Photographs provided by Peggy Berk
Top left: A detail shot of Nelson's new dresser with nautical elements in his room;
Top right: Nelson gazing at his newly completed and unveiled room
Peggy Berk, Interior Designer, owner of Area Aesthetics Interior Design, and the Board President of the Greater New York Metropolitan Chapter of the Interior Design Society, has just unveiled her custom-designed nursery for little Nelson Anthony Beauzile that is located in Harlem, New York City.
The nursery, which includes innovative furnishings and a stunning nautical-themed design, is the result of a $10,000 cash prize and designer services awarded to Nelson's family through Abbott Nutrition’s Similac Brand and master of good design, Ty Pennington. Nelson's mother Sharon Nelson and her fiancé Anthony Beauzile were the first-prize winners of this contest after a long struggle with cancer where she underwent a myomectomy, mastectomy, and intensive chemotherapy. While her doctor’s believed it impossible for her to conceive, little Nelson, their miracle baby, arrived in August 2008. The nautical theme of Nelson's nursery came out of his name origin (Nelson was named after Admiral Nelson), and Peggy Berk put her amazing talent to work to help their dreams of the perfect room for this remarkable child to be realized.
Peggy Berk speaks with Ava Living:
What an amazing project to be involved in! Can you tell us a bit about how you originally got involved with this contest?
I was thrilled when I was contact by Abbott Nutrition’s design consultant who told me that they had a winner in the New York area and asked me to design the room. It was a challenging prospect; I was to meet the family for the first time on March 3rd, 2009 and the project had to be completed by April 29th, 2009, and I had to commit before ever meeting the family or seeing the room! But I do love a design challenge, and deadline and budget pressure really force you to think out of the box and channel your creative energies in new ways, so I accepted.
Was this type of project something new to you or have you done similar projects to this before?
I have designed a lot of rooms, but each room is unique because each client is unique. I try to honor that quality by giving each client a unique design, and I never repeat furnishings, design elements, or even a color scheme, from client to client. The freshness of each project, knowing that everyday I can do something new, is a big part of what I love about working in this profession.
The nursery space, like many spaces in NYC and other big cities, was a modest amount of room to work with. Can you go through your design process for this project relating to the initial nautical concept and final changes?
The infant and toddler years pass very quickly and a nursery can soon become functionally obsolete. In Nelsonʼs room, our space plan met his infant needs and with small changes, such as removing the crib and bringing in additional storage or replacing the baby’s chifforobe with a full sized dresser, will allow Sharon to maintain her investment in the design of the room for years to come.
Top: The signal flags over the bed spell out Nelson's name, personalizing the room
This was facilitated by a space plan which created distinct functional areas, as well as thinking ahead to the specific changes that would be required, even to the point of mapping out where new furnishings would go as outgrown items were retired. With the large pieces which the homeowners wanted to keep, a key criteria was to assure that Nelson would have ample open play space and, that as his manner of play evolved, the plan could accommodate the necessary changes without disrupting the aesthetics.
Aesthetically speaking, two issues were clear from the beginning. First, furnishings which the homeowner wanted to keep, most particularly the daybed, which was very beautiful and relatively new but far too sophisticated for a nursery, lent a decidedly adult feeling to the room. And, most pointedly, the room read dark and lifeless without a fully developed color scheme and strong child-friendly motif.
Without rooms to spare, new parents often face the dilemma of what to do with quality furnishings that are too sophisticated for a child's room, yet could be easily utilized in later years. In Nelson's room, we decided to incorporate them into the design by dressing them to become age-appropriate. The dark chifforobe was lightened with colorful hand-painted knobs and the daybed was completely transformed into a fun, thematically-linked and age-appropriate setting with soft furnishings and accessories.
The key to bringing this room to life was color. We pulled the red out of the wall paper border to play a strong secondary role in the scheme, and added the main design element, nautical signal flags. The flags were sewn into wide ribbons to create new, safer, closet "doors," topped our window treatment, and were used to create a colorful canopy spelling out Nelson's name above the daybed. Repeated throughout the room, they gave us the "punch factor," adding primary blues and yellows and playing off the white painted trim as well. They also served to draw our secondary color, the red, throughout the room, which fully integrated the color scheme.
Top: A detail shot of the play area in Nelson's new room
Most importantly, the signal flags significantly opened up our palette, taking into account what will come into the room after the design is done. I believe very strongly that what I call "lifestyle elements," items that the homeowners will bring into the room in the course of their daily lives after the design is done, should weight very strongly when the design is developed. Nelson's bright and varied color toys will now play into the color scheme, rather than give the room a cluttered feel by competing with it.
Top: Before shots of Nelson's original room before the redesign
An early childhood room should also foster a child’s growing independence for healthy development. In Nelson’s room, we focused on low shelving for toys and books that he will be able to access himself.
Clearly defining the play and sleep areas help a child to distinguish time set aside for particular activities and give them the opportunity to learn the routines of daily life. As most children can learn to put away their toys long before they can tackle making a bed or storing their clothes, this space consideration also helps to give a maturing child clear lines of responsibility when it comes to maintaining the orderliness of his her own room.
Also, don’t forget the importance of open space. Resist the urge to overfill the room, leaving plenty of crawl space and play space where a child can enjoy their newfound independence and allow their creativity to flourish.
Top: Detail shot of the new curtains in Nelson's room
The open house for the nursery took place on Thursday, April 30th of this year. How did it go?
It was a very full day, with a good part of it devoted to photographing the room, the family, and elements for Abbott Nutrition for a wide variety of print and web-based press who had requested project information and documentation of this project. One of the highlights of the day was our top local news channel here in New York City, filming the room for a broadcast story.
Top: Sharon and Nelson admire his new nursery room
How did it feel seeing Nelson and his family in his new room?
I work very collaboratively with my clients and I’ve gotten to know Nelson and his parents very well over the past weeks. Anthony and Sharon are very special people, a lot of fun to work with, and are very hospitable. They invited me into their lives, and I was honored to be a guest at Nelson’s christening earlier this month. It’s always gratifying to see clients enjoying the rooms that I’ve worked so hard on; so much more so when you get to work with clients such as these! My favorite moments were when little Nelson first saw his area rug with the sailboat motif, and again when he saw the new closet “doors” made out of nautical signal flags that I had sewn into ribbons. He stood in his walker and started clapping. A standing ovation before the room was even done; what could be better than that!
To contact Peggy Berk:
Area Aesthetics Interior Design
320 Second Ave.
New York, NY 100003
Phone: (917) 754-6535
Fax: (646) 213-1763
E-mail:pberk@areaaesthetics.com
Website:www.areaaaesthetics.com
Instant Messenger: PBerk333
Abbott Nutrition speaks with Ava Living:
What was the reason for running this contest?
Abbott Nutrition recently redesigned it's Similac infant formula brand inside and out, with convenient SimplePac packaging on the outside, and the EarlyShield blend for immune support on the inside.
To celebrate their redesign, they launched the nationwide Similac Custom Nursery Design Contest asking parents how $10,000 and a professional design consultation would help them welcome their new addition.
The Similac brand is committed to helping families give their babies a strong start, and when selecting only four first prize winners (out of the thousands of entries that poured in from around the country), they looked for the families who were the most deserving. After everything she has overcome, Sharon Nelson couldn’t be more deserving, and we are all thrilled to have helped her fulfill her wish of a nautical-themed first bedroom for her son Nelson.
Top: The Nelson Beauzile family in his new room
Nelson Beauzile's family speaks with Ava Living:
When you heard about the contest through Similac, what prompted you to enter and how did you first hear about it?
I heard about the contest while I was home on maternity leave and was just surfing the web. I reluctantly entered as I know people from New York City generally tend to not win these kind of contests, but decided what the heck and entered anyway.
What was your reaction when you were informed that you were the winner?
I first found out that I was a finalist by mail. The next notification that we got was a phone call from Similac about a month later telling me that I was a grand prize winner. Both my fiancé and I were really shocked and we could not believe our good fortune! Neither of us had ever won anything before, and we attributed this new run of luck to the miracle of having Nelson; it seems to have changed everything in our lives. Of course, we were grateful to Similac and Abbott Nutrition for being brave enough to bring the contest to New York City, and to allow us to participate. The Similac team were great in getting all of the pieces of this project coordinated quickly and efficiently.
We know that the nautical theme came from Nelson being named after Admiral Nelson. Were there any particulars that you wanted to see in the room?
I wanted the room to be functional and at the same time a wonderful exciting room for my little boy. Since Nelson is 8 months old, we were over the baby theme, and we wanted to stimulate his mind, educate him, and engage his creativity.
Also, the year that Nelson was born, nautical décor was not popular, and we were frustrated that we could not give our baby a nursery design that we thought was ideal. This was a big part of what I noted in my content essay to Similac for the contest.
Top: Nelson's accessible and open play area
Can you talk a bit about the design process of the room? Did you have input throughout the process or was it a fantastic surprise at the end when the final room was unveiled?
The design process was intensive as we had a limited amount of time to get the room ready. Peggy is great; not only is she incredibly creative but she listens, and she gets it! She is also very diligent with her craft and knows how to negotiate the best prices. As you know, prices for things in New York City are very expensive and she was able to maximize our budget while giving me exactly what I wanted for Nelson's room. I wanted my son to have the coolest room and that is what I got!
Top: Peggy and Sharon discuss details of Nelson's new room
Yours is a remarkable tale of strength, love and survival, and what a blessing to have such a gorgeous little boy. How is Nelson settling into his new room?
Although we have yet to have very much time to enjoy his new room, as it has just been completed and unveiled, Nelson is right at home in it, and it is clear that he loves his room. He looks in wonderment at all of the bright beautiful colors; he loves his armchair and the way his playthings are assembled nearby. He also loves the daybed (we use it during the day as a change station), and the pillows and toys that are assembled on it.
To learn more about the Nelson-Beauzile family and the Similac Custom Nursery Design Contest,
contact Lauren Azzola at (614) 624-7485.
Written by Ehren Seeland