For Raleigh native Niki McNeill, founder and principal designer of SingleBubblePop, some of her greatest inspiration emerges through stillness, which she applies to every design project. Evolving from a pre-med student to a television production assistant, McNeill navigated a unique path to where she is today. Here, she shares other driving forces behind her work. “I was fortunate enough to study abroad in Florence, Italy, for a semester, and the allure of Tuscany never left me! Combining that with my Southern roots has been a huge inspiration for me. Both Italian and Southern cultures revolve around family and hospitality, which is the focus of a lot of my projects. Mixing heirloom pieces with multi-generational comfort is what I love to do!”
“When a client asked me to design her Dutch Colonial farmhouse, we were sure to layer in tons of color and traditional silhouettes. My client was inspired by nature and animals, so we included this pheasant-centered toile wallpaper in a vibrant blue.”
Currey & Company Zara Medium Lantern / $980 / furniturelandsouth.com
Pink Italian Florentine Tray / $199 / chairish.com
York Wallcovering Exotic Plumes in AF1947 / to the trade / yorkwall.com
Howard Elliott Marquette Mirror / $975 / colorfulconceptsinteriordesign.com
Vintage Hand-painted Screen / $1,500 / chairish.com
Kravet Lyford Chair by Jan Showers / to the trade / ahokelimited.com