THIS SPREAD, CLOCKWISE FROM INSET LEFT: A“ seeds of wisdom” tree where guests are encouraged to leave notes of insight, hope and encouragement; the library focuses on biographies and memoirs of notable women; a portrait of a smiling woman in a dining nook served as the design team’ s muse; a conversation nook in the gallery space, where the exhibit“ Founders and Inventors Who Shaped the World” runs through the end of the year.
its airy spaces and iron-wrought exterior, while Pernilla Bergquist of Pernilla Interiors worked with The Alcove’ s design committee and Executive Director Amanda E. Strauss to wrap each room in playful touches of Scandinavian color and whimsy. Each room has a theme.
On the first floor, the first room visitors enter is a gallery— one of the world’ s only permanent portrait galleries dedicated to women and gender expansive people, Strauss says.
“ Even if you’ re at the National Portrait Gallery, only up to 25 to 30 percent of their collections feature women. Women have been underrepresented in portraiture, and therefore our accomplishments haven’ t been written into the visual record,” she says.
The current exhibit—“ Founders and Inventors Who Shaped the World”— pays homage to women’ s ideas, activism and inventions. Gertrude I. Johnson and Mary T. Wales, the founders of Johnson & Wales University, are represented, as are forty others. The show runs through the end of 2026. Innovative materials like cork flooring and reverberation-suppression drywall cut down on echoes in the spacious area to help foster conversations.
An adjoining library holds biographies and memoirs of noteworthy women, divided into sections, with soothing green shelving and walls softening the space. Two moss-green velvet armchairs are artfully arranged before the fireplace, welcoming conversation. It’ s one of the many seating nooks scattered throughout the building adorned with luxe fabrics and bright, embroidered pillows, many handmade by Bergquist.
Many of those nooks were imperiled when President Trump’ s tariffs hit imports and the prices for commercial seating and decor skyrocketed. Bergquist pivoted, purchasing local vintage pieces with good bones and choosing jewel-toned, commercial-grade fabrics to reupholster them with. In the end, the pieces all work together, giving the space an eclectic, chic and vintage look.
Members’ spaces— a lush atrium, board room, kitchen and elegant book club room— are located on the second floor.
The verdant atrium space is fringed with potted plants and trees, with teal, green and indigo velvet sofas matching hues pulled
40 RHODE ISLAND MONTHLY I APRIL 2026