Nesting instinct

Bird decor makes homes cozy in tough times

In recent years, there has been a growing trend toward adorning homes with a variety of decor featuring birds and their nests.

Images of nests and birds abound, fluttering forth from places ranging from Cracker Barrel restaurants and Hobby Lobby craft stores to the pages of Vogue. In a feature on actress Gwyneth Paltrow’s Manhattan penthouse, Alameda, Calif.-based blacksmith Shawn Lovell’s $18,500 white iron canopy-style bed - featuring posts depicting four trees rising up with their branches meeting in the center to cradle a bird’s nest - steals the show.

Our nest is blessed.

“Nesting” is used to describe the phenomenon of a woman, great with child and nearing labor, experiencing a sudden burst of energy and tackling a large project in a small amount of time - decorating the nursery or scrubbing down the refrigerator.

Nest: a place of retreat, (n.) rest, or lodging

A recent Google Internet search of the phrase “Our nest is blessed” turned up nearly 1.6 million results, while another search for “blessed nest” scored more than 6.9 million hits.

It’s unlikely the trend was inspired by the “Put a bird on it” sketch from the comedy Portlandia. Are we fluffing our nests to comfort ourselves during tough times?

Interior designer Tobi Fairley of Little Rock agrees that incorporating birds, nests, and other motifs from nature has become a recent trend, noting its growing popularity in recent months and that it may be tied to our recent tough financial times.

“Birds are representations of freedom and inspiration for many cultures,” Fairley says.

“And birds’ nests represent a new chapter in our lives. In uncertain economic times, it’s understandable that people want to be reminded of renewal and spring with bird and nest motifs,” she adds. And Fairley notes that images of birds can add a wide range of color when incorporated into interior design.

When times are tough, items like pillows and other decorative items are a quick, easy, and inexpensive way to change up the look of a room, says Chris Clement, owner of Clement. in Little Rock.

“If you use items that you truly like and are appealing to you and you aren’t just doing it to be trendy, you will be happy with the outcome,” he says.

This extends to all aspects of nature.

“We’re seeing a lot more use of natural items in decorating, not just nests and birds but also antlers, tortoise shells and other elements from nature,” Clement says.

Alexis Jonnson, style design director for Nest magazine, based in New York, believes the popularity of nature-theme decor may spring from the lack of natural elements in ever-expanding cities and suburbs.

“My theory on the growing popularity of birds and nests in home decor is that with so much of our urban environment shrinking with the living spaces in our apartments getting smaller and our outdoor areas getting smaller, there’s a growing desire to bring natural items into the home,” Jonnson says, adding that she has noticed more birds in home decor.

“I have seen this in several forms, from whimsical to vintage and even in a Hitchcockian style of black fluttering birds, which adds a slightly darker element.”

She believes that as technology advances, along with it comes a growing desire to bring warmth back into homes.

“We’re using our iPads to run everything in our homes,” Jonnson says. “And this type of art helps to warm up the space.”

Even the magazine Jonnson works for, launched in 2005 by the publishers of The Knot that aimed at newlyweds setting up their first homes together, takes its name from a bird’s abode.

“Our logo has brackets around it to symbolize a comfortable, nesting environment to create these … havens and environments in which we live,” Jonnson says of the publication, which targets readers 25 to 34. It’s published digitally and can be read online; a print issue is published quarterly. The company also publishes books on interior design.

Meanwhile, birds seem to be in artwork, too, says Renee Williams, owner of Gallery 26 in Little Rock. “A lot of the artists here - Julie Holt, Erin Lorenzen, and Mindy Lacefield - incorporate birds into their work. I think it’s about comfort; birds are always a symbol of hope. I find that artwork with birds has soul in it and is comforting and meaningful.”

Williams says that during the recent recession, she saw art sales at her gallery increase rather than decrease.

“Since 2008, I think people are staying at home more now because of the recession, and they want to surround themselves there with things of substance that they value.”

HomeStyle, Pages 33 on 03/29/2014

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