Meet The Designer- Niki Stoller

This month we have the pleasure of interviewing the high end interior designer, Niki Stoller. Niki launched Seventh Bixel a few years ago and took over a series of passion projects from editorial styling for blogs, designing events, and styling interior spaces.

Read the full interview below.

What inspires you and your design work?  

Everything.  I am inspired by music, artwork, street style of how people dress, and design articles.

What trends are you seeing in interiors lately? And, is there anything you particularly love? 

I am seeing a lot of layering old and new.  The look of interior perfection seems to be on pause while people are embracing the worn look, patinas, and the scratches of what looks like 100 year old stone. I think that it gives people a sense of ease to live in their home and not feel that it needs to appear perfect. I'm also seeing a lot of great millwork in rooms and then washing them out in one solid paint color.  I recently came across a study in Luxe Magazine that had gorgeous traditional floor to ceiling millwork and it was painted a solid smokey blue that was incredibly elegant.  In regards to tile, I am seeing a lot of bold colors and patterns taking the forefront this season. 

How do you combine beauty and function? 

I believe that when it comes to the bones of your home, which are the tiles, your cabinet design, slabs and plumbing fixtures that this is where you add beauty. Don't stress over what tile is fool proof, what counter is the easiest to maintain because if a space is beautiful and your selections are unique and make you feel good and you just love that tile you chose, then you will enjoy the space more.  Function to me, comes into play in your soft furnishings.  Performance fabrics on seating and selecting a mixture of accent pieces that don't break the bank and can be easily swapped out.

What’s your favorite project to date and why? 

My project at 418 and 418.5 Larkspur has been my favorite project so far.  I was hired by an investor and KRS Development to work alongside Brandon Architect on a spec duplex right in the CdM village.  I was given a budget and creative freedom.  When you have the freedom as a designer to choose all the materials and palettes yourself your best work shows.

How do you define success? 

Through Hard work.  At the end of the day, I am a mother first and my career comes second.  I have to find the time to balance these worlds so when I complete a project and I feel good about how it turned out that, to me, is success.  It's always the cherry on top when your client or crew feels the same way as you and of course being referred from one client to the next is always reassuring.

What’s the best part about your job? 

Selecting tiles.  There is just something about merchandising tiles in a home that makes me happy.  Its like choosing a print palette for your home that brands your style.  I always choose my tiles first and then move to plumbing and appliances.

What do you love most about the Famosa Showroom? 

I love that the Famosa showroom is bright and impeccably organized.  There are inspirational palettes of tiles laid out on the floor and work stations.  It is a designers dream walking into here with everything organized in coordinating palettes.  I've been to several tile showrooms across Southern California and in Atlanta, GA and there just isn't anything that compares.  It goes beyond the showroom really for me.  You can be wowed by a retailer, but when the product comes in for subs, Famosa goes the extra mile in coordinating shipping and providing the designers with samples for their clients.

Do you have any particular goals for your career/business in the future?

I don’t have a set of specific stepping stones that I feel the need to achieve by a certain time table as I did when I was younger. My goals now are learning to give myself grace and reminding myself that I’ve reinvented my career after having kids and that learning construction and installation methods takes time. My goals today consist more of create more, learn more.  

I started off my design career in the action sports industry working for brands such as Rip Curl and Billabong.  I oversaw apparel design and development for womens /kids clothing.  When my twins were born,  I didn't want to return to the long hours of that world but I still felt the need to fulfill my creative side.  Fashion design and Interior design are parallel universes so the transition was an easier one than you might imagine.  Both fashion and interiors are a collection of color, print, textures, and finishes that are merchandised together to create a cohesive look.  Telling a story through an apparel line is no different than telling a story room by room of a home, it’s just a different bill of materials.

Thank you Niki!

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