Tamar of Nest Pretty Things and Nest Decorating
Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I was born in New York City and graduated from Parsons School of Design then went on to work in the magazine and advertising industry as a photo stylist and style editor. On many occasions whenever I had the time I would do an interior decorating project for clients that liked my style.
About five years ago my husband and I felt a great longing to leave the city life behind and start a new journey by moving to the country. We packed up and moved to a little village in Vermont with our three sons. We are now living a much simpler life, growing our own vegetables, decorating with many thrift finds and enjoying having more time together and with the kids.
Having left my career behind I was eager to start my own business, crafting and designing since I remember myself I started designing my own line of accessories and jewelry, three years ago I opened my Etsy shop and started blogging, I now have two shops, my Etsy shop and my own website and I also still work as an Interior Decorator but more as a consultant since the design business became a full time job! We’ve never looked back and we love our new life!
Tell us about your business.
My blog, Nest Decorating, is a personal journey, my everyday life here in Vermont, my designs, things I love, other designers I love and lots and lots of home decorating from scratch.
My website, Nest Pretty Things, carries my jewelry and accessory designs which are very girly, and romantic with a touch of whimsy and a vintage feel. I also have an Etsy shop.
What inspired you to pursue this business?
Both my parents are artists, my mother was a painter and my dad is an architect so I was surrounded by art and design my whole life, photo styling is very creative if I couldn’t find what I needed I used to make many of the accessories, props and jewelry pieces myself, when we decided to move to the country it was a simple choice, I knew exactly what I wanted to do. I started writing my blog because I felt I needed a bigger community and support, I love sharing my ideas with my readers, I guess it comes from working in magazines for so many years…I have an urge to write and photography is a very big part of my life.
Where do you find inspiration for your designs?
Inspiration is everywhere, it can be a piece of fabric, a pillow in a shop, a beautiful dress or a flower in our garden, sometimes it’s a book or a photograph and sometimes I just lie in bed in the morning and suddenly I have five new necklaces all designed and ready in my head.
Tell us about a favorite home decorating or remodeling project.
My favorite remodeling project was the kitchen, when we moved to this house the kitchen was beige Formica with wood (European Style), horrible, it took us two years before we realized we can’t and won’t be able to afford an expensive kitchen, so we decided to get an IKEA Kitchen which was the best decision ever!!!
The kitchen is beautiful, functional, sturdy and well made, we chose to go with a simple country white look and build our own open top shelves, we also chose big slide out drawers so everything is easy to get to and the whole project including the IKEA butcher block counter tops was around $2500!!! our kitchen gets lots of wear and tear, I am an avid cook and we have three boys, we’ve had it for two years now and still looks brand new!
What’s your favorite color.
The whole house is painted a decorators white, we have one wall in the entrance that is raspberry and one wall at the end of the hallway that is orange.
What are your five favorite pieces of home décor from your home or elsewhere?
My favorite pieces are:
- A beautiful big Suzani embroidery that is covering the sofa
- A big comfy old armchair that is slip covered in white and is my favorite place to sit.
- The hutch in the dining room, it came with the house and was a newish dark brown. I painted it white, distressed it and changed the handles to several different ones I had found at Anthropologie.
- My mom’s paintings and all the art in the house which was mostly created by family members including my artist sister as well as a few Etsy artists.
- A wonderful great big dresser originating from Mexico (which we found on sale) in the bedroom.
What’s your favorite room at home? Why is it your favorite?
My favorite room is the living room, I love the mix of colors in it, lots of white, lots of new, vintage and ethnic textiles and lots of art. It’s also full of light and very bright which is a big deal when you live in Vermont.
Who are your favorite designers?
I don’t have just one favorite, but I used to be very influenced by Rachel Ashwell and the whole Shabby Chic look. I’ve moved on from that style influence, but I still think that Rachel Ashwell has had the most influence on my style.
What’s your personal design style? Has it evolved over time?
My style is very eclectic: I love to mix and match different styles creating tension and interest. I love lots of white using the background as a “canvas”. And I love the “thrifted” look, I would say that I was “modern romantic meets bazaar chic”.
Many of us have a product we bought for our home-that now makes us think-”what was I thinking” - do you have one?
I do that a lot with clothes and sometimes shoes, but not so much with decorating, and since we don’t spend a lot of money on furnishing I don’t have a lot of regrets.
Describe your dream room.
White with big windows and high ceilings with a simple white four post bed, very serene and calm….probably the opposite of my life.
What are your favorite blogs or home design/improvement websites?
My daily decor reads are:
- Decor8: Holly Becker manages to find something fresh and new every day.
- Style Files: love the photos and inspiration.
- The Selby: A fascinating peek into artist homes.
- Katy Elliott: A daily design journal renovating a 257-year-old house in Marblehead, Massachusetts.
What are your favorite books, design shows and/or magazines?
My monthly reads are:
- Domino Magazine (still miss Domino and own lots of the back issues….)
- Country Living (UK version )
- Living Etc (UK version)
- Elle Decoration (UK version) —- I love the Brits style!
Do you have a decorating, design or remodeling tip you’d like to share with The Decorating Diva.com readers?
Don’t be afraid of white walls.
Contact Details:
Website: Nest Pretty Things and Tamar’s Etsy shop.
Twitter: Tamar (Nest Pretty Things) on Twitter
Blog: Nest Decorating
The Decorating Diva, LLC would like to thank Tamar for sharing her beautiful and fabulous jewelry designs, home and story with The Decorating Diva.com readers.
