Jeremiah Brent’s New Collection With Crate & Kids Is Refreshingly Sophisticated

Jeremiah Brent is known for his nuanced, sophisticated interiors. The spaces he designs are deeply soulful, well-traveled, and impeccably layered. Sumptuous, natural palettes are often wrapped in softly textured walls and peppered with storied, one-of-a-kind antiques sourced from (or inspired by) France in the 1920s, Austria in the ’30s, Italy in the ’70s—all made to stand the test of time.

The energy of his spaces evokes a mood that’s warm, classic, and refined yet entirely touchable, livable, and—surprisingly—kid-friendly. Because for Jeremiah Brent, interior design is more than decorating a room; it’s about dreaming up and creating the life you want to live.

That’s why his new collaboration with Crate & Kids is a natural fit. 

“The idea of the collection is really about creating pieces that can stand the test of the time,” Brent tells Better Homes & Gardens. “I wanted to create a collection that took all of the things that I learned as a young parent as my kids were little, and as they grew, and really try to recreate this idea of modern-day heirlooms.”

The father of two applied his own experiences as a parent into this line, bringing to life all the things he wanted in kids furniture, from style to durability.

“The kids room is where it all starts. It’s the space that has to give the parent just as much as it needs to give the child,” he says. 

Take the tufted glider. It’s as handsome as it is practical with its deep brown color that easily camouflages spills or stains. The chair was obsessively designed for the nursery, considering the comfort of both parent and baby—the size of the arm, the height and angle of the seat back, the width of the seat—but the shape and silhouette would be just as chic in the living room.

Every piece is an example of something Brent and his partner, Nate Berkus, were looking for when decorating their own kid’s spaces but couldn’t find.

“The crib, for example, is really classic but has just enough detail,” Brent says. “The notched edges, the powder-coated rails in that beautiful white finish, and the subtlety and playfulness of the ticking stripe all give it a European flair.”

Jeremiah’s main goal was to design each piece to transition, whether that’s from one space to another, one year to the next, or from young child to young adult. His dream is that these pieces become part of a family’s story.

“I create things based off of the moments I imagine people having with them, like the lacquer wardrobe. I imagine children sticking their stickers on, or taking their marker to it and drawing symbols and then the parents washing it off,” he says.

The white lacquered armoire with its Cerused Oak hardware looks like it belongs in a luxe living or dining space, “but when it’s filled with the children’s things it takes on a whole different energy,” Brent says. 

The wide dresser makes a beautiful changing table in a nursery and, later, becomes modern storage for a teen’s room. The minimalist drawer fronts lack hardware, nodding to mid century–inspired design while (whether this was intentional or not) leaving a climb-proof, head bump–proof surface. Geometric half-moon feet give the classic shape a thoughtful finish.

Each piece needed to be beautiful and functional yet feel at home in a kids space, striking the right balance between whimsy and sophistication. To get it right, Brent approached the design for his furniture and textiles the same way he approaches an interior space.

“You’ll see nods of French influences from the ’30s and ’40s; you’ll see the Italian ’70s,” Brent says. “I learned a lot through my children, especially this idea that not everything needs to go together. There’s a playful sophistication that comes out of mixing all of these different patterns and genres, and that’s what I wanted the collection to be.”

The eras of parenthood and childhood are also woven into the collection, like the transition from crib to bed.

“It’s a scary moment when your kid goes from a crib to a bed,” Brent says. “I remember when my daughter got her first bed and I was paranoid of her falling out, so I had to have the bed low, upholstered, and soft, just in case.”

The shearling triangle bed features a low, easy-in easy-out construction, all wrapped in an impermeable teddy-inspired shearling fabric that’s meant to be jumped and rolled on. “Oskar had a lot of opinions about the fabric,” Brent says. “He wanted it to be like a teddy bear he loves.”

An available matching lumbar pillow with stripe buttons layers on the cozy, while a customizable bolster pillow adds touch of color. Every nuance has been considered, from the shape of the headboard to the stripe on the bedding, which was inspired by a Viennese teacup. “I obsess over every detail,” Brent says.

“We focused on incorporating innovative, new materials that aren’t often seen in baby and kids spaces. This became a throughline within the entire collaboration, creating pieces made to transition seamlessly with children as they get older,” says Sebastian Brauer, senior vice president of design at Crate & Kids.

There’s nothing quite like seeing the world through a child’s eyes, and Brent recognized that throughout the design process, often asking the opinion of his children, Poppy and Oskar, on colors, shapes, fabrics, or patterns. Color palettes were inspired by Oskar’s legos and Poppy’s love of pink and purple, as well as references from Brent’s travels.

“Throughout the collection, we incorporated rich and playful colors and accents like bordeaux, mauve, camel, and cobalt to create color mixes that we’re excited to bring to kids’ spaces,” says Brauer.

Brent and Berkus, also an interior designer, involve their children in everything they do, so Poppy and Oskar had a lot of feedback about each and every piece Brent designed. 

“Poppy’s got nothing but opinions. She’s the sweetest—they both are—but Poppy is my queen of functionality,” Brent says. 

The drawers on the canopy bed were Poppy’s idea. “She goes, ‘It would be really nice if there were drawers, because I could put my sleep mask in there, or socks or slippers.’ And I was like, you’re right!” Brent says.

On the bed, ornate yet simple turned wood columns with geometric details offer traditional design with a twist, referencing pieces and furniture trends from the 1920s and ‘30s. Creamy white upholstery softens the wood frame and make a cozy spot to lean back and read a book together at the end of the day.

References to Brent’s life and family are present in symbols throughout the collection. The hummingbird, the evil eye, the Joshua Tree, and a tribute to the family’s late dog, Tucker, illustrate protection, loss, and love. 

“I’m really big on symbols, so I took some of the most important symbols to our family and made them really prominent throughout the collection. It’s always the story for me, as you know, and the things we learned along the way,” he says.

Beyond their meanings, the dynamic patterns help hide the inevitable spills or stains that happen with children’s bedding, while simultaneously writing their own type of fairytale. Patterns featuring flowers, whales, stars, and moons are all inspired by Poppy and Oskar.

“Every day when my kids wake up, we talk about their dreams from the night before. So all of the little figures and the animals, that’s all from my children’s dreams or their favorite books,” Brent says. “I like the idea of other families bringing that into their house and connecting with different symbols and making their own stories out of it.”

One of Brent’s additional goals for this collection was that it didn’t feel like a traditional furniture set in which everything matches. Like his interiors, he appreciates the conflict of aesthetic and the freedom to mix and match. 

Low stools feature a ’70s-inspired chrome base with simple striped upholstery on the seats. “They don’t look like what you would normally find in a children’s room, which I love. They look vintage,” Brent says. The collection’s wooden table, with its clean lines and understated storage, was inspired by Swedish design from the ’20s. Wooden shelves with moss-green paint tucked inside offer that sophisticated-playful effect Brent was after, and a gallery of rugs featuring subtle patterns and deep colors are welcome in any space of the house to create a soft, warm kids zone.

Every piece in the entire collection was designed with “freedom to assemble,” or the ability to pair one with the other to create a space that feels unique and original. “Our goal is for parents to collect and layer these pieces in their children’s rooms to create a space that feels custom-built with a special heirloom quality,” says Brauer. 

“That’s the best part of my job. When I design a space for somebody, I hand it off to them and leave them with this creation, and I get to watch it play out and see how people live with it,” Brent says. “That’s what’s most exciting to me about this collection. I’m really looking forward to seeing how people use it.”

The Jeremiah Brent for Crate & Kids collection is available in-stores and online beginning September 10 with prices ranging from $19 to $2,599. Shop the full collection on the Crate & Kids website.