New Dining Room in New Providence

This is the drawing I did for a dining room for a client in New Providence, NJ. It is actually one of my old clients that just bought a house and have hired me for a third time. I also designed her clothing boutique, Shvitz which she just closed, and some offices in at her marketing company. The small sketch to the right is actually going to have a huge piece of artwork where the mirror is shown. It is something that my client had in her old house and it fits with the color scheme perfectly, but I can't find a picture of it! We were originally thinking about bringing in a little red as shown in picture, but scratched that idea and are just sticking with silver, white, grey, and creams. Very chic!


Teak Console from our Eco-Teak collection for our furniture company Liv-Chic. I wanted to throw in something rustic to contrast all the modern metallics we are doing in the dining room. This console will be made custom to fit one wall and accented with accesories and a mirror above it.

Cool modern table centerpiece sculpture. I wanted something simple and small and very modern! From Chiasso

This grey toned grasscloth was an option for the walls along with the tree paper below. we decided to the the trees on two walls and white everywhere else, but this would have looked great too!

Ceiling medallion to mount the chandelier from. I love using these. They always dress up the chandelier/ceiling so nicely and look great in a modern space. They are sold at Wishihadthat.com

This silver wallpaper will bring the outdoors inside but in a very modern way. I also goes perfect with the chandelier. I am just doing it on two adjacent walls and the rest of the room will be painted white. One of the white walls will be accented with the large artwork my client has and the other wall with a silver mirror and console table in teak.

My client took this chandelier with her when she closed her store Shvitz that I had designed for her back in 2006. She is going to use it as her dining room chandelier. Which is why I picked that wallpaper!

Dining chairs: We are still trying to decide what finish, but we are thinking silver with a white glossy patent leather viynl upholstery. These will be the head chairs and they bought the Louis Ghost chairs as the side chairs.

Stylish Storage Solution for a Small Space

This bedroom was designed for a young woman on the UES living in a teeny tiny rental apt with two other roomates. She works for a cosmetics company and every inch of her room is currently cluttered with lip gloss! I designed this wrap around curtain to hide storage shelves which will be full of labeled bins for all her samples. I also put in a divider between the vanity and the bed so it separates the two spaces. The vanity area acts like her own personal walk in closet. We did the walls in a light purple as per her request and I added an accent of a black stripe to border the walls for a little more flare and to pick up on the other black in the armoire and lampshade, and the rug we decided on which is also black and white and pictured below.

Chandelier from Urban Outfitters. She really wanted a chandelier but rents the space and would have to have an electrician do wiring so we found this one which plugs in and hangs from a chain!

$140!!! Great deal!

Graphic black and white rug from Urban Outfitters, I also suggested using a yellow and white striped one but I think this is better!

Fluted Pink glass table lamp base from Lamps Plus

Lamp shade for pink lamp base. Both from LampsPlus

Drapery fabric to go all the way around half of the room along one entire wall to hide the storage shelves with bins which hold all the cosmetics that she has because of her work! We are going to get the shelves off of craigslist and this fabric is only $6.95 yd. It is going to creat sooooo much extra needed storage for only about $200! When she want to hide the mess she just pulls the curtain all the way around! We will also wrap it around to the window.

I suggested a pair of these from Urban Outfitters and reupholstering them in this fabric below. They are only $48 each!!!

Fabric for stools. One under vanity and one under desk

This LIV CHIC cabinet we are doing in all black and the interior a burnt red along with a vanity to go next to it which willbe lacquered red with thin white detailing along the edges and on details as per drawing.

Masculine Modern Tones for a Manhattan Writer

So, not everything I do is "Haute-Femme" it's just the request I get most often. Here is a more modern, masculine space I designed for a writer and his wife. He had just gotten back from Africa where he had been doing research for his new book. I really love how it all came together. Once the installtion is done I will post pics!

REALLY great perisan rug from an amazing resource I found online, they are in NYC for viewing! This 8'4" x 12' rug is only $300! You'll have to hire us for this little gem! It is too good to give away!

Cool wooden plant vases from my Eco-Teak collection for LIV CHIC

Funky wall decor from wisteria helps to bring in the color scheme.

Large 33" diameter starburst mirror for over fireplace mantel

This is from our Eco-Teak collection from our LIV-CHIC furniture company. The desk/dining table will look similar to this but with the specifications in the drawing below. From one side it will look just like a dining table but from the inside where the banquette seating is, there will be shelves for storage so it doubles as a work space. The armoire below will go next to it for added office storage.

This is also from our Eco-Teak collection . I suggested this as the coffee table.

I found this armoire for $199 and they have a lot more too! Sorry this is also too good of a resource to give away for free! You'll have to hire me! ;)

Gorgeous Ikat pillows. Also another great resource! These are only about $29 each!

This is the wallpaper for the room. Another suggestion was grasscloth in a grey-brown color and just on one accent wall.

Ilana Loves Her Purple Wallpaper!

This is the wallpaper for the newest project I am working on. I love the colors! I found it at walnut wallpapers (http://www.walnutwallpaper.com/wallpapers.php?filter=designer&type=3&name=Cole+%26+Son&paperID=968) it's by Cole and Son. Gorgeous! It will just go on the back wall flanking the brinck wall behind the bed as seen in the drawing below.

This is the newest project I am working on and I can't wait to see it come to life! We went antiques shopping today and found some gorgeous old carved picture frames for amazing prices and a collection of vintage mirrors for the office which we will hang together. These Ikat and Suzani pillows below I found online for only about $25-$30 each! These sell for into the high $100's and up at boutique stores in the city! This room is going to be gorgeous!

This is my "mood board" for the room. I absoultely love the colors!

So does my client, infact she wrote me the best letter I've ever recieved, it's pretty funny, here's a little of what she wrote...

"hi hilary,

i have to say i was f*%$ing blown away by your creativity and resourcefulness! i think if i could i would make love to that wallpaper- in fact all of the wallpapers on the page! they were so gorgeous. and i love that you made the bedroom look like a possibility and like something not too out of my reach. i am totally amazed thank you! tell your husband you are more than a pillow fluffer you are a dream maker! i can't believe that i can have such a rockin'bedroom!"

p.s. my husband is a personal trainer and we tease eachother so I call him an aerobics instructor and he calls me a pillow fluffer...lol!

Ahhh...I just love a happy client!!!!

The Talented Ms. Robin Sillau

Robin Sillau is a young designer living in Brooklyn. Born and raised in New York City, she graduated from the University of Maryland with a BA in print journalism, unsure of how to combine her two passions- interior design and writing- into a career. Her questions were answered quickly when just two months after graduating for college she landed a job at Domino Magazine. At Domino, she cultivated her design skills and decided to switch gears and focus entirely on becoming an interior designer. While at Domino, she conceptualized and executed the design of two bedrooms, a living room and a dining room. She also assisted in the design of countless other rooms which were all shot and published in the magazine. After two years at Domino, she decided to leave the world of publishing and pursue design full-time.
Her greatest strengths lie in utilizing space, furniture layout, and finding unique and inexpensive sources for fabric, furniture, and accessories. She's heavily inspired by Miles Redd, David Hicks, Nina Campbell and Ruthie Sommers. She loves blending textures and patterns, and believes that a comfortable and beautiful home is essential to a well-rounded life, and that this can be achieved on any budget.

Shvitz Boutique

Soho Boutique Design:

This retail clothing store, Shvitz (http://www.shvitznyc.com/) was designed by Hilary White in 2005. It is located at 128 Thompson St. in Soho and features high-end sweatsuits from designer labels. The 300sqft space was dark and dreary before we brought in the reflective wallpaper by Flavorleague (http://www.flavorleague.com/), a mirrored soffit with a custom twig chandelier by Deanna Wish Designs, and custom lucite clothing rods, custom furniture and studded display shelving. The space was completely transformed with a new layout, updated lighting, and a fresh "modern-baroque" aesthetic. The space was featured in the New York Post and Women's Wear Daily. Both raved about the decor calling it a "jewel box of a boutique" and "every girl's fantasy vanity come true". We were really excited about the press and even more excited with how gorgeous the space turned out!

Custom Furniture

Not only do we create beautiful spaces for our clients, but we also offer a huge selection of customizable furniture which we offer wholesale to our client's. We also do all of our own custom furniture in order to maximize our client's budgets. Last year we had a custom table made for one of our high-end projects. We recieved quotes from NYC custom furniture manufacturers which ranged from $7,500-$9,000. We ended up having the table made overseas at our furniture company for $750! So many interior designers take advantage of their client's huge budgets to make themselves rich. We just don't believe in that kind of a business practice. We do believe in being resourceful and finding the best deals for our clients even if it is a little more work for us. That keeps our clients happy whether their budget is $1,000,000 or $1,000. We just love what we do, and that is our biggest motivation!