Beige Ain’t Boring!

TBT #5.  Interior Design:  The Elegant Abode.

Ariana & Ali are a dynamic duo who have a knack for neutral tones.    Their homes are truly sophisticated homes  tasteful accommodations  lovely huts elegant abodes.

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2012, 2013, 2014

Almost every night the words “how the hell did it get to be 11:45!?!” come out of my mouth.  My husband, usually brushing his teeth, flashes me a smirk not unlike the previous night & he’ll probably do so again the following night in response to the same (rhetorical!) question.  …So now I ask “How, oh how, did it get to be 2014?”  For the past 32 months* I’ve moved the calendar task ‘new blog post!’ to the following week.  Today I check that box & set it to repeat instead of moving it to next Thursday.  So in the nature of Social Media happenings & hoopla and given my long extended blogging absence, I’m going to attempt to play in the game of TBT!  Every Thursday, I’ll be posting oldies but goodies from the last few years.  Here goes.

*Full disclosure:  In that time I had a baby & we moved to a new home so there were a few months years where blogging, unfortunately, was not up high on my priority list.  Don’t know how I’m going to do it with a toddler running around, but it’s worth a shot.  

TBT #1.  Interior Designer:  Jenny Wolf

Designer Fluff

 

What’s better than shooting Interiors at the home of an Interior Designer with her own line of pillows?  When the home is in Brooklyn, of course!  Those who know me know I’m quite the homebody.  I love being in my home, and when I do leave, I stay within a 10 (ok, sometimes 5) block radius.  Shooting for Interior Designer Audra Canfield, the creative mind behind Designer Fluff, was a treat (did I mention she pulled out a chilled bottle of rose during lunch?).  Not only was the shoot a blast, but I am now the owner of an amazing designer fluff chevron pillow.  And now, not only do I not want to leave the 5 block radius surrounding my home… I don’t want to get off my couch!

See more pics on the recent post about Designer Fluff on decor8!

Itchin’ for a kitchen?

This modern kitchen made me want to paint the walls of my kitchen bright yellow.  (It’s a good thing I didn’t do it because our kitchen has a long exposed brick wall & redish wood cabinets that would look horrible with bright yellow!)  How could you have a grumpy morning in such a bright happy looking kitchen?  I don’t think it’s possible.  It was designed by Elizabeth Aurandt of Mercer Interior.  Elizabeth is not only a talented Interior Designer, but she is also quite an intuitive stylist.  Throughout our shoot, I tried to convince her to venture into the world of prop styling.  She’s a busy lady…we’ll see if she can fit it on her plate!

You call this work?

Some shoot days feel like work but some truly feel like play.  When I arrived at the Hudson Valley home of Interior Designer Sisse Jonassen, it was obvious that I was in for some serious play time.  I couldn’t get out of the car fast enough to see the inside & when I went inside, I didn’t ever want to leave!  I love every bit of the house from the exposed ceiling beams to the wide plank floors, from the found art to the fine art.  My photos and Sisse’s story were just featured on Design*Sponge – according to the comments on the post, she now has a big fan club!  Who’s the leader of that club?  Me.

Brooklyn Home Co, again!

There’s nothing I don’t love about The Brooklyn Home Company. The People? Check! Their Style? Check! The Locations (Brooklyn!)? Check! I only wish they could build and design their spaces even faster than they already do (which is pretty fast) so I could shoot with them more often. Looking for a new home? Go buy one of their newly renovated spaces, now on the market- you’ll be very happy.

Rue Magazine

I photographed a restored 1850’s farmhouse in Rhinebeck, NY for the most recent issue of Rue Magazine. The shoot was Art Directed & Styled by the so very talented Meagan Camp. After a day & a half of shooting we finished with 25 shots, which was too many for Rue to run- so Meagan & I pitched the story to the blog, Decor8 and an extended version ran on the site. A few days later The New York Times ran an article about the growth of online shelter magazines & featured Rue Magazine in the story, along with an image from our story chosen to represent Rue in the multimedia slideshow. It’s been so exciting to see the story grow & get exposure on multiple sites. Below is the original Rue article, followed by a snapshot of The NY Times slideshow. You can also check out the extended story (with more images!) on Decor8.

The Home Observer

My mother always said things happen in threes.  She was right.  I have three features in the Spring issue of The Home Observer… and one of my shots made the cover! Yahoo!  Unfortunately, you can’t get the magazine at a newsstand, so if you don’t subscribe to the NY Observer, check out The Home Observer here.  Or if you don’t want to read the articles, you can just look at the pictures below!

The Cover  |  The beautiful DJ/Model Sky Nellor in her NYC home

Story:  A New Spin On It  |  Sky’s duplex loft designed by the (also beautiful) Daun Curry of Modern Declaration (starts on page 48)

Story: Artfully Arranged   |  A peek into the amazing home of celebrity florist, Olivier Giugni (starts on page 54)

Story: Lease on Life  |  How Interior Designer Janine Carendi MacMurray of Area designed a NYC townhouse that the owners rent… they rent the whole thing!  (starts on page 68)

Shift.

Beka & Houston, the young design team behind Shift Design, cater to individuals with a smaller budget (but they won’t turn away big budget jobs either!).  I met Beka, Houston, and Luis, their marketing & PR partner, a few years ago on- drumroll please- craigslist!  Shooting for them has always been very fulfilling; there’s something refreshing about shooting homes that are a bit more modest.  The spaces they design are comfortable & modern yet playful.  They have a knack for color & can really make a small space feel open and comfortable.  They are also one of the funniest duo’s I know- whenever we shoot together, it’s a bit hard to focus because they just keep me laughing.

There’s no place like home.

There is no place like home, unless your home is also your office- then there’s no place like your office.  Which is why I’m movin’ out!  With the new year comes a new space & while there are things I’ll miss about working from home, I’m looking forward to the change.  Gone are the days where I work in my PJ’s.  Gone are the days where I whistle while I work (read: sing loudly).  Gone are the days where I consult with Ollie (my most favorite dogmate) about important business decisions.  I will miss all of these wonderful aspects of working alone at home, but I couldn’t be more excited to have a new desk, in a new space, alongside actual people.  Ollie, on the other hand, is now on the lookout for a new mate to stare at during the work day.  I don’t have much flexibility in the design elements of my new desk space, but it’s always good to use the work of my clients as inspiration whenever I’m faced with a new project!

Design Credits:

Ali Schwarz (top left)     |      SKM Design Inc.(top right)

Christine Thompson Interiors (mid left)     |     Shift Design (mid right)

Shift Design (btm left)     |      SKM Design Inc. (btm right)

It’s Showtime!

I never watched TV… until we moved to Brooklyn &, thanks to our generous landlords, have free premium cable.  Some evenings I find myself on the couch, fixated with the shows on HBO & Showtime.  The acting is top notch, the camera work is beautiful, and the story lines are addicting!  For the second year, I was hired to shoot the Showtime House and I was so excited to see how different the rooms would be this year as opposed to last year.  The Showtime house is a showhouse where the designers are each assigned a different Showtime series as inspiration for their room.  Who knew television shows could be so inspirational- I should start watching more TV!

NY Observer HOME

Check out The New York Observer HOME Fall 2010 issue featuring one of my shoots with The Brooklyn Home Co.  This was a great space to shoot.  Actually, I wouldn’t mind living in it either!  Story starts on Page 69.

View this document on Scribd

Taking too long for Scribd to load?  See the pics below while you are waiting.  (But don’t miss the article- it’s a good story!)

Modern Declaration

I was faced with a challenge;  capture custom furniture pieces in the spaces they live in & make the photos about the pieces, not the space.  This is hard to do when the rooms that the pieces live in are bold and breathtaking.  The challenge made it a really fun shoot, and we even managed to fit in a portrait of the talented and beautiful designer, Daun Curry.  Daun’s company is called Modern Declaration & the website is coming soon!

Update 11/24/10:  The Modern Declaration site is up!  Check it out!

Mansion In May

Every 2 years a vacant mansion is taken over by the designer showhouse, Mansion In May.  This was the 2nd year I was hired to photograph the entire mansion – so my 3 (amazing!) assistants and I set out for the 3 day shoot wherein we shot 35 rooms and the landscaped grounds of the Fawn Hill Farm.  It is so exciting to see the choices that the designers make without the influence of a homeowner sitting on their shoulder.  They can be bold.  They can be creative.  However, it can be a bit tricky to capture as each room is often drastically different from its adjacent rooms.  Some spaces are slick and modern while next door is a dark and traditional styled space.  Some are covered in soft pastels while others are clothed in primary colors.  It is my job to capture the individual personality of each room without having its neighbor peeking around the corner!

Welcomed home.

Vacation is over.  Or is it?  It’s hard to do real work when play work (ie: flipping through shelter magazines) is sitting on my desk staring at me begging to be read.  Buried between bills (real work), invitations (purely play), checks (work rewarded!), and catalogs (bit o’ work, bit o’ play- but mostly unrequested wasted paper) were magazines!  It was great to be welcomed home by one of my shots from Diffa‘s Dining By Design on the cover of BizBash.  Click on the cover image below & it will take you to issuu where you can flip through the entire magazine.  (The actual story starts on page 101)  When I arrive home from a long vacation a few years from now, it will be no surprise if all my magazine subscriptions will be read via issuu and the pile of mail will be – non existent.

dhny

I met one of my very first clients, Darci Hether, through craigslist a few years ago and we have been working together ever since.  A few months ago, we even came across a blogger who compared us to pb&j.  Mmmm- I’ll take that (the compliment or the sandwich) anyday.

In Darci’s modern spaces there is life and there is warmth.  She makes modern live-able.  On our last shoot we were having such an in-depth conversation about blogging that we forgot to turn the water on for the pot shot and had to shoot it again!  Ops!  …It was worth it- Darci decided to start a blog the day after our shoot!  Check it out: http://darcihether.tumblr.com/

Red.

Though this space is not located in Montclair- the designer, Rachael Grochowski of RHG A+D, is based out of Montclair.  These communal spaces at a large residential complex in NJ were both fun & challenging to shoot.  Red is a powerful color.  So often public communal spaces are muted shades of tan, grey, or green.  Rachael’s red is bold!  I’ve shot five of Rachael’s projects & there’s often a touch of red somewhere and it works beautifully.  Even her logo is red!

Montclair? Maybe.

I’ve spent a lot of time shooting in New Jersey these past few weeks.  A handful of shoots have been in Montclair, a town that kind of feels like an extension of New York City (they even have a Red Mango!).  Everyone I’ve met that lives there, both my clients & my clients clients, formerly lived in NYC & never thought they would end up in Jersey.  Four years ago I vowed I would never leave Manhattan, and 6 months later we moved to Brooklyn.  Earlier this year, I recall vowing that as long as I’m on the east coast, I will live in Brooklyn.  I’ve recently stopped vowing because you never know what the future holds.  Maybe, just maybe, Montclair could be in our cards…but you didn’t hear that from me.

Architecture & Interior Design by Stacy Millman of SKM Design.  SKM Website coming soon!

Excuses, excuses, excuses.

I have been quite busy shooting lately.  In times when I’m swamped I find I have lots to blog about, but feel as though I have no time to post!  After a full day of processing images from last weeks 5 day shoot of the Mansion In May, all I can think about is my bed …and yet I’m making every excuse not to go to bed.  In honor of my bedtime procrastination ritual, I thought I’d post images with beds in them from a recent shoot with an upcoming furniture designer, Isabella Wolfe.  I’m pretty pooped.  (Is that a good excuse to go to bed?)

A Straight Shooter.

Finding the best angle to capture a room can sometimes be the biggest challenge when shooting Interiors.  Moving the camera the slightest degree can make such a big difference. While shooting for Ali Schwarz Design this past Autumn, we found that shooting these three spectacular rooms straight on was the best option.  We tried different angles (because something in my head said that shooting straight on is boring)- but when the design and the view is as amazing as it was in these three spaces, being a straight shooter ain’t such a bad thing!

Interior Design by Ali Schwarz.  Prop Styling by Rebecca Omweg.  (Look out for more photos of spaces designed by Ali Schwarz, we’ve got a big shoot coming up next week!)