I have just finished decorating a stunning home in White Rock and I thought I’d share my day with you starting with a picture of the view outside my house at 7:30 am yesterday!
Spring has arrived in Vancouver and my turtlenecks are suddenly too hot to wear :)
7:45 am - Here I am clipping some leaves from one of the bushes in my front yard!
7:55 am - I’m loading up my car with flowers. The biggest thing I have learned about photographing interiors is how important the flowers are. Pick up any magazine and if you mentally take the flowers out of the image, many times the room is pretty boring without them!
The trunk of my car!! Can I fit another vase back here? Nope!
8:15 am - My assistant for the day Alexis (one of my former students) volunteered her services a few weeks ago. The cab got lost bringing her to my house so I picked her up at the Starbucks nearby! She confessed she made a point of not wearing any black because she was spending the day with me!! So fun, I loved her purple and blue outfit!
9:22 am – We arrive at my clients home in White Rock to set up before my photographer arrives!
10:15 – Almost ready!
This is the coffee table that I designed and had custom made with 4 cube ottomans in faux ostrich leather that slide underneath. Since this is my client’s great room and living room combined it's where the TV is as well. I don’t know about you, but I like to put my feet up when I'm watching TV so I designed it so everyone could get comfortable and yet maintain the formality of a living room with the combination of both!
10:30 am – Anna [Beaudry] is here! I ran out to help her and then ran back inside to get my camera to take a picture and then walked away without grabbing her bag, oops!
My lovely client Laura! She took some action shots of us too, hence the camera!! Since I can’t show the photos right away (because I want to get them published), you’ll just get a sneak peak of her house for now.
11:35 am – We’ve just set up and shot the living/dining room (the first picture always takes the longest) and now Anna is setting up the next image. It’ll be the full view of this bookshelf that I blogged about last fall when I had finished styling it. (See the golf course in the backyard!).
12:10 pm - Here we are setting up the next shot in the library. I’m squinting to see inside the viewfinder! Alexis was surprised at how much time professional photography takes! Depending on the angle everything has to be moved, especially if the room is symmetrical and perfectly balanced like this one!
12:25 pm – Anna’s moving the chair while I watch through the camera to make sure it’s perfect!
1:15 pm - Time for some water!
2:20 pm – Anna’s downloaded the next set of images to her laptop so we can see them in a larger format to make sure there’s no stray wires or cats that we missed, etc.
2:30 pm – I came into the kitchen to get some more water and Alexis snapped this one! Now I’m getting tired.
3:10 pm – It’s a wrap! There is so much running back and forth to look in the camera and then fix and move furniture and accessories and flowers I was totally exhausted!! It was fun though! I bought so many tulips I ended up dancing around the house the night before while I was clipping the ends and placing them in vases! Flowers just make me happy!!
Hope you enjoyed my day as an art director :)
xo
Maria
If you would like your home to fill you with happiness every time you walk in, contact me for on-line or in-person decorating and colour.
Related posts:
Styling for Photo Shoots
What every Designer should know about Photography
How to Style a Kitchen for a Photo Shoot – 3 Rules to Follow
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