Nesting: A Rainbow of Chaos

I’ve discovered not everyone is ready for my explanation of the master closet, but I keep getting asked what the deal is with ALL THE BIRDS, so like it or not, here it is!

I had recently visited a house where the closet was so fancy and pristine, it was like being in a Gucci store. It was lit up beyond all reason, almost antiseptically, with all the CHARM AND COMFORT of an operating room.

I was still uncertain what direction I was going to go with my own closet, but I knew right then and there I was witnessing the exact opposite!!

I wanted one room in the house where I could not only give myself permission to be unkempt— messy even — but a place where I could also continually add things, indefinitely. A refuge for all the… LESSER TCHOTCHKES I bring home from my travels. Stuff that isn’t quite “Main House Caliber,” but makes me happy to gather up, nonetheless.

So I decided to BUILD THE CHAOS right into the design itself!

I'm Like I Bird

At the time, I was traveling a lot to Africa and falling in love with all the WILD, BOLD COLORS they used.

Even the shanty towns had me spinning, so awestruck was I by the unconstrained variety of materials being utilized. I couldn’t get the imagery out of my head of birds flying around, gathering up all sorts of WEIRD BUT NECESSARY THINGS, inventively assembling their nests.

Because wasn’t that what I was doing?

Wasn’t I gathering things up — STRANGE AND WONDERFUL little bits and pieces from all over the world — and bringing them back home with me to build my house, my nest?

I embraced this idea more fully and started building wall panels out of old shutters and shelving out of colorful crates and wire mesh.

The inspiration of BIRDS BUILDING A NEST I regarded to be merely an intellectual exercise that helped me conceptualize the closet’s aesthetic, so I’m not quite sure when the BIRD MOTIF began literally manifesting itself into the closet and utility room.

From Kenya, with Flying Colors

The birds happened gradually, organically and— if I’m being totally honest— unintentionally. Nostalgic for Kenya, perhaps my mind was subconsciously leading me towards birds?

It started out innocently enough, with some tropical bird trim around one doorway… but once it expanded to include multiple painted BIRD CORBELS and a huge chandelier of PARROTS, I eventually just submitted and said, “Okay, fine! I guess I’m doing a bird thing in here!”

Turns out, a bit of cohesion is just what my carnival closet of GYPSY CHAOS needed!