blog post

Big news from Niche

When we moved to California in 2014 and I started Niche it felt like I had jumped from a plane before I checked my parachute. I knew a handful of people, I had no clients and no vendor partners. I had never worked full-time as an interior designer. I am deeply grateful for the generosity, kindness, and faith my new friends, clients, and work partners showed me as I built my business. I dreamed for years of working as a designer full-time and this has been a tremendous creative experience.

When I decided to give this a go, my husband, Shawn, and I were about to leave Boston for Santa Monica. We were sitting on the sofa and I told Shawn I wanted to change careers. That I wanted to take a bet on myself to take the design work I’d been doing on the side and make it my sole focus. And, oh, would he mind if I had no idea if I would make any money doing it. The next day he came home with a stack of interior design books and rendering software and said, this is your dream, you’ve got to do it and I’m so happy to support you.

For the next four and half years, Shawn has been my board of advisors, my middle of the night freak-out coach, and my voice of reason. And, Niche has grown in ways I never imagined.

A few months ago, Shawn was offered the opportunity to take his dream job as the Global Head of Drug Delivery for a subsidiary of Astra Zeneca. It taps into every area of his academic and professional background and gives him an opportunity to make a positive impact on patients’ lives all over the world.

The minor caveat being that the job is located (for the next three years) in Cambridge, England.

And, it’s my turn to be so happy to support him.

I’m not sure what my professional life will look like while we’re there but I can’t imagine my life without design.

We’ll be back in California when this assignment is up but this time, it will be San Francisco.

So, I want to say thank you. Thank you to every client who let us make their house a home. Thank you to all the vendor partners who are on my speed dial and do such brilliant work. We couldn’t do this without you. But most importantly, thank you to my assistant, Kenley Chapman. We’ve spent the last two and a half years five feet apart from each other and every day it was wonderful. You are one of the best people I know.

It’s hard not to be sad when you say goodbye. But, my dad says that’s the price you pay for loving, so I’m OK with it.

We’ll have three new projects to show you on Instagram soon. Thank you to our clients who have been generous with their homes and their time.

For now, Instagram will be my go-to platform. Please follow me so we can stay in touch @Camilles_Niche

And, because I can’t do a post without pictures, here’s a sneak peak at the three projects we just shot. (Thank you Jenna Peffley, Lauren Killmeyer, and Liz Foster for the brilliant shoots!)

I love everything about this bedroom. Especially the custom-designed headboard from Stranger Furniture - Photo Credit: Jenna Peffley

I love everything about this bedroom. Especially the custom-designed headboard from Stranger Furniture - Photo Credit: Jenna Peffley

I’m not a bath person but when we finished this room I was ready to change my position - Photo Credit: Jenna Peffley

I’m not a bath person but when we finished this room I was ready to change my position - Photo Credit: Jenna Peffley

Just say yes to a plaid backsplash! - Photo Credit: Jenna Peffley

Just say yes to a plaid backsplash! - Photo Credit: Jenna Peffley


#whyitworks--Make space for family time

When we design a home for our clients, we want lots of room for real life. Yesterday, I walked around a home we recently completed with a client as she told us how much mileage their family spaces were getting. I was thrilled!

It's so easy to think that to have a beautiful home means everything has to be perfectly ordered with all the signs of playtime and movie night and piano lessons hidden away. Let me show you some of the ways we struck a balance between great to look at and great to live in at this client's home.

Instead of sticking a few toy boxes in the corner, we took a big portion of the first floor and made it a stylish playroom. Sure, everyone sees it when they walk in the door but it says everything you need to know about this family. They've got an awesome kid with a big imagination and her world is a huge part of their world.

Photo credit: Deepi Ahluwalia

Photo credit: Deepi Ahluwalia

Photo credit: Deepi Ahluwalia

Photo credit: Deepi Ahluwalia

As much as we'd all like to say we are reading the New York Times editorial page at night let's be real. We're getting cozy on the couch with our favorite show and our favorite people. So, we took this extra bedroom and turned it into a moody movie room. The day bed (with a real mattress) is the perfect spot for a family Netflix night.

Photo credit: Deepi Ahluwalia

Photo credit: Deepi Ahluwalia

Photo credit: Deepi Ahluwalia

Photo credit: Deepi Ahluwalia

Now, this is a family big into music and memories. When our client took us into her garage and said, "what can we do with these cases of albums that I used to listen to with my grandfather?" I couldn't have been happier. It was the perfect opportunity to take something so full of sentimental value (and also drop-dead gorgeous) and turn it into art. Now, this room has become a full-time music room with a record player for all the incredible albums and, now that we've had our way with the piano, one heck of a spot for lessons! P.S. There's a karaoke machine that's been a big hit, too.

Photo credit: Deepi Ahluwalia

Photo credit: Deepi Ahluwalia

Photo credit: Deepi Ahluwalia

Photo credit: Deepi Ahluwalia

I think designing your home should be a lot like getting dressed in the morning. You pick out clothes that make sense for what you're doing that day. Your home shouldn't be any different. If you want a lot of laughter, play and time together, create places in your home that you can't wait to hang out in and make it easy to do what you love.

For a behind-the-scenes look at Niche, follow us on Instagram @camilles_niche

#whyitworks--Playing with paint color

#whyitworks--Playing with paint color

Ask any of my clients and I'm pretty sure they'll tell you one of my favorite things to do is paint their walls white. I've found this soft, luminous white paint that is the perfect base to build up rich color throughout the space with furnishings and accents. But, there are ways to use paint as a tool which I love. Here's a few ways we've used it in recent projects so you can learn the tricks, too :)

#whyitworks--5 minutes to fab on Thanksgiving

#whyitworks--5 minutes to fab on Thanksgiving

As much as I love beautiful design, I love simplicity and low-stress solutions even more, especially around the holidays.

Because let’s be real people, we’ve got enough going on without trying to compete with Martha Stewart. She’s got scissors just for cutting quesadillas! I can’t Martha, I just can’t. 

So, for those of us who want a lovely holiday look when they serve that turkey they didn’t raise themselves (still looking at you, MS), let’s take a peak at my tablescape MVP's. They're fabulous and insanely fast.  

#whyitworks--Nook Office

#whyitworks--Nook Office

I'm pretty sure we all fall into one of two categories with our homes. Either you've got a lot of space and you don't want it to go to waste or you love living small and need to make the most of every square foot. (I'm in the latter.) So, let's take a look at how to turn an unused spot into a legit workspace. Cue my yellow arrows!