DESIGNTEKT COLLECTION

I’m addicted to fabric. I mean I LOVE fabric. When I come across fabric I can’t live without I buy it, a lot of it, and then figure out what to do with it later. This addiction played a big role in my designing and making the first DESIGNTEKT collection. What started out as a design solution for my own home turned into something I wanted to share with others. I loved the finished product, and I had so much gorgeous fabric to use.

A little backstory. I’m a renter. I’ve been a renter my entire adult life, which is nice since I’m a bit of a nomad and enjoy experiencing life with my husband and our young son in different places. It’s also tough as an interior designer living somewhere I can’t completely personalize to fit my tastes and my families’ needs. However, each new house or apartment we live in presents opportunities to create a home that works for our current stage in life.

This sense of wanderlust has prevented us from making too great an investment in furniture, despite my deep (DEEP) desire to do so. With sustainability and budget always in mind, I strive to acquire pieces we’ll have for a long time, rather than waste money on disposable items that won’t last long or move with us. We moved again two years ago, and I was looking for ways to make our current rental feel more like our home and not a temporary living space. Without a headboard in our master bedroom it felt generic and unfinished, lacking a focal point. My son was also ready to move from his crib into a “big boy bed,” so I had an opportunity to personalize both spaces.

I designed a headboard to work in both rooms. Using gorgeous natural fabrics, leather details, and a warm wood element, these customizable headboards added the color, pattern, and texture these rooms needed. They’re also minimal in terms of materials and simple to install and remove once we pack up and move again.

With the same design working in both spaces and so many beautiful fabrics to incorporate, I decided to work towards my master seamstress distinction while creating enough headboards to share this design solution with others.  

I made countless renditions of the insert until it was just the right size, weight and fill for the design and fabrics selected. Sewing with leather was a practice in patience requiring completely different techniques than sewing fabric. Making the wood wall boards allowed me to use new power tools and get familiar with my local community woodshop.      

Wasting as little material as possible, I designed and made accent pillows using the remaining fabric and leather, adding a chic exposed zipper detail. Stunning on a sofa or accent chair, these pillows also coordinate beautifully with the headboards.  

So that’s the story and process of how the first DESIGNTEKT collection came to be. I almost gave up a few times because this process took much longer than I ever anticipated, but I’m so happy I persevered and saw this collection through to completion.

While originally designed as a headboard, they could also be used in a kitchen banquette or reading nook. The pillows can grace sofas and chairs in homes, offices, retail spaces and even boutique hotels. I’ve done the making and I look forward to seeing how you’ll incorporate them into your space! Shop the collection HERE.