Shopping with... Serena & Lily

After raising the bar for nursery décor with their line of stylish, graphic crib bedding, Serena & Lily is poised to do the same for the master bedroom, with new, expansive, and ultra-sophisticated furniture, bedding, textiles, and accessories collections aimed at adults. Recently, we sat down with Serena Dugan, the creative force behind the brand, to tap into her design inspiration and chat further about the company’s new directions.

The Inside Source: What made you want to do an adult line?

Serena Dugan: Well, from the time we started in baby we always felt like we had more to say around the house, and we had already done a natural extension into children’s spaces because our customers asked for it. Then we found out our customers were using our kid’s bedding in guest rooms and other adult spaces—which was great, but it wasn’t entirely our vision of what a master bedroom would look like. So we introduced a few master bedroom collections in fall of last year, and they were so well received we expanded the line, and added upholstery and a series of classic white sheets this season.

TIS: What inspires your aesthetic?

SD: I like a mix of styles personally, so I’m really open to inspiration from a broad range of sources. I’m inspired by travel and indigenous textiles, whether they're from Morocco or Turkey or Africa. I’m also inspired by fashion and techniques in fashion, like beadwork or fringe or layering.

TIS: What are some of your favorite items in your new line?

SD: I am particularly fond of the Jaipur print, which looks really great as a headboard and mixes well with the classic whites bedding. It’s a good way to introduce pattern in the room without being too overwhelming. I also really love what we’re doing with the Bazaar.

TIS: What’s the Bazaar?

SD: We travel for work a lot, always to Paris twice a year and have started adding side trips when we go to places like Morocco, Brussels, London, and Istanbul for inspiration. And what we found was there was so much that we were inspired by and wanted to buy but we weren’t sure how to get it back and how to justify the purchase. But then we made an outlet for one-off pieces online. It’s a platform for selling the props we use in our shoots, since we’ve always propped with fantastic pieces and never had an outlet for them. The Bazaar killed a couple birds with one stone—it gave us an excuse to shop, and it was a reason for putting a lot of time and energy into one fabulous prop.

TIS: Back to nursery décor, are there any big trends you’re feeling at the moment?

SD: The chocolate and pink or blue color scheme is dead but the point of it is still on. Chocolate introduced a neutralizing base for a traditional palette. It’s not a traditional baby color but it softened the baby-ness of pink or pale blue. But now it’s overdone. What’s coming is a replacement acting on the same principle. It’s nice to have a neutralizing color—I think it’s grey. There are so many beautiful shades of grey that pair beautifully with pink. I love a Belgian grey—that warm shade of grey looks so beautiful with pink, and makes it feel more mature and sophisticated. There are so many shades of grey and it can take on so many different tones.

TIS: Are you an eBay shopper?

SD: Of course.

TIS: Are there certain things you buy over and over?

SD: I started using eBay to buy props for our photo shoots. I also use it to buy vintage jewelery—everything from Art Deco fine jewelry to Victorian fine jewelry to old costume jewelry and enamelware. I also buy a lot of textiles on eBay. Before everyoneknew what Suzanis were, I used to buy them on eBay. I occasionally buy ikat fabric on the site too. I’ve found some great sellers in Uzbekistan which is where the material is actually woven—it’s a great way to cut out the middle man. I also love Vera scarves and eBay is a neverending resource for Vera. She was so prolific. I see hundreds of her patterns on the site. Art-wise- I tend to like vintage abstracts. A great time period for vintage abstract was midcentury, and there are tons of great pieces from that era.

TIS: How do you search?

SD: I’m not a pro at search. I kind of let eBay do the work. I tend to leave my keywords really vague. I start out broad, using terms like “vintage” which at least does eliminate anything contemporary or recent, and refine by all the category options that are shown to the left of any search.

TIS: All time best purchases?

SD: There’s an old Kenneth Jay Lane enamel costume bracelet from the 60’s that I got that I absolutely love. I also have an abstract painting from the 50’s hanging in my hallway that I got on the site. I also bought my son’s dresser, which I painted orange and use as his changing table, on eBay. It’s the perfect size and height for what I needed and was a total score.

1. Untitiled #8 Painting by T. Berry Brazelton (winning bid, $150) “I love finding unknown, inexpensive 'outsider art.'  The graphic, primitive nature of this piece makes it perfect for a boy’s room.” 

2. Rare Uzbek Magnificent Silk Hand-Embroidery (winning bid, $285) “This vintage suzani would make great pillows or would be beautiful upholstering a small item like a bench. The colors are so unusual—it’s a find!”

3. Vintage Cartier 18K Enamel Band Ring from the 40’s/50’s (buy it now price, $1200) “This Cartier enamel ring from the 40’s/50’s is so fabulous.  If it could be resized I’d buy it!”

4. 1960’s Pair of Hollywood Regency Side Chairs (buy it now price, $499) “These yellow, 1960’s Hollywood Regency sidechairs are super fun. They’re a great accent as-is, or painted and reupholstered.”

5. Vintage 18K Diamond Sapphire Enamel Large Bee Brooch (buy it now price, $4450) “This bee brooch is truly exquisite. Vintage jewelry is always inspiring to me.”

6. Vintage Vera Ladybug Blue Green Psychedelic Scarf (sold for $16.99) “Vera scarves are so very collectible. This would make a perfect pillow for our Bazaar.”

7. Antique Persian Afshar Rug 1900-1930 (buy it now price, $950) “I have a thing for well-worn antique rugs. The color of this one is so unique and gorgeous.”

8. Large Cubist Abstract By Listed American Mel Fowler (buy it now price, $3000) “A stunning piece of art that could be the centerpiece of a beautiful room. So striking!”