burne has several Nest Studio collections in her own home, including Organic in a powder room, Classic and Deco in her daughters’ bedrooms, and Facet in her kitchen, the room she considers “the showstopper” of the house.
Looking back on the decade, Burne attributes Nest Studio’s growth to two key factors. First, it maintains a flexible and nurturing work culture that has allowed it to attract and retain employees with great skill sets relative to their job titles. The second: innovation.
“People don't initially expect cabinet hardware to be innovative but our collections are,” she said. “There’s nothing like what we put out and we’ve been able to consistently differentiate ourselves because we truly live at the forefront of design.”
]]>The following is the first in a monthly series of spotlights on Nest Studio’s showroom partners. In this edition, we meet Michele Bagby and Morgan Henzlik of the Matthew Quinn Collection, a premier showroom partner dating back nearly to Nest Studio’s launch in 2012. The showroom is located in the Atlanta Decorative Arts Center (ADAC) and was founded in 2008 by Mathew Quinn, one of the world’s leading experts in kitchen, bath and product design.
IMorgan: In keeping with who Nest Studio is, we expect truly unique pieces that each have their own story. The hardware is not mass-produced and there will not be a constant stream of ordinary collections released. There’s always going to be a lot of thought put into it.
Michele: They’re not popping things out every month, every six months. Their hardware is carefully curated and carefully thought out with an artisanal quality to it. We think that’s what’s so special about Nest Studio and what we look forward to seeing.
Michele: Our elegant showroom is designed differently from most hardware showrooms. In most showrooms the hardware is displayed on boards hanging on the walls, and you can’t really touch it or feel the individual pieces. Our showroom is set up like a jewelry showroom or boutique with hardware displayed in elegant cases. It allows people to move things around, and for us to showcase them in different lights, and play with them. It is a very tactile experience.
Morgan: Hardware, with many available choices, styles, and finishes can be super intimidating, however our showroom makes the selection process very approachable. Each client becomes part of the process rather than being told what’s going to go where. I I
Michele: Absolutely, because of the quality. You can feel quality. You can tell the difference between the Nest Studio hardware and an ordinary brass pull from somebody else. The detail that you can see and feel when you hold it is completely different.
Morgan: It’s no secret that Nest Studio has a higher price point, but it warrants the higher price point. Once you’re able to feel it and see what’s gone into it, it speaks for itself. Whether it’s the size, the weight, the craftsmanship, there’s a difference between Nest Studio and most others both stylistically and aesthetically. It sells itself.
Michele: The Classic series. It’s the one that’s been there the longest, it’s user friendly in multiple spaces and scale-wise it works well. Facet is another series that we love. One of Matthew’s favorite pulls of all time is the Facet pull. In fact, we have it in our kitchen here in the showroom.
Michele: Us, of course! The bread and butter.
Morgan: Yes, we joke that we’re the bread and butter of this operation. On the surface, we’re not just selling hardware. We do placement drawings, we get brought in for a lot of the design elements and the sizing. I feel like there’s not as much emphasis on how much customization we create and design and are able to facilitate. With us, you get hardware specialists, designers and problem solvers.
Michele: Most interior designers don’t have a grasp on hardware and that part of the process. Architects will do door hardware, but they don’t really tend to get into it. And if they do, they’re picking the same piece for the whole space, which is not effective. So we’re definitely that bridge between architecture and design.
Morgan: People think of the cabinet hardware, but we do whole doors, hinges, bathroom accessories, towel bars. You don’t realize everywhere hardware is until you start to do it.
Morgan: We don’t want to know. We see more and more rules being broken. It’s fun. It’s not fun to sell the same thing every single day, so we like a challenge.
Michele: In the 20 years since I’ve been in Atlanta, the design aesthetic has definitely moved from a predominately traditional Southern style to all sorts of different design aesthetics. It’s one reason why I think the Matthew Quinn Collection has been so successful and now gets to do so many fun things. People are now willing to do different things and take risks; they don’t want to put the same pull in the same house over and over again.
Morgan: We have a huge interior designer community in Atlanta. The Atlanta Decorative Art Center is something you don’t get everywhere. As Atlanta grows, and we become more of a melting pot, we’re starting to see it translate in the design – old school mixed with new school, the groundedness of the South with some freshness and new influences. I’m never bored.
Morgan: One thing that drives me crazy is when people use the same style of hardware throughout the whole house. Even if every wall in the house was white, if you varied the hardware, it would create a totally different atmosphere. There’s a lack of awareness about what can go into the hardware part, often people treat it as an afterthought and say, ‘Here, let me just slap this on.’ Hardware can make inexpensive cabinets look really nice, but it can also make them look underwhelming. Hardware, like jewelry, should not be an afterthought.
Michele: Even in the most high-end cabinet job, if you put the same knob and same pull in all six of your bathrooms, it makes them look plain and redundant. And it’s easy to avoid, it’s not hard. It takes a couple of extra minutes to select different hardware selections for each individual bathroom.
We hope you enjoyed this month’s Studio Spotlight on the Matthew Quinn Collection. Nest Studio is thankful for the valued partnerships that have helped us to get where we are today.
If you would like to be considered for an upcoming Showroom Spotlight, please contact Lauren Bristow at marketing@neststudiocollection.com we would be honored.
]]>The following is the first in a series of stories celebrating Nest Studio’s 10th anniversary. In this edition, Founder and Creative Director Jessica Davis looks back on the company’s start, growth and offers a glimpse of things to come.
After a decade in business, it’s fair to say that Nest Studio has exceeded all expectations. Because in the beginning, there weren’t many.
Founder Jessica Davis designed her first two hardware collections as part of a licensing agreement with a friend’s lighting company. The story could have ended there, but after sharing photos of the pieces on her blog, the inquiries began rolling in. Readers loved what they saw but didn’t know where to get it.
In 2012, Jessica decided to invest in a small production run of her hardware so people could buy it online. Nest Studio was born.
Shortly after, she designed a third collection that buyers immediately gravitated to and caught the attention of ELLE Decor. “Once it got in there, I thought, okay, this is more than a little side business. A big design publication is actually interested in it,” she recalled.
Davis realized she could forget her fallback plan of going back to work for a large corporate design firm. Nest Studio’s pull was strong, as were its pulls.
From that modest start as a one-person hardware business, Nest Studio has flourished into a brand with fans and influence around the globe. Elle Décor recently took notice again, this time naming Davis to its prestigious A-List Class of 2022. It’s an honor that Davis said provided a measure of professional validation to both the visions of Nest Studio and her design firm, Atelier Davis.
“It was unexpected, but it’s something that’s always been on my radar and something that I’ve strived to have under my belt,” she said.
Looking back on the journey, Davis attributes Nest Studio’s success to a mix of old-fashioned hard work, a willingness to take creative risks, a dedicated team, and more than a few lucky bounces.
Davis points to the release of the Classic collection of luxury cabinet hardware as a moment that elevated Nest Studio to the next level. Inspired by the groundbreaking work of early 20th century designer Dorothy Draper, the series remains Nest Studio’s best-seller. Davis characterized the hardware as “transitional” for its ability to fit just as well in both traditional and modern settings.
Davis also attributes Nest Studio’s early collaborations with other artists for helping it build a voice that was unique from any other hardware companies. The first came during a chance encounter at a West Elm Trade Show in New York City, which she initially thought was a bust.
“It’s funny – I’ve done a lot of things where the original intent or purpose did not pan out, but other great things happened because of that,” she said. “Even though not a lot of people from the trade came to the event, there were a lot of other small local artisans who were displaying stuff there, some of whom have really grown over the years. One of them was Jonathan Castro.”
Castro, a ceramic artist whose work is inspired by traditional Japanese pottery, collaborated with Davis to create the Glaze collection. The handmade pulls pair ribbed ceramic knobs that call back to his pottery work with satin brass backplates.
The collaboration opened the doors to the use of new materials and novel ways for designing hardware that separated Nest Studios from the pack. Further examples include the Pinch collection developed with Stephen Antonson, Stitch with Valeriy Khvan, and Lauhala with Ku & Moe.
The industry Davis entered in 2012 has changed markedly, and in her opinion, largely for the better. It is more diverse, tech-driven, and democratic. The products look different and so do the players.
“Over the past 10 years, there have definitely been more women entering the hardware industry. It was sort of a good old boys club when I started and now there are more niche lanes,” she said.
Social media has been one of the major catalysts of change. Designers can now use platforms like Pinterest and Instagram to connect with vendors and sourcing around the world and spark transformational business relationships. Social media has also served as an entry point for practitioners in hardware-adjacent fields who are infusing exciting new perspectives into the products.
The pandemic has also altered the landscape in ways that are still being understood. Fewer people visited showrooms due to COVID-19, and that business shifted to the online space, which Nest Studio, a digital business from its outset, was well positioned for. The energy has begun to rebound in showrooms, although like so many societal trends of the last two years, it will take time to tell what changes are permanent.
“The lines have blurred between what’s accessible to the trade vs. the general public. Nest has always been geared toward both,” she said.
Davis is always working on the next collection, exploring unexpected partnerships with both designers and brands (in and out of the hardware space) to keep Nest at the forefront of design. Stay tuned for more details.
We are celebrating our Legacy Collections; Classic, Facet and Transparency, the luxury hardware lines that launched Nest Studio and remain best sellers. Nest Studio also continues to add to its collection portfolio; offering added versatility, and exploring inspiration over time. Our newest collection, the Tubular Series made its debut in Atelier Davis’ Memphis Deco inspired space for the 2022 Apartment Therapy Small/Cool Experience.
In the longer term, Davis envisions Nest Studio branching out to design bathroom accessories, lighting, plumbing and other items that could be a natural expansion to the hardware lines in terms of their materiality. She’s also intrigued by the possibility of experimentation with 3D-printed works.
Davis said the first 10 years passed by too fast to believe, but she learned plenty along the way. She offered some parting advice for aspiring designers who’d like to make the move she did in 2012.
“It’s a little bit cliched, but it’s all about hard work, trying to keep learning and not being afraid of the business side of things,” she said. “Some creative people claim they’re not good at that and that can be an excuse. It’s all about educating yourself on it even though it’s not sexy or glamorous. That oftentimes is the difference between whether your business succeeds or not.”
]]>
Check out some more shots of this beautiful project.
It's important to consider that the Organic collection is an innovative look for hardware, yet this aesthetic has been around for some time. The Organic collection draws its inspiration from the biomorphic works of modern English sculptor Henry Moore.
Similar to Moore's sculptures, the concave and undulating curvature in our Organic pull fashions an impressive yet airy statement, which was perfect for this open, modern beach house.
View the rest of the Organic collection by Nest Studio:
]]>Handmade for your hand's touch. Our Glaze hardware collection is one of the most unique and personal collections we offer at Nest Studio. As one of our artisan collaboration collections, our exclusive Glaze series is a result of a groundbreaking partnership between our head honcho, designer Jessica Davis, and ceramic artist Jonathan Castro.
This collection juxtaposes Castro's signature ribbed ceramics, inspired by Japanese pottery, with custom satin brass backplates. Each piece in this collection is made of porcelain clay and hand turned, one at a time, in Jonathan Castro's New York City studio. Castro makes all glazes from scratch with original formulas, finishing the pieces in a Matte Teal, Soft White, or Charcoal Brown (though custom glazes are available!).
We love the combination of the porcelain and brass, and the contrast of soft and hard. We love how Glaze instantly upgrades whatever case good or cabinet it's installed on. We love how this collection celebrates the power of collaboration and beauty in the making. Most of all, we love making a bold and strikingly beautiful statement!
]]>Jess, or "JB", as our Nest family calls her, is our Director of Sales & Operations. In early 2015 she did a DIY kitchen "makeover", which included a cabinet refresh with our Facet-01 pulls and Facet-02 knobs.
Ultimately, in 2016, Jess took on a full-blown home renovation, again adorning her kitchen, pantry, & office with our hardware. If you've been a longtime follower, you might remember her blogging about it. Either way, walk with us down memory lane!
We'll start with the "Before". Golden orange 80's cabinets which were fine--yet quite outdated.
Fast forwarding to her 2016 home renovation, JB refinished her wood floors, updated her paint scheme, and fully reno'd her kitchen and pantry/office area-- and the result is breathtaking!
And here it is! The whole space together is just, wow, and we love how our warm satin brass hardware both sparkles against and brings together the contrasting white cabinets and dark wood floors.
Jess chose Facet series for the kitchen for its versatility. She loved using the different size F-01s (there's the standard F-01 and the elongated F-01L) with the knobs. She knew that every cabinet/drawer face had its perfect mate.
Jess also used this hardware on her appliances (though now we offer and recommend the F-01L-18 for appliances). Her hidden dishwasher and refrigerator look seamless using the same cabinet facing throughout.
If our hardware isn't the star of Jess' kitchen (though clearly we think it is), then it is ultimately her Bertazzoni Heritage range that deserves the spotlight. By now in 2021, this stunner has created countless delectable meals, with credit to Jess too!
We also love how well our hardware complements the brass accents on the range.
Now on to the office/pantry! The mixed-use space is adjacent to the kitchen and Jess wanted it to feel separate but still connected. The Classic series in the same satin brass finish gives a touch of glamour while still coordinating with the kitchen.
The Classic-02 is the perfect pull for these pantry/office cabinet doors, while the Classic-01 gives a unique, statement look for the lower desk door. Both of these pulls look great as a series, viewed altogether.
Probably the best part about Jess' 2016 renovation is that, 5 years later, it's still stylish and beautiful. That's why we call one of these series a "Classic", after all.
Have you used our hardware in a kitchen or renovation? Comment below--we'd love to see how it transformed your space!
]]>The exclusive Lauahla collection is a celebration of contrasts. A partnership between Nest Studio designer Jessica Davis and Hilo, Hawaii-based jewelry brand Ku & Moe, this collection highlights fiber artisan Iliahi Anthony's life-learned skills of braiding and weaving in a thoroughly modern way.
Each item in the collection is made-to-order and is one of a kind as a result of the raw materials and natural environments from which the screwpine leaf is sourced. This collection’s striking simplicity makes it ideal for classic and contemporary spaces.
Using a hardware base from our Mod series, Iliahi weaves the Hawaiian sourced screwpine leaf onto each piece by hand.
Dried leaves from the Screwpine tree, a palm-like plant native to Hawaii.
Iliahi prepares the leaves by rolling them flat.
She then divides them into strips.
The wrapping process is done using an intricate woven technique.
Using either light or dark screwpine leaves on the four metal finishes we offer, there are so many options in this collection. Check out some below:
Surface-Mounted Lauhala-01S Polished Nickel with Light Wrapping
Edge-Mounted Lauhala-04 Unlacquered Polished Brass with Dark Wrapping
Surface-Mounted Lauhala-06S Oil Rubbed Bronze with Light Wrapping
Edge-Mounted Lauhala-12 Satin Brass with Dark Wrapping
]]>Workstead is an amazing company with an interior design team and a product design/fabrication team. Their lighting line deserves a blog post of its own, but this time we crushed on their Twin Bridges interiors project, which was a stunning victorian home reimagined.
Photography by Matthew Williams
Aussie-based, Flack Studio, is an upscale multidisciplinary design studio that creates spaces that look like a million bucks (which clearly they literally are). This Middle Park project shows just how much thought goes into these design details, creating a stunningly lavish view.
Photography by Anson Smart
Last but not least is Mandy Cheng Design, who is recognized for incorporating layered artisanal details into her California-casual designs. Every piece here looks like it was sourced vintage.
Photography by Madeline Tolle
]]>View them below or check out our Instagram and Facebook pages for more!
We began across the pond with artist and designer Luke Edward Hall. His artistry shows when it comes to his colors and compositions. Who else could pull off this gorgeous yellow dining room?
Next was Chad Caleb Dorsey. This Dallas and LA-based designer has a knack for the bold and dramatic. We love how the large scale of the ceiling paper in this deep red study is echoed in the fabulous mural in the dining room.
Newly rebranded as Yond Interiors, the Minneapolis-based designer was our next feature. What we love most is that Yond Interiors founder, Julia Miller, is self-taught in interior design. You’d never know!
A 1000x Better has been a design crush of ours for a long time! This LA-based design and style firm. We’re appreciating this neutral color palette and the warmth of these wood tones–it’s so cozy just in time for the holidays!
Photography by Virtually Here Studios
We’re constantly crushing on and spotlighting our favorite interior designers, so tune into our social media for more!
]]>NYC-based Kathleen Walsh Interiors used our REVEAL collection to add some sparkle to her whimsical laundry room--a space that even the dog can appreciate! Walsh's space was an inspired take on the outdoors and all things natural. She incorporated items like woven rattan baskets by OKA and a hand-embroidered floral wall-mural by Fromental.
She also fittingly selected our Reveal collection, which is a modern take on bamboo motifs. Our Reveal-02, Reveal-04, and Reveal-06 in a sparkly polished nickel finish was a perfect accent to this space.
Check out the space below!
Stephen Karlisch Photography for Architectural Digest
Stephen Karlisch Photography for Architectural Digest
Stephen Karlisch Photography for Architectural Digest
Stephen Karlisch Photography for Architectural Digest
Kris Ellis photography for Veranda Magazine
Kris Ellis photography for Veranda Magazine
To view more of the KB Dallas Showhouse, check out the feature in Architectural Digest and Veranda Magazine.
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Our first design crush of this festive month, Tali Roth Designs, gave us just the right amount of mood and whimsy. Her studio has offices in both Melbourne, Australia and New York City--and it's clear to see that there are influences of both in her work.
Photo by Seth Caplan.
Another Aussie-based design studio we featured this month is YSG Studio. We love their funky vibe--a chartreuse sofa never looked so good! But as fun and funky as their designs can be, they can also create spaces that are moody and refined, as seen at the Four Pillars Lab, a restaurant they designed.
Photography by Prue Ruscoe.
Next was Prospect Refuge, based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. These days especially, being able to design a work from home office is key to a balanced life. We love the warmth that radiates from these two spaces (and everything they do!).
Last but never least to feature was Black Lacquer Design. This LA-based design studio's mantra is "livable luxury", which we're all about. We also love when a design crush can "host" a #fridaycocktails, which was our Friday feature on social. Side note: how fun are these multi-colored barstools?
Tune into our social media to see who we're currently featuring as our design crushes, and more!