Shopping with the pros: Sheila Bridges’s favorite picks from Anthropologie

By Mari-Jane Williams,

The Washington Post Anthropologie

This is part of a series in which we ask designers and other tastemakers to share their favorite products from one store and how they would use them.

Frank Frances

Designer Sheila Bridges. (Frank Frances)

Like many of us, New York interior designer Sheila Bridges has spent more than her fair share of time at home this year. It’s understandable that people are looking for ways to refresh their surroundings, she says, as the pandemic continues — with no end in sight.

“I think people are looking for a way to bring some joy and happiness into our lives, particularly because of the level of uncertainty we’re all experiencing,” she says.

For Bridges, who designed the Harlem offices of former president Bill Clinton and his staff, that has meant a new paint color for a bathroom in her home and a fun set of juice glasses printed with the work of an artist she admires.

[Shopping with the pros: A designer says these 8 Crate & Barrel staples will go with any space]

She decided to take us shopping (virtually) at Anthropologie because she likes the store’s range of styles. “It’s a little more diverse stylistically,” she says. “It’s contemporary but at the same time traditional.”

That matches well with her own design aesthetic, which she describes as a mix of “old and new, vintage and modern.” Blending styles, she says, “makes for a more interesting interior.”

Here are Bridges’s picks from Anthropologie, including those colorful juice glasses she bought earlier this year.

Anthropologie

Anthropologie

Bridges owns French artist and designer
Nathalie Lete’s tropical juice glasses
($12 each), and she suggests using them for juice or wine. The glasses are hand-wash only.

Reversible bedding is a plus for Bridges, because it feels like you’re getting two for the price of one, she says. The
reversible airy gauze quilt
($228-$278) is made of breathable, lightweight cotton and is machine washable. It comes in white, light gray, mint, dusty pink, ochre and brown. Bridges prefers to use neutral tones in bedding to create a calm environment for sleeping.

Anthropologie

Anthropologie

Bridges likes the detailing and shape of the 10-inch round brass
olive leaf mirror
($58) and suggests using it in an entryway, on a powder-room wall or in a collection with other mirrors.

The
velvet Elowen chair
($398), with a plush upholstered seat, brass legs and a brass handle on the back, caught Bridges’s eye because of its clean lines and simple design. She likes it in emerald — green is one of her favorite colors — but it also comes in five other colors.

Anthropologie

Anthropologie

Anthropologie

Bridges said she chose the
Adriene rug ($598-$2,598) because she likes the color and texture of the tufted wool, and its abstract, geometric diamond pattern reminds her of rugs she has bought in Morocco.

Everyone needs a little fun in their homes right now, Bridges says. She envisions this
raccoon table lamp
($198) as a whimsical touch in a child’s room. The 13-inch resin lamp takes a 10-watt bulb and comes in brass or white.

Mixed-metal finishes are a popular trend in kitchens and bathrooms, and the
Lusso handles ($18-$36) take the guesswork out of combining metals. The handles come in sizes ranging from three to 12 inches and combine iron and brass or silver and copper for an industrial look.

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