New York City, Nate Berkus, ABC Home and More...

Earlier this week, I was fortunate to take a quick trip to NYC for some blogger, designer and media related events. The adventure started with a red-eye {& they don't call it the red-eye for nothing!} with another San Francisco Bay Area blogger, Kate from Centsational Girl. Love this girl - she was great to pal around with.

With fabulous weather, that first day in the Big Apple was filled with a walk down 5th Avenue, a  blogger luncheon at HGTV {fun to meet Design Star winner, Emily Henderson} and then the Rue Magazine launch party at the NYDC. 

The trip however, was spurred by an invitation to attend the taping of a Nate Berkus Show {in case you live on the moon, he is the cutie-pie interior design for Oprah}. So flattered by "Nate Day", he invited 90+ design bloggers to be in the audience of his new show. And yes, Nate was just as cute and charismatic in person as he appears on TV. I won't go into too many details regarding the show because several bloggers have already given some recaps including Janell {who will appear on the show at some point!} and Lakeitha.

Some of the bloggers have been outspoken about Nate not mentioning  on air that the audience was full of bloggers and others thought that he should have highlighted specific blogs. That would have been nice, but then again it's his show and it seems he's still ironing out the wrinkles.  Nate responded today with this tweet...

Nate's a very talented interior designer and I do hope his show succeeds. He has been an inspiration to me and I am sticking with him!

After the show The Nest hosted a lovely party! And Camila of High-Heeled Foot in the Door has a nice recap of the event here.

Day three was a very quick {too quick} shopping trip to ABC Home. If you love furniture, lighting and linens as much as I do, you will be blown away by this store. As put on their website, ABC Home's mission,

is to serve by manifesting a retail paradigm shift in which we compose a revolutionary platform for offering cause related product through beauty, experience, and magic, in order to guide you to creatively express your individuality, values and to actualize home as sacred space

It's a bit of a run-on, but it seems fitting because the massive retail store goes on and on too. The Manhattan store offers ten floors of endless collections of rugs, furniture, antiques, home textiles, accessories and sustainable furnishings. There's something there to fit anyone's style and taste. I have included just a few of the items that inspired me. And to see even more, visit Kate's favorites at this post here. 

 

ABC Carpet is across the street, but a sampling of stunning rugs was on display near the entrance.

 

Looking for a chandelier? There were tons and sure to be one that would fit your needs.

 

Stylish storage is of course something I am always on the look out for. These vintage suitcases with rustic equestrian gear were fabulous.

 

The selection of decorative pillows & linens was amazing as well. 

 

 

If you have young ones at home, the children's section shouldn't be missed.  It was packed with  so much inspiration including an iron crib, child's ghost chair and whimsical decor items. It made my head start spinning with design possibilities in a nursery room.

 

Isn't this enormous piece of drift wood incredible?

Last but not least, I fell in love with this fretwork back ghost chair. Made in Italy they are stackable, thus easier to store. I imagined a set surrounding a round painted wood table in an eat-in kithcen. Hose them down when dirty makes them great for families with children.  Not inexpensive at $395 each, but a winner in my book.

The Nate Show, parties and shopping were of course fun, but the people I met were the highlight. So many talented designers and bloggers. In particular, I loved getting to know and  hanging with Kate, Rhoda, Emily {& her friend Katie}, Sarah, Janell, Lakeitha, Jade, and Lana. And at the end of the day, that is what is most important anyway, isn't it?

*all photos property of Simplified Bee