Date: July 18, 2017 | Story: Tiffany Adams | Photography: Rett Peek |
Designer Jackie Crowder creates a fun and fanciful bedroom to reflect a young Searcy girl’s Southern and Thai heritage as well as her love of pink
Two years ago the Camferdam family received a surprise of the best kind: they learned they would soon be welcoming a new member. After a long waiting period, Allison and Rob along with their son Jeffords were elated to begin preparing for the adoption of then five-year-old Katherine, who was born in Thailand.
Upon hearing the news, Allison immediately began to brainstorm ideas for a comfortable and cute room that would make their daughter feel at home in their Searcy residence. Allison had been working with Little Rock-based designer Jackie Crowder on her dining room and living room and knew she would be a natural fit to help design a bedroom for their little girl as well. During the planning, Allison had not yet met Katherine face to face, so she and Jackie began to brainstorm ideas based on what they knew about her as well as their personal likes. “Jackie and I have a mutual obsession with Lilly Pulitzer. All of my friends said, ‘Well of course she’s going to have a Lilly bedroom,’” Allison says.
“Heritage Floral,” a Lilly Pulitzer for Lee Jofa fabric which was used to create a pair of accent pillows for the bed, was, in fact, the starting point for the room. “We wanted to go with a pink and coral palette—very girly—and this was the perfect start,” Crowder says. Prior to the Camferdams moving into the house, it was home to a family with three girls, so the bedroom’s walls were already painted the perfect shade of pink to complement the fabrics they had selected. Additionally, Crowder had an antique four-poster bed, a piece the family already owned, painted in a shade of bright pink to coordinate. A Lulu DK for Schumacher fabric (“Firecracker” in Pink Lemonade) was used to create grand draperies for the large set of windows that overlook the front lawn. “We had started on the room and got a report in from the international adoption agency,” Allison recalls. “It said, ‘she loves pink,’ and we were like ‘yes!’”
It was important to both Crowder and the Camferdams to include elements that would remind Katherine of her native country. “We wanted it to have a Southern feel but also include the Thai heritage,” Crowder says. The designer employed art and accessories—along with a little help from Allison—to fulfill this wish. “When we went to meet Katherine, we stayed for over three weeks in Thailand and the restaurant at our hotel had all these different birdcages in crazy colors,” Allison recalls of their trip to bring their daughter home. “Katherine would talk about them and point to them, so we got a green one to include in the room,” she says. Additionally, Allison purchased Thai postcards to have framed. These along with a bamboo-bordered mirror complete the display over the room’s dresser. A work by Little Rock artist Ashley Saer hangs at the head of the bed as a nod to the girl’s new Arkansas home. Katherine, who is now seven, has loved the finished result from day one. “When she first came home, she hugged the bed,” Allison says of her little girl’s love for the room that was lovingly created for her.
Design Resources
Interior design Jackie Crowder, Jackie Crowder Interior Design
Accessories Jackie Crowder Interior Design and Miss Em Prints
Art Ashley Saer and Jackie Crowder Interior Design
Bedding Cynthia East Fabrics
Embroidery The Sassy Stitch
Fabrics Designer Effects and Jackie Crowder Interior Design
Framing Pollard Studio
Furniture, lighting, and mirror Jackie Crowder Interior Design
Paint Sherwin-Williams
Window coverings Interior Creations
