Q & A: Serena Dugan

erena & Lily crib bedding: It’s the stuff that dreams are made of. This creative team is a favorite in the baby world for their beautiful textile designs and nursery decor.

We sat down with one half of the duo, Serena Dugan, for her thoughts on designing, decorating, and doing up the nursery.

The Cradle: In three words, describe the aesthetic of Serena & Lily.

Serena: Fresh, clean, tailored.

The Cradle: How did you get into the business of designing nursery collections?

Prior to meeting Lily, I was a decorative artist working with one of the big children’s furnishings companies designing original artwork for baby and children’s rooms, in addition to designing my own line of adult textiles. My personal design sensibility landed somewhere between those two worlds: I wanted to see baby bedding with a more grown-up, style-driven twist. When I met Lily, she owned a baby and children’s boutique and was desperately searching for the product that I had envisioned designing. We decided to partner and create what was missing in the marketplace.

The Cradle: What are the top things you take into consideration when designing pieces for your collections?

Serena: I consider:

• What our customers are asking for (colors, patterns, styling).
• Voids in the marketplace – I never want to repeat or imitate what’s already available.
• Color combination is critical – we need to love the colors, but then we need to consider if they suit their space and are "gender correct." Soon-to-be parents are very specific about what colors are appropriate for their little boy or little girl, and we have to be very sensitive to their vision, while pushing the limits a little bit.
• I always try to innovate. I try to push the boundaries of where we’ve been, what the industry as a whole is doing, and re-examine convention. For example, our new organic bedding collection includes hand wood-block prints in beautiful baby-friendly colors. The effect is beautiful… and no one else is doing it.

The Cradle: What long-term things should people think about when it comes to decorating the nursery?

Serena: I personally believe that the foundation you create for the nursery (for example the wall color, window coverings, or rut) should last well into the conversion to a big kid’s room. No one wants his or her furnishings to be disposable, so I advocate decorating that you can get some mileage out of. For example:

• Buy a dresser that has a removable changing table that can be placed on top, and then removed when baby is out of diapers.
   
• Choose a color palette for your nursery that can grow into their "big kid" room. Think of the nursery decor as the foundation for a room your child can grow into.
   
• If you’re going to decorate with a theme, choose items that are non-permanent and easy to trade in and out,