I am thrilled to announce the opening of my new retail boutique and design studio at 215 Commercial Street in Portland, Maine's historic Old Port District.
It is so great is it to see my Love Bird Pillow for Garnet Hill land on page 84 the April issue of Better Homes and Gardens magazine! Their style team loves the peach and melon colors of the flowers— they’re the hot hues this season.
The blues and greens of the pillow are easy colors to blend into color schemes already in your home. It’s fun to know Better Homes and Gardens thinks the Love Bird pillow is as fabulous as we think it is!
Several years ago, I lived on a street called Flying Point Road. Our antique farmhouse needed a lot of work, but I was up for the challenge. The property overlooked fields, farmhouses, winding roads and even the Atlantic. It had a huge red barn tucked into a quintessential rural farm setting. For all its imperfections, it was picture-perfect.
Maeve was just a baby and I was just starting my home business. Maeve and I would go for long walks along Flying Point Road. I miss those quiet and peaceful strolls. Away from the pressures of renovating a home and starting a business, I could hear myself think. I would dream of our future.
One of our neighbors lived in a meetinghouse much like the one depicted on my Flying Point Lumbar pillow for Garnet Hill. They held monthly potlucks for their friends. Maeve and I would sit on our porch and watch people come and go on their big night out. How simple, how lovely it was.
These are the days of melting and thawing. Of dreaming of warmer days, brighter skies. Thumbing through garden catalogs, cookbooks and vacation brochures. While you are dreaming, I want to give you warm, fluffy pillows saturated in color to dream on. From now through March 20, take 20% off all pillows at Nicola’s Home, even my bestselling Garnet Hill pillows.
I named my Garnet Hill Christina coverlet and shams for my cousin. Like me, she lives in Maine. She is tall and graceful, with the voice of an angel. She is unassuming and yet utterly beautiful. And so it felt natural to name the Christina coverlet for her – a piece with distinctive style and arresting beauty that elevates absolutely any bed.
The cut of this coverlet is completely unique, and based on an antique from my personal collection. The scalloped edge transforms your bed—playing peekaboo with your coordinating linens and blankets and adding a layer of sweet simplicity, like vanilla frosting. The piping that runs along the mattress edges give it emphasis and structure. From a distance the effect is formal, almost architectural. But cuddled up close? The double-diamond quilted cotton can be dressed as modern or vintage, but will always be soft and welcoming.
I’ve heard from many customers that the photo in the Garnet Hill catalog is confusing. I know it’s difficult to visualize the coverlet’s length, and I know most of you aren’t storing your firewood beneath your beds. I think the photo had hoped to show its sophisticated style and versatility, showcasing the coverlet’s clean geometric lines in a rustic setting. But if that isn’t working for you?
Try this.
Instead of firewood—imagine the sheets and blankets you have right now. Or, imagine my Hobnail Percale Bedding in Sprout, topped with Garnet Hill’s Cotton Herringbone Throw in Acorn or Apple peeping through. (If you splurge on luxe layers, you want to see them all!) Or, best of all, imagine it layered over an old quilt of your grandmother’s brought down from the linen closet and revealed like glimpses of a beloved past, encircling your bed.
The Nicola Home Christina coverlet and shams for Garnet Hill—like my cousin—is all easy elegance, and will make any bed sing.
Juxtaposing old and new pieces in original and compelling new ways, interior and home designer Nicola Manganello creates extraordinary living spaces for clients with distinctive taste.
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