Domino’s chief content officer, Kate Berry, spends her days styling and curating spaces for some of the world’s most creative people, but when it came to designing and decorating her daughter Quinn’s bedroom, she let the 8-year-old lead the way. “I didn’t have a theme or color palette or floor plan,” says Berry of her laid-back approach. “I just really thought about how she uses the room. She’s always been a self-professed rainbow lover; everything is her favorite color.”
What Berry did have, however—as both a parent and an apartment-dwelling New Yorker—was an abject need for organization: a way to manage the clutter that seems to follow her hyper-creative youngster. “Quinn is not a tidy kid,” Berry muses. “She has a lot of toys, a lot of books, a lot of stuffed animals. She’s always drawing and making art. She’s learning about new things and her interests are expanding—and with that comes a lot of stuff.”
To give the budding artist a place to put everything—while empowering her to tidy up after herself—Berry found inventive ways to rethink traditional bedroom furniture. That sentiment was part of the inspiration behind Domino’s recent collaboration with Crate & Kids, a line of free-spirited furnishings designed by Berry and the Crate team that draw on her own scrappy SoCal childhood. The result? A secretary-style desk with a pull-down writing surface becomes an impromptu art studio whenever imagination strikes; storage cubes in a book-filled shelving unit help corral vast collections of tchotchkes and toys; and a bouclé-clad corkboard built into the nightstand displays recent artwork. “When you set up a space that’s organized and intuitive, it’s easy to be creative,” explains Berry. “It’s all at Quinn’s fingertips, but it’s not in my face.”
So far, the freewheeling color palette and pragmatic arrangement seem to be working for everyone, most importantly Quinn. “I think it’s great,” she says. “I’m actually happy to have a space that I can work in.” Adds Berry, “Her style is evolving so much, and now she’s not locked into a particular look. She can just be herself.” Here are some of the key takeaways from mom and daughter.
Photography by Gieves Anderson
Words by Jennifer Fernandez
How to organize all the stuff that comes with a hyper-creative kid’s many interests? Sneaky storage
that “magically” appears.
GEMS
Hidden
I didn’t have a theme or color palette or floor plan, I just really thought about how she uses the room. She’s always been a
self-professed rainbow lover; everything is her favorite color.
Quinn loves to draw comic strips and spontaneous doodles, so it was important for her to have easy access to all her art supplies. Drawers in the secretary-style desk keep paints and tools nearby yet tucked away, while the
pull-down shelf provides an always available clear surface that hides less attractive writing and craft essentials. “There are pencil boxes and compartments to store the things she uses regularly within reach,” explains Berry. According to Quinn, that upgrade has been awesome: “I remember not knowing where I was supposed to put things, but now I have places.”
Artist’s (Secret!) Atelier
“When Quinn was a little kid, I added organization pieces for where I wanted things put, but as she was getting older, I realized it didn’t really work for her,” recalls Berry. “Now she can pick where she wants things to go.” Outfitted with collapsible fabric storage compartments instead of a mattress (which can still be dropped in for impromptu slumber parties), the trundle beneath the bed has become a logical spot for Quinn’s large, color-coded inventory of Lego blocks. “It’s so easy—she can just slide them out whenever she wants to play,” notes Berry. “They’re out of the way but not in some giant, heavy bin that she has to lug over.”
Block Party
Because Quinn doesn’t gravitate toward one particular color, Berry used the natural
wood hue of the furniture as a base for plentiful chromatic pops. “There are so many things going on,” she says of all the toys and mementos. “I didn’t want to add more.” In a nod to her daughter’s love of skateboarding as much as her own preference for traditional patterns, Berry created a cheerful room that channels Quinn’s personal style in a visually balanced way, from the striped curtains and gingham throw pillows to the more whimsical elements like a Meri Meri pineapple cushion. “She gets inspired by things that I like, too,” shares Berry.
Color Whirl
Acknowledging Quinn’s evolving need for personal space, Berry created moments for introspection. A plush foam chair with scalloped tufting provides a soft landing for finishing school reading assignments or FaceTiming with friends—and it’s also a favorite perch of Charlie, the family’s 6-month-old Bengal kitty—while the nightstand, which can fit a stack of books, reading lamp, water carafe, and ever-growing jewelry and accessories collection, allows Quinn autonomy over her bedtime routine. “She had grown out of her old room,” says Berry. “This gives her the freedom to find her own way and let her figure out how she wants to move within the space.”
Dream Big
Secretary Dresser Desk with Hutch
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Top: On Quinn: ALPINE FLOWERS LONG SLEEVE T-SHIRT, ALPINE FLOWERS LEGGINGS; mini Rodini. Above: Light Wood Bed with Canopy, Backseat Wood Desk Chair, Gromm Shape Abstract Rug, Speedway Organic Pink Quilt, Wood Secretary Dresser Desk, and Swivel Wall Sconce, Domino x Crate & Kids; Cherry and Pineapple Velvet Cushions, Meri Meri.
Kids Pink Shroom Table Lamp, Rook 4-Shelf Bookcase and Cube Bin with Divider, Domino x Crate & Kids; Collapsible Storage Bins, Hay; Paper Flowers, The Green Vase, Vitra x Virgil Abloh Block, 1stDibs; Italian Ball Candle, MoMA.
Above: Sol Large Framed Wall Art, Speedway Organic Pink Quilt, and Speedway Shapes Pink Sham, Domino x Crate & Kids; Prints, Mary Matson and Mini Rodini; Skateboard, Beastie Boys for Girl Skateboards; Wood Disc, Woodshop SF. Right: Pescadero Fabric Trundle Storage Bin, Domino x Crate & Kids
Backseat Wood Desk Chair with Metal Legs, Secretary Dresser Desk with Hutch, and Gromm Shape Abstract Rug, Domino x Crate & Kids.
Above: Two-Tone Natural Wood Dresser, Corner Hamper with Metal Frame, Domino x Crate & Kids; The Dots Coat Hooks, Muuto. Left: Each Hampton Curtain, Neiman Marcus; Milos Pillows, Heather Taylor Home; Renn Peach Memory Foam Chair, Renn Peach Pouf, Domino x Crate & Kids.
Rook 4-Shelf Bookcase
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Speedway Organic Pink Quilt
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Two-Tone Natural Wood Dresser
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Kids Nightstand with Corkboard
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Backseat Wood Desk Chair
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Kids Nightstand with Corkboard, Domino x Crate & Kids.
Above: Two-Tone Natural Wood Dresser, Corner Hamper with Metal Frame, Domino x Crate & Kids; The Dots Coat Hooks, Muuto. Top: Each Hampton Curtain, Neiman Marcus; Milos Pillows, Heather Taylor Home; Renn Peach Memory Foam Chair, Renn Peach Pouf, Domino x Crate & Kids.