We reveal the online marketing efforts that work best for each of us, how we balance creativity with salesmanship, and how our firms handle the increased workload required to stay in the forefront.

In designing a brand-new apartment overlooking New York’s Central Park, Kati Curtis faced a challenge: how to create a cozy niche in the high-traffic main hallway? “The obvious solution was to put a freestanding bench here,” she says, “but I wanted to create a nook that could serve not only as a place to put on your shoes before you head out the door but also as a place where you could hang out with a good book.”

“When designing a breakfast nook, feel free to layer themes and make the space a little more playful,” says Curtis. “This isn’t your formal dining space, so it allows for more creativity. In this instance, we wanted to be respectful to the history of the space but we also wanted to give a surprising twist. Along with that crazy moth wallpaper and a banquette we designed, we layered a very modern, Lucite table on top of an antique needlepoint rug.”

With that in mind, we put together a gallery of some of our favorite bedroom designs featuring chic end-of-bed seating as inspiration.

Check out these inventive ideas from a variety of designers that will have you wanting to deck out your children’s bedrooms with an imaginative design.

Kati Curtis Design, Best Use of Color: Upper West Side Pied a Terre The gold and blue hues of Fromental’s hand-painted Rockface wallcovering lend a modern aesthetic to this New York pied-a-terre. Elements with faceted details, such as the lighting fixtures, tie back to the jagged mountain motif.