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n a world where children and families are suffering, how could an interior design career be a worthy calling? Lakewood resident Shelly Rosenberg asked herself the question during a “midlife growth spurt.” She’d been raising two daughters, both attending the Shelton School for students with learning differences, when son Ronen was born with Down syndrome. She figured, “It’s my lot,” and embraced a difficult but fulfilling lifestyle surrounded by other families she loved who also grappled with chronic illness, limited mobility, and other lifelong conditions. Exemplified in her work on the prestigious 2021 Kips Bay Decorator Show House, Rosenberg is gifted, driven enough to hold her own alongside world-famous firms and professionals. But before reaching her potential, she had to realize design is not “puffery” and it has the power to change lives. Riding a wave of recent notoriety, the Acorn & Oak founder is on a mission to demystify interior design and make safe, chic spaces possible for every household. EVERYONE’S VYING FOR YOUR TIME THESE DAYS — HOW ARE YOU JUGGLING ALL THIS?
Every time I start to feel negative I have to remind myself that I’ve been working on manifesting all these things for a while, so it is cool. I think all mothers are amazing multitaskers. When you have disabled kids, maybe it’s divine help. I think we get some kind of cosmic boost because it’s such a hard job.
D ES I G N FO R L I F E By approaching accessibility as an opportunity rather than an obligation, Shelly Rosenberg became a rising star in the interior-decorating industry
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Interview by CHRISTINA HUGHES BABB | Photography by JESSICA TURNER
12 lakewood.advocatemag.com DECEMBER 2021
CAN YOU TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOUR EARLY LIFE?
I went through what I would call a very colorful childhood. I think I am a deeper, humbler, more honed person because of it. It’s why as a divorced and single mom to two babies, I fought to be the best person I could be. Five years into that I met
