Guest Blogger Tamara, of the popular "Nest by Tamara" blog.

I’m tickled Pink
to write about my blog inspirations
for New York Spaces' virtual pages.
 

Top, far-left image: Katie Rosenfeld, Tamara Matthews-Stephenson, Lori Gilder, Carrie Leskowitz and Leslie Fine. 

I’ve worked in New York City as an interior designer since 1992 after graduating from Parsons School of Design, and I’ve had many rewarding and interesting experiences. Life as a residential designer is busy—carrying lamps, schlepping bags spilling over with fabric swatches, helping clients create stylish and comfortable nests. Yes folks, the job of an interior designer requires wearing many hats. One part artist, other part task master and all parts psychologist, the work can be daunting. When all is set neatly in place after the installation, the job is often fulfilling and quite thrilling. To merge this world with authoring an interior design and lifestyle blog has added quite another dimension to my career. I have bonded with many other designers and bloggers around the world, and now I have a collaborative network of like-minded peers to tap into. I feel as if I have an endless supply of creative inspiration at my fingertips. Through blogging, my entire approach to design has evolved and improved, because now in addition to considering my client’s take on a room scheme, I can wonder aloud and write to my viewers specifically. I investigate what makes the design industry tick and keeps us all marching forward. I attend many design events, and often collaborate with shelter magazines, other designers, and companies that manufacture and sell products for the home.  I have had to fine-tune my organization skills and utilize every moment of my day in order to keep up with coordinating it all, but I am grateful to have found my blogging voice.

New York is a unique city and just like our people, the spaces here are eclectic. Through my blog posts about living in New York City, I have defined and outlined the value of this great city. Some of my favorite New York blog posts on Nest by Tamara include last October’s architectural walking tour of Carnegie Hill, my visit to the Mayor’s Gracie Mansion and a charity event I co-chaired for non-profit organization the Flawless Foundation in the historic and regal Otto Khan Burden Mansion in Manhattan. All three of these posts bring the reader into some of New York’s most interesting and historically rich spaces. Some residential glimpses include a peek inside an original Federal style townhouse in Greenwich Village in the throes of construction, a historical Tudor townhouse in a tony Upper East Side neighborhood that was completely restored, and a prewar apartment given a slight face-lift on the Upper West Side. We all appreciate that many shelter magazine spreads are beautiful and inspiring, and as any decorator will confess we use these magazines as a major source of inspiration.  However, a design blogger’s view can provide a different and personal perspective. It may feel intentionally homemade and even a bit edgy at times, but this quirkiness keeps readers coming back for more of these frank conversations. Oh, and did I mention that my teenage daughter is my staff photographer? A budding talented photographer in the family is very helpful for a blogger, and Gabriella’s honest perspective and articulate shots have added a tremendous amount of original content to Nest. As a result, she now contributes weekly photographs to magazines.

                                                               Gabriella's photography appears on Nest weekly.

I have been involved in many events over the past years that have given me fodder for editorial content. My recent participation in a unique event called Blogfest, sponsored by Kravet fabrics, became an invaluable inundation of creativity. For the very first time, I witnessed a behind the scene tour of the work that goes into making fabric. In addition, we met publishing talents in the shelter magazines and design industry and spoke with them firsthand. The schedule was jam-packed with a generous array of luncheons, tours, show houses and other events, and of course, many opportunities to get to know other bloggers a bit better. Kravet created a priceless experience for us, and in return, there are an abundance of blog posts at this very moment being uploaded showing our collective millions of readers about these companies and products. It becomes a win/win situation for companies to reach out to bloggers and vice versa as many of us have extremely large numbers of loyal followers. I have tremendous respect for Kravet fabrics because they have successfully reached out to the newly blossoming blogging community. Kravet is a powerhouse in the industry. They are involved in many new projects that will keep the design world stocked with plenty of good quality products, and it is exciting to see what they will embark upon next. Thank you New York Spaces for inviting me to grace your virtual pages.

XO, Tamara