After Paige Davis and her husband Patrick Paige moved into their New York City apartment, they decided to get help decorating. Who else to call but Nate Berkus?
"You're giving up control of your house to me," jokes Nate. "This is what you put people through on Trading Spaces, and now I'm doing it to you!"
Paige's open kitchen is airy, but Nate thinks it doesn't fit Paige's bubbly, cheerful personality:
"Just from being with you for 20 minutes, I'm like, 'This girl has white laminate cabinets? I don't think so!' You're so full of life, and you want to entertain. You need a kitchen that looks like, 'Hey, what's up? This is my kitchen!'"
Paige can't stand this tablecloth, and the entire dining area's proportion is all off. "This kind of looks like a Barbie tea party," jokes Nate.
Paige's great room may not be great, but she does love certain items from her travels—like this statue. "It's a saint," she explains. "We just thought it looked cool."
The great room leads into another room, which Paige painted cherry red. The only problem? She doesn't really like the color!
She'd also like the space to serve as a workspace for the couple as well as a spot for overnight guests.
"So basically, this room is multipurpose," Nate says. "I'm concerned as the decorator that it looks great if it's all open to the rest of the house."
For some reason, Paige's bathroom has a separate room…for just a sink! "That's a weird use of space," Nate observes.
Paige says she enjoys her bedroom a lot, but feels the large space isn't being used to its full potential.
"This cubby hole is awesome," she says. "Should this be his office? Should this be a bathroom? Should this be a nursery?"
Before she left, Paige showed Nate magazines and books she's been collecting that represent the design style she wants in her home. "Well, Paige, it sounds to me and looks to me like you like a very modern environment with some warm colors—but definitely where everything has room to breathe," says Nate.
Paige's old kitchen wasn't awful, but the new one certainly is awe-inspiring. Now it's the perfect mix of rustic and modern—just what Paige said she wanted.
Nate replaced the black floor tile with natural limestone, which is also used as a wall accent (available through EXPO Design Center, www.expo.com). Open Thomasville cabinetry from Home Depot makes the space feel airy and light. All-new appliances include a glass-front refrigerator from Sub Zero (www.subzero.com).
The cottage-style kitchen cabinets in briarwood on cherry wood continue into the great room, making the combined area feel like one large space.
This table base from La Lune (www.lalunecollection.com) is made from real tree branches, and the Jean Prouve chairs are from Vitra (www.vitra.com).
"You told me that you like modern but rustic," Nate says to Paige. "It doesn't get any more rustic than that!"
Nate flipped the seating area so the furniture no longer blocks the room. A sofa from Maurice Villency (www.villency.com) is complemented by sculptural wood chunks from BOBOmodernliving.com.
"Everyone thinks that contemporary furniture is uncomfortable, and it's simply not," says Paige.
Once again, modern meets rustic in this work and media area. Nate found the elegant marble-top buffet on eBay (www.ebay.com), which contrasts with a 60-inch plasma television from LG Electronics (www.lgeusa.com). The Delta sectional sofa, which was one of Paige's dream items, was shipped from Australia by King Furniture (www.kingfurniture.com.au)!
When Paige and her husband Patrick have office work to do, they'll find a comfortable space here. The his-and-hers work stations can be hidden away with these curtains made from fabric Nate found at twenty2 (www.shoptwenty2.com).
Paige's old bathroom wasted space, but her new one is an in-home spa. Nate used limestone on the floor and a Bisazza glass mosaic in the shower both from EXPO Design Center (www.expo.com). Linens 'n Things (www.lnt.com) stocked Paige's closet with fluffy, luxurious towels.
"It's like a jewel right in the middle of my apartment," squeals Paige.
Last but definitely not least is Paige's new bedroom. Keeping with the rustic-meets-modern theme, Nate decorated the room to reflect Paige's personality. The canopy bed from La Lune (www.lalunecollection.com) is outfitted with cheery pillows from BOBOmodernliving.com. In fact, Nate liked the pattern so much, he had a screen custom-painted to match!
A dresser from Portico (www.porticohome.com) and an elegant solution from
Maurice Villency (www.villency.com) provide plenty of bedroom storage. With help
from Trading Spaces carpenter Carter Oosterhouse, Nate floated some of Paige's artwork between two pieces of plexiglass. It's all very elegant—and lots of fun.
"It's so beautiful," Paige gushes. "It's everything that I could have possibly wanted!"
