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About Sheila Bridges

Recognized for her classic, yet versatile design aesthetic and critical eye, Sheila Bridges is considered a creative visionary and design tastemaker. Bridges has solved complex design problems and created beautiful residences and offices for a diverse group of high-profile clients including the official residence of Vice President Kamala Harris and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, as well as the 8,300 square foot Harlem offices for former President Bill Clinton and his staff. Bridges’ interiors are not only informed by architecture and historical references, but are often colorful and multi-layered. Her visual cultural translations, including her renowned Harlem Toile, have been showcased in museums around the country, Canada and Europe including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Studio Museum of Harlem, The Museum of Art and Design in New York City, The Museum of the City of New York, and Musée De La Toile De Jouy in Jouy-en Josas France. Bridges is also honored to have her designs included in the permanent collections of the Brooklyn Museum, The Smithsonian CooperHewitt National Design Museum, The RISD Museum, The Philadelphia Museum of Art, The National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) in Washington, DC and the Victoria and Albert Museum.

1964

Sheila Bridges is born in Philadelphia, the younger of two children. “I loved drawing and helping my dad, whose hobby was photography, develop

darkroom,” she says.

1970s

Sheila Bridges

A brief history of a brilliant

1982

Matriculates at Brown University. During her junior year, she studies in Rome and travels throughout Europe. “Another world opened up to me—one of art, architecture, design, fashion, and beauty. I found inspiration in travel, and I still do.”

PRODUCED BY ALYSSA BIRD

career

Bridges with her father at University.Brown

1988

Shifts gears and takes a position at the architecture

& Associates (now SheltonMindel). Two years later, she decamps for Renny B. Saltzman Interiors.

1993 Moves into the Harlem apartment where she still resides today. “I love the neighborhood’s history, culture, and architecture,” she says. “It’s where feel most at home.”

2001

Is tapped to decorate former president Bill

Later that year, Time names her “America’s Best Interior Designer.”

2007

wallpaper—Harlem Toile de Jouy, for Studio Printworks— Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum installs the pattern in its permanent collection. Her designs can also be found at the Brooklyn Museum and Washington, D.C.’s National Museum of African American History & Culture. “It’s a real honor to have my work in museums,” says Bridges, whose other creative endeavors include tableware, bedding, clothing, and furniture.

1986

Upon graduating with a degree in sociology, Bridges enrolls in a buyers’ training program at Bloomingdale’s. After working in the menswear department for a year, she continues in men’s fashion at Giorgio Armani.

While growing up, she makes frequent visits to a Virginia farm owned by her mother’s family. “It encouraged my love of nature and animals,” says Bridges, who purchased her own 13acre farm along the Hudson River in Germantown in 1999. “I always thought I’d become a veterinarian.”

2015

Purchases an apartment in Reykjavik, Iceland. “It’s my special place, where go to unplug and unwind. I’m an urban farm girl, and the culture there is all about the outdoors.”

2018

Joins the advisory board of the newly formed Black Artists + Designers Guild, an online directory of black creatives. “This industry hasn’t always embraced me,” Bridges bang my head against ways to make things happen. But it’s important that I’m visible to young people of color who may not know that this is a viable career path.”

1992

Completes a part-time interior design program at Parsons School of Design. During this period, she also studies decorative arts in Florence.

1994

Launches Sheila Bridges Design. “I landed a big freelance client—the founder of Uptown Records, Andre Harrell— which allowed me to go out on my own,” she recounts. “That was my big break.” During the rest of the ’90s, she goes on to decorate homes in Los Angeles, Boston, Washington, D.C., Denver, Martha’s Vineyard, and London, among other locales.

2002

Hosts the television show Sheila Bridges: Designer Living, which airs on the Fine Living Network for four seasons. She also book, Furnishing Forward: A Practical Guide to Furnishing for a Lifetime

2013

Publishes her second book, The Bald Mermaid: A Memoir (Pointed Leaf Press), which touches on her 2005 alopecia diagnosis, among other personal experiences. “It was an outlet to express what was going on at the time. wanted to tell my story.”

2016

Sells her farm (including her chickens, donkeys, sheep, and goats) and begins working on a new, smaller house near Hudson. “The goal was to downsize,” she says.

“Now have only one horse, and can’t even ride him because he’s 40 years old!”

2019

“Looking ahead, I’d love to tackle the world of design even more. In order to have clarity and keep moving forward, you have to love what you’re doing and really believe in it.”

Backdrop: Bridges’s Harlem Toile de Jouy, which she designed for Studio Printworks.

Presidents Bill Clinton and designed for Clinton in Harlem.

Works by Kara Walker amplify a Bridges project on Central Park West.

SHEILA BRIDGES AND HER WORK HAVE BEEN FEATURED IN THE FOLLOWING PUBLICATIONS

Press

MOST RECENTLY, SHEILA HAS APPEARED IN…

Social Media

likes

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About Harlem Toile

As an African American living in Harlem, I have always been intrigued and inspired by the historical narrative of the decorative arts, especially traditional French toile– with its pastoral motifs from the late 1700s. I'm entertained by the stories these patterns tell and the questions they sometimes raise. However, after searching many years for the perfect toile for my own home, I decided that it quite simply didn’t exist. I created Harlem

Toile de Jouy in 2006 initially as a wall covering, that has since expanded to a collection including fabrics, wall decals, bedding, dinnerware, glassware, umbrellas, candles, and clothing, often in collaboration with other brands such as Union Los Angeles, Williams Sonoma, Wedgwood, L’or de Seraphine, The Met, and more.

This design (which lampoons some of the stereotypes deeply woven into the African American experience,) has been featured in The Studio Museum In Harlem, the Museum of Art and Design in New York City, and the Musée De La Toile De Jouy in Jouy-en Josas, France. I am honored to have my Harlem Toile De Jouy wallpaper included in permanent collections of the Brooklyn Museum, The Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, The RISD Museum, and most recently, The National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) in Washington, DC and The Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Exhibitions

BRIDGES’ DESIGNS HAVE BEEN EXHIBITED AND FEATURED IN THE FOLLOWING MUSEUMS

Brand Identity

Sheila Bridges is known for her distinctive design style that can be described as classic, timeless and sophisticated, with a keen appreciation for craftsmanship and cultural diversity. Her contributions to the literary, interior and product design fields demonstrate her versatility and enduring appeal.

ECLECTICISM

Bridges often incorporates a mix of styles, periods, and cultural influences into her designs. This creates layered, dynamic spaces that feel rich in history yet relevant to contemporary tastes.

ATTENTION TO DETAIL

Her designs are characterized by meticulous attention to detail. Whether it's in the choice of materials, furniture selection, or decorative accents, every element is carefully curated to enhance the overall aesthetic.

COLOR & PATTERN

Bridges is known for her bold use of color and pattern. She isn't afraid to experiment with vibrant hues or intricate patterns, creating spaces that are visually stimulating and full of personality.

CROSS-CULTURAL

Drawing inspiration from her travels and personal experiences, Bridges infuses her designs with global influences. This results in spaces that feel worldly and well-traveled, yet cohesive and harmonious.

TARGET MARKET & DEMO

30-60+ year olds who value craftsmanship, cultural diversity and high-quality design solutions.

Licensing Partners

In her latest collaboration with Williams Sonoma, award-winning interior designer Sheila Bridges created these evocative plates, inspired by the landscape surrounding her home in Reykjavik, Iceland. The “Highlands” collection plates are each artfully embellished with a translucent tonal pattern in cool shades of blue and green, made of porcelain and highlighted by brilliant gold detailing.

Bridges designed an exclusive collection of five inspired patterns for The Shade Store, including her acclaimed Harlem Toile du Jouy design that are available in 45 colors on 12 different materials for roller shades, roman shades, custom drapes, cornices and pillows.

Le Creuset and Sheila Bridges, two design icons, have come together to create a stoneware collection that leverages Le Creuset’s rich design history as the perfect complement to Harlem Toile de Jouy,. The collection features a pitcher, four mugs and cast iron round dutch oven design that will be sold online and in-stores exclusively at Le Creuset and Bloomingdale’s.

This collaboration sees Sheila's popular design meet Wedgwood's fine bone Jasperware china, for a collection that celebrates art as a tool for storytelling and change. The collection is part of The Cameron Museum’s permanent collection, and is also available at Bloomingdale’s and Selfridges.

Custom collection of palm wax candles encased in ceramic containers featuring select Harlem Toile de Jouy designs.

In another collaboration with Union LA, Bridges created a capsule collection for Converse featuring the iconic Chuck Taylor All Star sneaker, a hoodie and bucket hat– all in her signature Harlem Toile print. The hoodie and sneakers are now a part of RISD Museum’s permanent collection in Providence, RI.

A limited collection of two long evening gowns in Bridges' signature Harlem Toile designed by New York’s finest bridal atelier, Mark Ingram.

Her first collaboration with streetwear brand Union, originally started as just a request for Bridges’s Harlem Toile wallpaper to go up in their Tokyo store, and quickly turned into a menswear capsule collection featuring button-down shirts, hoodies, shorts and t-shirts in several color ways. The collection was sold in Union stores and by Nordstrom as one of their New Concept brand features.

No stranger to successful bedding designs, Sheila had always wanted to reinterpret her Harlem Toile pattern in silk. Designed to be both cultural and collectable, the Gingerlily x Sheila Bridges collection comprises of silk pillowcases, decorative cushions, eiderdowns, eye masks, head wraps, kaftans and robes in an interpretation of the Harlem toile. Each item is made from Gingerlily’s signature finest quality pure mulberry silk and is presented in a choice of three colors: ivory, blue and lilac.

In collaboration with Artisan Books, Sheila Bridges created a curated array of 12 perforated wrapping paper sheets and matching gift tags from her globally recognized beautiful patterns and designs.