DIY Tips From Our Showroom Designer Carrie Callaway

If you walked into our offices, we think you'd be impressed by the creativity of our beautiful eco-showroom and  kids' play area. No detail was overlooked, from the reclaimed wood walls to the handmade lighting and accessories. Designer-Artist Carrie Callaway created this one-of-a-kind space for Honest with the help of co-founder Jessica Alba. Here, she tells us her inspiration and the how-tos for putting the showroom together.

What type of design do you usually do?  What’s your background?

My background is in fine art. I received a bachelor’s from ULV in studio art, and an associates from FIDM in fashion design. I love everything having to do with art, design, textile, color theory, and composition. I find that most elements of good design span across the board and apply to every medium — from fashion, photography, interior design, fine art, graphic design, etc., which allows them to be intertwined. I have the most experience in fashion as a children’s wear designer and a screen print artist, as well as hand painting one-of-a-kind garments for an organic contemporary boutique. I'm always working on making, sewing, decorating, painting something in my spare time. It’s just what makes me tick.

When did you first connect with Jessica to discuss designing the showroom?

It was the end of June/early July [2013] when we met to discuss the design of the room. I fell in love with it when I saw it. That big space could be anything we imagined.

What design ideas did you decide on?  What feel did you both want the showroom to feature?

Working with Jessica is really great because she has a super sense of style. I love designing for people who have ideas and an understanding of art, and she does. This showroom is really important to her, we were combining two important components into one collective area — a beautiful display of Honest products and a beautiful play area for children. It was like combining two things dear to her — her company and her girls. Jessica had a vision of a safe space for little ones to play in if they came to visit mommy or daddy at work, and an area where we could market the products artfully. Were they together? Were they separate spaces? How do we tie our design in with this industrial building? We had all kinds of ideas for the space, and collaborated with pictures and clippings to decide on where we were headed. The possibilities were virtually endless, but we knew we wanted it to be clean, hip, fresh, and well, honest.

What were the challenges in designing the space?

I would say the most difficult part was the dark red brick walls of the building itself. The lease would not allow us to paint the brick or the concrete floor, so we had to design around it.  We both loved the idea of covering the brick somehow, and I felt like we needed to bring in a natural element to soften and contrast the hard concrete, industrial lights, and exposed metal air ducts. I had my builders frame and attach a second wall to the brick made out of recycled pallets — many of which came from the Honest warehouse. The difficult part of this was making sure that outlets and safety panels are accessible, and that the wall met all electrical and safety codes for an industrial facility. (The pallet wall is an idea all over Pinterest, but you really have to know what you’re doing to pull this off safely.)  The pallet walls are 12 feet tall.  Then we stacked the darling Honest boxes on top of that, giving us over 16 feet of coverage, which leads your eye away from the brick, and also carries the Honest logo into the room.

We love those cloud pillows in our new crib — do you know where those are from?

Lol! I do — I made them! I made all the bedding in the crib. Everything was custom made for the showroom.

What are a few items you love in the space, where are they from?

My favorite thing is probably the fairy light tree. I love that tree. It evolved from being a chandelier to a little tree to a 24 foot monster tree! We were just obsessed with making it. I am proud to say that I designed/built/installed it myself—all 24 feet of it!  (Someone got power tools for her birthday.)

I also love the moon chair. I saw a photo of a crib display in a French boutique that was a moon, but it wasn’t functional. The overall urban look of our space needed some soft whimsical elements to tell a better story. This inspired me to design and build an actual reading chair in the three-dimensional shape of a moon. For this, I enlisted the help of an incredibly skilled master builder, my father-in-law. He helped me with several build projects for the showroom, bless his heart. If I was smart, I would have him teach me everything he knows.

And the playhouse is just so fun! Jessica saw a beautiful play structure with a geometric leaf pattern on the front that she adored, and from there we came up with this clean and simple design. It was custom built on site by my builders. Honor came to test drive it one day and said, “Mommy can it have a door on the front?”  Me: “Of course it can have a door!”  Jessica: “And maybe curtains too so the bottom level could be a clubhouse, or a store, or anything she could imagine.” The round lodge pole pine is from C & E Lumber Co. in Pomona, which happens to be owned by my husband.

Oh, and the “HONEST” marquee lights look even more amazing than I dreamed they would. Those were a labor of love.

What would most people be surprised to know about designing this showroom?

Merchandising is an integral part of designing for a public space. Product placement evolved several times within the project, and eventually we ended up with wall mounted modular boxes that featured the Honest products. The wood worked as a natural backdrop for the corrugated galvanized metal walls I constructed — this tied the two ends of the large industrial room together. I custom made the wooden boxes and outsourced some custom fabricated acrylic boxes as well. The magical Jenny Berkley is a merchandising and product display genius! She arranged and placed all the product for us and was instrumental in helping with the design and arrangement of the displays — she has a very artful eye.

What are some basic decorating concepts to keep in mind when designing a nursery or any kind of space?

“If it looks beautiful to you, chances are it will look beautiful to someone else.”  Diane Von Furstenberg said this to me in a meet-and-greet when I was in college. I think about it every single time I work on a project, no matter what kind it is. I would also tell people not to be afraid of color and of mixing patterns and prints. Don’t always do the same thing, step out of your own box once in a while. Don’t go with what is ultra-trendy at the time — those things tend to change quickly, plus your work will look like everyone else’s. Spend your money on timeless well-made furniture, fixtures, and wall treatments — the rest can be done on a budget with a little ingenuity and a DIY attitude. Plus, you can change it around later on when you want to freshen up the look of a room, or decorate seasonally.

What decorating advice do you give to your best friends?

First, choose the overall look and feel of your room — make a design board to collect all your ideas. It's the most logical and clear approach, especially for those who aren't designers. On the board you can put snippets of color, texture, pictures of window treatments, lighting, decor, furniture, carpet, rugs, etc. Evolve that into a second board of what you have to work with in real life, and go from there. Getting inspired by what you love really helps to create a space you enjoy. Sometimes you can work with what you have, and other times you change it, every space is different.

Anything else you think we should know?

The coffee machine at The Honest Company is amazing.

To learn more about Carrie and her work, visit her site Scarlet Harlow and follow her on Pinterest.

Thanks, Carrie! Share your favorite DIY tips for overcoming design challenges and share pictures, too! #HonestDIY