from the paintings on the walls. It was one of the most challenging rooms to design, Bergquist says.
“ That has been the room that created the most stress for us,” she says.“ To create a garden haven in the middle of a building, and to make it really feel full of plants and dark and moody, was challenging.”
A bright boardroom echoes a 1970s Swedish living room, with pops of orange carpet and pillows, with rattan chairs and cobalt Roman shades providing counterbalance. But it’ s the lofty book club room that steals the show on the second floor. It’ s done in dusty pinks and golden velvets, with touches of burnished brass and photographs and paintings of women smiling down from all angles. A vintage rug scored through with pink was a last-minute find that ties the room together: Bergquist and Holland found it online, with Bergquist driving to New York City the next day to retrieve it, rolling it into place a mere six hours before The Alcove opened its doors.
Just a few small landscaping touches to the building’ s outdoor garden and second-floor patio spaces, and the space will truly be finished. The entire project, from conception to design and follow-through, is what can happen when women come together without restraint or any preconceived notions of what is possible.
“ This has just been an example of teamwork extraordinaire,”
Bergquist says.
“ The building, the design and the organization itself is proof of concept that when you bring women together— across talents, across industries, across silos— and you create community toward shared goals of uplifting each other, there’ s real magic that’ s possible,” Strauss says. alcoveri. org 🆁
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