INTERNATIONAL OPEN HOUSE, t.v. series

I enjoyed my time with the crew (hand picked by Tremendous Entertainment) while working on the show International Open House for the TRAVEL CHANNEL. I will be posting some of my favorite finds on those trips here in still shot form. What amazed me the most was the high level of INTERNATIONAL STYLE we saw in the eight cities we visited. And the people in those homes were all great examples of authentic design and style.

FALL WEDDING

EVERWOOD has a remarkable barn restored by Chris Everett and Bill Underwood. For a wedding there I brought copper brown linens, and fall inspired garden floral from my studio which I combined with natural elements from the property. The people and the venue were a delight. The Target mercury glass candle sticks wrapped with rosemary are just one example of the smart detailing which made this a well edited event for a charming bride and groom.

Island Life

Late summer and variable weather made a recent photo shoot with FLEA MARKET STYLE magazine a bit of a challenge. My friend Quentin Bacon was the photographer of choice, and squeezed in a few days to come north to International Falls to shoot VIRGINIA and ATSOKAN.

Quentin grabbed this shot which I have reproduced here, as it is my favorite photo of the summer.

Hunter Jumper Class

Two shots from a delightful early spring day out with Anne Healy, regional location expert and horsewomen.

jewelry test shots

Some quick shots showing different surfaces for a potential jewelry shoot.  

Mermaid Show

I missed Paris Hilton's show featuring the Weeki Watchi mermaid show, but was glad to find time to see it

 in person on a recent trip to northern Florida.  Unfortunately my shots in the underwater theatre didn't amount to much, but I thought the exterior shots of the grand landscape features were worth a post.

STYLING TEST

Bottle / wood / leaves.  A quick mock up I sent off recently.  Something about those 

narcissus, visible in the glass bottle, speak to me, as did the scent of the geranium leaves. 

Like the first brush with a tomato plant (or marigold) when spring has arrived. 

H&M skirt

A couple of out takes from a modern art shoot I did with  Jeff Johnson in his studio.  Laurie Leumann brought the skirt which is from H&M, but it's all about the boots, which are Marnie.

CHATEAU COURANCES

For an American Friends of Versailles dinner at Courance, Craig Hoffman helped me transform this fabulous outbuilding into a magical sultry Indian destination.  Anne-Marie de Ganay (our hostess and uber-talented A.F.V. friend) concentrated on the table settings - mixing anglo printed tin plates with monkey themed fabric and modern glassware.  I chose mixed hot colored dahlias, protea and figs to set the tone for the arrangements, with 8' palm fronds and lanterns fashioned from Indian prayer shawls for the rafters (easy in theory).  Incense in huge pots of floral outside added an earthy mystic quality.  The gardens (of Courance) influenced Le Notre's designs for Versailles and are open to the public - absolutely worth a look see.

INTERIORS

The demise of the June Lune Theatre was a tragedy.  The sale they had after was an amazing experience.  In the warren of storage rooms (with no light) I found some wonderful backdrops, some of which became draperies (within about 45 minutes).  The crowd scene was painted in perspective and now wraps two sets of oversized double french doors. (top)

A vintage French poster mixes nicely with curry colored louis XVII style chairs. (bottom)

STYLING

Two looks for target knockdown furniture, on location.  Chad Holder photographer.

                                                                        In the studio.

HIGH LOW STYLE

Target stemware with two different looks.  World Market "Coke" bar glasses.

STYLING

 Out takes from a nice shoot with Jeff Johnson Photo. Cathy Iverson (Market of Fleas) did the Interiors of this location. 

TREND MID CENTURY

     If you take time to think about it,  Is "trend forward" an oxymoron?

 

INTERNATIONAL STYLING

            A few shots from the last Gand bals du Versailles.  Allison Lisk and I used large paper parasols with streaming ribbons to get a sense of scale in the orangerie.  the feathers on the long tables a nod to Marie Antoinette's  grand bed, and the silver juliep cups with antique spray roses and mini herbs  to her passion of the simple sweetness of a garden.    

Truly a pleasure to have our friend Quentin Bacon (quentinbacon.com) over to photograph the event.  Joel Cottin (head gardener of Versailles) and his staff suprised us with crates of orange blossoms to scatter.