11/16/2020 23 Comments the story of a tiny venice cottage...from cute to DELICIOUS! AND THEN SOME...IT ALL BEGAN WHEN JOHN ELLIS, FRIEND AND MASTER PHOTOGRAPHER, SPOTTED A WHIMSICAL LITTLE COTTAGE ON THE VENICE, CALIFORNIA HOME TOUR AND JUST KNEW (WITH A LITTLE SUPER STYLING) IT WAS A PERFECT MAGAZINE STORY! JOHN SENT ME THE SCOUT SHOTS WHICH I PASSED ALONG TO (WHO ELSE BUT!) COTTAGE STYLE MAGAZINE AND OUR SHOOT WAS BORN... When I arrived, this is how the living room looked... And here it is "super styled"... a large pot of fresh meadow flowers a "moment" of a cuppa tea and juicy peaches furniture rearranged to provide drama and lead the observer into the shot and the crowning touch? John's pulling in the verdant outdoors. AND THEN THERE WAS THE DINING ROOM...BEFORE... ...and after! shelf to kitchen tidied up the addition of posies, a crisp linen to soften the lines, an inviting jug of cool limeade and a "moment" added of getting ready to set the table with plates & silver readied on the chair. THE KITCHEN BEFORE... And after! added large chunks of color and life with fresh fruit, viburnum blooms, and herbs on the window sill accented the nook by bringing in the yellow door frame. BREAKFAST NOOK BEFORE... And after! minimized the ordinary chairs and again, added yellow door frame for punch and life with fresh sunflowers, a pile of strawberries and...a toppling stack of waffles for whimsy! OFF TO THE STUDY....BEFORE... And after! Invited the reader in by replacing the desk chair with a more comfortable one added more comfort with pillows, throws, and an open book filled in the empty middle space with a "coffee table" made out of a wooden tray and a stack of drawers! a cup of sharpened pencils and a more interesting desk lamp frame the shot COOKBOOK SHELVING BEFORE... AND AFTER... Rearranged books and colorful vintage Bauer pottery for a better balance (always more interesting to display books both vertically and horizontally) THE BEDROOM...BEFORE... And after! placed a vintage oil painting to fill empty wall space enlivened the room by opening windows and added fresh oleander blossoms changed the camera angle to eliminate a dark chest AND FINALLY, THE BATHROOM...BEFORE... And after! simple addition of color for punch and opening the mirrored door adds interest in the reflection (and keeps the photographer from appearing in the image!) AND THE FINAL PRODUCT! COMPLETE WITH ALL THE DELICIOUS DETAILS.... LONGING TO SEE MORE STYLING BEFORES & AFTERS?
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...THERE WAS A GIRL WHO LOVED WILD FLOWERS... AND FERNS AND BRANCHES AND TWIGS AND FORESTS... SHE COVERED THE WALLS OF HER STUDIO WITH PAGES THAT INSPIRED HER... ALL OF WILD FLOWERS AND GARDENS AND EVERYTHING BEAUTIFUL IN THE NATURAL WORLD... THEN HANNAH WENT INTO THE WOODS TO FORAGE... SHE PICKED FORSYTHIA AND MAGNOLIA BLOSSOMS... ...AND PALE PINK CAMELLIAS... AND FILLED HER STUDIO WITH BEAUTIFUL CLIPPINGS... OF BRANCHES OF QUINCE BLOSSOMS AND TULIPS... AND HELLEBORE AND SPIREA... SHE THEN FILLED HER SHELVES WITH ALL SORTS OF CONTAINERS AND VASES... AND THEN HANNAH STARTED WORKING...SHE CLIPPED... AND TIED... AND ARRANGED... SHE ADDED WILD FLOWERS TO HATS... AND BLOSSOMS TO BELTS... SHE FILLED BOWLS WITH WILD FLOWERS AND PERCHED THEM ON LADDERS... THEN HANNAH'S TWINS JOINED IN... HER DAUGHTER CECELIA HELPED HER IN THE STUDIO... AND HER SON SULLIVAN PITCHED IN WITH THE FORAGING... AND FERN AND FLORA WAS BORN! www.fernandflorastudios.com Today Hannah Hall has a thriving business in Hendersonville, North Carolina where now that she's made her dreams happen she takes her client's dreams and makes them come alive! HANNAH AND SON AND DAUGHTER AND WILD FLOWERS AND BRANCHES AND TWIGS ARE ALL LIVING HAPPILY EVER AFTER... I MET HANNAH HALL WHEN I PHOTOGRAPHED HER FOR JO PACKHAM'S MAGAZINE WHERE WOMEN CREATE AND THE DAY WE SHOT WAS MAGICAL! enjoy!. PHOTOGRAPHY BY SUNDAY HENDRICKSON
IT ALL STARTED WITH A SWEET LITTLE COTTAGE IN EUREKA SPRINGS, ARKANSAS. A TINY CLAPBOARD HOME NESTLED IN THE BEAUTIFUL OZARK MOUNTAINS. THE CHALLENGE? STYLING THE SAME ROOMS WITH THE SAME FURNITURE FOR TWO DIFFERENT MAGAZINES IN TWO TOTALLY DIFFERENT STYLES! ONE FOR COUNTRY LIVING MAGAZINE--AND ONE FOR ROMANTIC COUNTRY MAGAZINE...HERE'S WHAT HAPPENED! THE ORIGINAL BEDROOM -- THE "SCOUT SHOT" BEFORE I TOUCHED ANYTHING... Here's how I styled it for and here's how I styled for Country Living... Romantic Country SIMPLER, CLEANER, MORE GRAPHIC LINENS... MORE FLOWERY BED LINENS... SWITCHED OUT MATCHY MATCHY NIGHTSTANDS MORE ROMANTIC LIFESTYLE WITH TEA TRAY THE ORIGINAL DINING ROOM.... styled for Country Living... styled for Romantic Country... REMOVED CUTSEY PLATE HOLDER ON WINDOWS...ADDED FLOWERS ON BOTH TABLE AND SIDEBOARD... GRAPHIC PILLOW...SIMPLE BAR SET UP IN CUPBOARD KEPT ALL FLORAL PILLOWS...ADDED AQUA TABLECLOTH Okay, so I used the same flowers (queen anne's lace) so shoot me... THE KITCHEN SCOUT SHOT... Styled for Country Living... and for Romantic Country... REMOVED PICTURE FRAMES...ALL WHITE PLATES FLOWERS (YELLOW LIZZIES)...MIX OF FRAMES, AND VASES ON PART OF THE SHELVES...NO FLOWERS, PLATES, BOWLS AND VASES IN DIFFERENT COLORS JUST IVY VINES...LEFT PIPES SHOWING UNDER SINK AND SHAPES ON SHELF...ADDED LACE CURTAINS SPARSER IRON AND MARBLE BISTRO TABLE FANCY SCHMANCY WICKER TABLE THE CUPBOARD BEFORE STYLING.... Styled for Country Living... ...for Romantic Country NO FLOWERS, NO LINENS...SIMPLE BAR SET-UP ADDED FRESH FLOWERS AND LINEN NAPKINS REMOVED BASKET FROM TOP OF THE CUPBOARD BROUGHT IN ALL THE FANCY CHINA COLLECTION THE LIVING ROOM BEFORE STYLING... Styled for Country Living... and for Romantic Country NO FLOWERS, JUST A LEAFY BRANCH...BROUGHT IN PROMINENT BASKET OF FLOWERS...STRONGER A GRAPHIC PILLOW...KEPT MOSTLY A NEUTRAL PALETTE COLOR...ADDED A LIFESTYLE CUP OF COFFEE THE ATTIC BEFORE STYLING... Styled for Country LIving... and styled for Romantic Country CRUMPLED UP WORK PAPERS MORE GIRLY, MORE ROMANTIC WITH FANCY HAT, IN OFFICE-STYLE TRASH CAN...PRETTY AUSTERE... BOUND BOOKS, SCARF, AND A FLOWERY TRASH CAN... NOTE BLOWN OUT WINDOW WINDOW VIEW LUSH WITH FOLIAGE THE DOOR TO THE BALCONY UNSTYLED... Styled for Country Living... styled for Romantic Country SWITCHED OUT NIGHT STAND FOR SIMPLER ONE... BED TABLE WITH ORNAMENTATION... SMALL FIELD FLOWER BOUQUET ...CRISP WHITE QUILT LARGE LUSH FERN...FLOWERY, COLORFUL LINENS LESS OSTENTACIOUS LAMP BASE LIFESTYLE WATER GLASS AND GILDED TEA POT ...AND, FINALLY, THE KITCHEN TABLE...WHEN I ARRIVED How it looked in Country Living... and how in Romantic Country SHELF STYLED SIMPLISTICALLY WITH SHELF HERE SPORTS MANY COLORS AND WHITE IRONSTONE AND SIMILAR WHITE OBJECTS ALL SHAPES AS WELL AS A VINTAGE PRINT AND A WITH ROUNDED EDGES...A UTILITARIAN VIGNETTE STARCHED LINEN HAND TOWEL...QUITE ROMANTIC SO.......HERE'S OUR EUREKA SPRINGS COTTAGE AS YOU MAY REMEMBER IT IN COUNTRY LIVING MAGAZINE... AND HERE'S HOW YOU MAY REMEMBER IT AS YOU SAW IT IN ROMANTIC COUNTRY MAGAZINE... PHOTOGRAPHY BY MARK LOHMAN...STYLING BY SUNDAY HENDRICKSON COUNTRY LIVING HOME EDITOR JAMI SUPSIC...ROMANTIC COUNTRY EDITOR FIFI O'NEILL Hope you enjoyed my little "Double Duty" story
and don't forget to scroll down and subscribe if you haven't already! SO THE ASSIGNMENT WAS EASY TO CREATE THE QUINTESSENTIAL FALL TABLETOP STORY ON A BEAUTIFUL RANCH IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. THE HARD PART? SHOOT IN JULY! (NO BUDGET TO FLY TO A DIFFERENT HEMISPHERE...) When I got the call, my first thought was to ring Gail Claridge, primo interior designer and owner of a beautiful horse ranch surrounded by citrus trees. We had not only featured Gail's design work in endless decorating magazines but she had also graciously lent us her previous home as a location for the fashion pages styled for Victoria magazine. This, below, was one of my favorite images from then... but that's a whole other story -- and blog post! Coming up with ideas for the tabletop was easy. Making a potpouri of cinnamon sticks and berries in old enameled pails... Floating votive lights carved into apples in a vintage galvanized tub... And creating a lush centerpiece of fall apples surrounded by amber-colored china and stemmed glasses... The fall leaves we scattered around were no problem-- not available in stores during July but I discovered a stash in my prop closet. We tossed them around before we shot each scenario... And used them to fashion garlands... ...and autumn wreaths. But what about the summer green boughs in the background? How do we get from this on the left to this on the right? By having our master photographer, Mark Lohman, to use his wondrous photoshopping skills -- And voila! From leafy green branches to golden fall ones! AND, NOW, THE LAST HURDLE... WHAT TO DO WHEN THE MAGAZINE WOULD LIKE A MODEL IN THE STORY BUT THERE'S NO MODEL BUDGET? No problemo -- I grab the boots brought as props for one of the vignettes... And jump in... Whatever it takes for a successful shoot! AND WHAT A LONG DAY! PHOTOGRAPHY BY MARK LOHMAN...STYLING BY SUNDAY HENDRICKSON
CENTERPIECE, WREATH, VOTIVE APPLES AND POTPOURRI DESIGN BY MANHATTAN ROSE MAREK STORY EDITOR FIFI O'NEILL LOCATION COURTESY OF GAIL CLARIDGE INTERIOR DESIGN |
CategoriesAll Before & Afters Cottages Foraging Photo Shoots Styling |