June 5, 2013Southern-born, New York–based stylists Nicki Clendening and Callie Jenschke launched their interiors firm Scout Designs in 2009, quickly earning acclaim for the layered, collected look of their projects. All photos courtesy of Patrick Cline
To Nicki Clendening and Callie Jenschke, the word “scout” conjures up everything they wanted their new interior design venture to embody: the thrill of the hunt, the search for unexpected possibilities and the spirit of adventure. And so, when deciding on a name for their business, the duo very quickly settled on Scout Designs. “It captures what we do everyday,” explains Jenschke. “Our work is all about the process of discovery.”
Sourcing the unique, whether from a Texas flea market or a French antiques shop on 1stdibs, Jenschke and Clendening create beautifully layered spaces, peppering them with contemporary art, global objets and hand-woven textiles. They live to create interesting juxtapositions: placing an ultramodern sofa in a prewar apartment, say, and then adding even more contrast with a Brutalist lamp and a sculptural marble Saarinen Tulip table. For them, being “all about the mix” means finding that thrilling tension between disparate elements — exotic Moroccan textiles with Texan cowhide rugs; flea-market art with antique Asian furniture; a Lucite coffee table with a classic English rolled-arm sofa — and then filtering everything through a global perspective. “We love creating spaces that have depth, that appear to have been designed over decades,” says Clendening.
The duo met in 2008 when Clendening, who had just left a career as a book publicist, and Jenschke, a former style editor for O at Home and Metropolitan Home, were both stylists at Manhattan’s rustic-chic Greenwich Hotel, in Tribeca. While filling the hotel’s public spaces and guest rooms with decorative accessories and books, they quickly realized that they had almost identical style sensibilities, not to mention similar rural Southern backgrounds. “We’re both as happy on the back of a horse as scouring the souks in Morocco,” says Jenschke. A year later, they founded their firm.
A few years later, after Jenschke’s Upper West Side studio apartment landed on the cover of Lonny, editors at TradHome (the Web-only joint venture between Lonny and Traditional Home), deemed the firm one of its 20 designers to watch. And in 2012, the International Furnishings & Design Association named them Rising Stars.
In this dining room, the global-minded designers combined a wedding trunk from Afghanistan and a pierced copper lantern from Morocco with “ram’s head” metal-wrapped dining chairs from India updated with custom teal patent-leather seats.
These days, Jenschke and Clendening are working on a trio of projects in Manhattan — apartments in Tribeca, Chelsea and the Philippe Starck–designed Gramercy Starck condominium. They’ve also launched an online store, Mercantile, from which they sell global finds including African headdresses and vintage Italian cocktail shakers, and they’ve ventured into product design, too, partnering with Moore & Gilles to make the Scout Studio Satchel. A leather bag created with designers in mind, it features compartments for samples, sketches and, of course, a laptop.
Jenschke and Clendening say their goal these days is to keep pushing the limits of design to create spaces that are as exciting as they are unexpected. According to Jenschke, “We are really ready to work with clients who will let us go all out. Our ideal client is adventurous, wants to think outside of the box — and is afraid of beige.”
“I learned early on what it takes to create something beautiful,” says Jenschke.
Hometown
Jenschke: Fredericksburg, Texas
Clendening: Pickens, South Carolina
Home Base
Jenschke: Upper West Side
Clendening: Harlem
Early Inspiration
Jenschke: I grew up in Texas surrounded by people who were passionate about design. My father and my grandfather were both builders who specialized in custom homes. My mom loved to renovate old houses — we moved five times before I graduated from high school. I learned early on what it takes to create something beautiful.
Clendening: There is a patina to the South that has really inspired me. I grew up with antiques and vintage art but nothing really new. Flea markets, antiques stores — those were our sources.
Big Break
Jenschke: In 2011, we were named one of the Top 20 new designers by TradHome alongside a group of amazing talents, such as Nick Olsen, Ron Marvin, Erika Powell and Tilton Fenwick. We still get together and powwow about handling contracts, clients and vendors. It’s like a young designer support group.
The black walls in Clendening’s living room allow her art, accessories and furniture to dramatically stand out.
A collection of all-white antique Chinese porcelain pieces looks graphic and modern atop a richly grained vintage wood cabinet.
AESTHETIC
Clendening: We thrive on creating a place that looks like it has been lived in and collected. We love the imperfect. We work with young clients all the time and our goals are to help them ditch the IKEA and to give them a foundation to build on. We tend to keep upholstery more quiet and tame, adding excitement with rugs, art, armoires and accessories.
Jenschke: We are always picking up objets, art, rugs — those details that give a place a layered, interesting look. We are obsessed with unique pieces. Nothing bores us more than walking into an apartment where everything is from one place. We look for pieces that are truly original, whether we’re at the flea market in Roundtop, Texas, the Brimfield Antique Show in Massachusetts or on 1stdibs. You can really build a room around one incredible piece. In my own apartment, my starting point was a vintage Indian textile that I have on the wall.
Creative Inspiration
Jenschke: We are in museums every week. It is such a creative shot of adrenaline to walk through the Met — the Islamic wing, the Costume Institute, the contemporary wing. We get so many ideas there, from architecture to color.
Clendening: It is so helpful to be able to show a client a piece of art — an illuminated manuscript, Islamic dinnerware or vintage fabrics. Then they can really see an amazing color palette or interesting pattern or shape that we can translate into a project.
In a Manhattan bedroom, an Indian-inspired array of objects and jewelry sits on a zinc-wrapped dresser.
ARTISTIC INCLINATION
Jenschke: Art is our personal passion, and we think it really is the most important thing in a room.
Clendening: Most of the time, art is the last piece that gets picked out in a space, but we think it should be the reverse. We can build a whole room around a great piece. Art makes all the difference.
Favorite Artists
Jenschke: Robert Motherwell, Franz Kline and Andrew Wyeth
Clendening: Cy Twombly, Caravaggio and Peter Beard
On The Nightstand
Clendening: The Architecture Of Happiness, by Alain de Botton
Jenschke: Moonwalking with Einstein, by Joshua Foer
