Welcome to Nest by Tamara

Welcome to Nest by Tamara
Tamara Matthews Stephenson is the creative talent behind this journal dedicated to interior design, history and lifestyle inspiration. With a passion for design and a keen eye for aesthetics, she shares her expertise and insights. Tamara has established herself as a prominent figure in the world of interior design and her design philosophy is rooted in the idea that a well-designed home can elevate the quality of life. Beyond her writing, She is an interior designer and textile designer as the Creative Director and Owner of root cellar designs, LLC, an artisan line of textile and wallpaper. Connect with Tamara through email at rootcellardesings@gmail.com

Highlights from the Antique Diva's brunch in Paris during Maison Objet


Spring Inspiration:
Shopping Antiques at the 
Marche aux Puces de Saint-Ouen (Paris Flea Market)
then brunch with Toma Clark Haines of the Antiques Diva
We were sponsored to attend Paris Design Week by the 
Comite Colbert to cover interior design, antiques and fashion
this year
photography by Gabby Stephenson






With spring in the air, we are reflecting back to a few weeks ago during our fantastic trip to Paris when we attended interior design show Maison Objet.  While in the City of Lights, we were invited to Toma's brunch in the Paris Flea Market, the Marches aux Puce hosted by Paul Bert Serpette.  This was a wonderful medley of connecting with friends and gleaning inspiration from the Market, which showcases the French's special tonic of combining antiques into vignettes in a fresh, moderne manner.  Toma is a powerhouse, a force to be reckoned with in the industry and she has singlehandedly created a unique, rich antique source like no other with her around-the-world tours to sleuth out antiques.  The now annual brunch she hosts in Paris is a highlight for me, and this year she brought together shelter magazine gurus to talk about where we are collectively headed in design today.  

About The Antique Diva tours:
If you are considering taking a trip to Europe to source antiques, I highly recommend traveling with Toma, and not only because she is the only approved official Guide of the Paris Flea Markets with Paul Bert Serpette, but because she brings you to the off- the-beaten-track places and makes it a fun, educational experience to boot!  Read about The Antique Diva's collaboration with Paul Bert Serpette here.  When touring with the Antiques Diva, the expert Antiques Guides pick you up from your hotel, take you to the famed Paris Flea Market (with 15 districts and over 2,000 vendors across 7 miles of antique-filled alleyways).  Based upon your style and budget, they custom design the tour to fit your needs utilizing their myriad relationships with the vendors and packers.  They offer one-on-one customized private buying tours in 8 countries - France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, England and Italy.  During the tours, they translate, negotiate, liaise clients with international shippers to help them get their purchases home sweet home.  That is real value in my book!

Happy Nesting
XO Tamara
Toma Clark Haine's of the Antiques Diva

a set of vintage Hermes plates - wishing I had snapped these up