Linda's Kitchen: Photoshoot sneak peak

Yesterday was an exciting day here in my kitchen in that I did the final photo shoot with Michael J Lee. It's going to take a few days before I get all the final photos back, but wanted to share a sneak peak of the photo shoot, a little of the set up and one of the final images.

I took the photo above on Sunday evening as I was cleaning and prepping the room. Michael had done a site visit a week ago so he could view the space and give me his assessment of the shots to be taken and so we could brainstorm about the styling. I had ideas, Michael had better ones. He's not only a fantastic photographer, but with his design background, he has a keen sense of style and we had a lot of fun pulling it together. I'm a big believer in keeping things real in a photo shoot; the room should look largely as it always does or hopes to, just spit shined. And, the photos need to tell a story about the owner or about the project being documented. Since this was my design in my own kitchen done with my own hands (and those of my friend Rob!), I wanted to be sure that the photos ultimately read "Linda". Maybe it's "Dream Linda", but Linda, all the same.

Here is Michael working at my dining room table, camera set up to shoot from dining room into the kitchen. My kitchen is north facing with only one small window, but the south facing dining room is flooded with natural sunlight in the morning, which is nice.

Previously, I had an old dry sink that I used as a bar when entertaining. Below is a "before" shot of my kitchen. You can see how narrow the passageway is into the kitchen proper. On the left is the laundry behind the louvered doors.

Here is a little reminder of the new skirted counter that I have installed (my photo). The purpose of the counter was to add storage and surface space to my small kitchen. This piece has wire shelving below to keep things out of site and has literally doubled my available counter top space. As you can see, a significant improvement in terms of looks and functionality over the before.

And below is a shot I took yesterday of the lighting and camera setup to get a straight-on shot of the new counter top.  As you can see, the camera is practically inside my laundry closet. I was willing to move all the stuff on top of the washer so Michael could sit in there, but he didn't take me up on that offer.

And now, your official sneak peak of one of the final images taken by Michael Lee.

Doesn't he take a beautiful photograph - even in a very tight space? I am so looking forward to using this new counter as a bar and serving area for when I entertain. And this is what I mean about feeling that photo styling should indicate how a space is really lived in by the people who live there. I have always used this are of the kitchen as a bar, it's just now, I have a nicer one with more service area.  While we certainly spent a lot of time putting all the elements into place just so for the photo, there's nothing here that's foreign to how I live. And, I just love the simplicity of the image and the play of light on the wall.

As I said, more photos are to come, so stay tuned.  Meanwhile, will you have a gin and tonic, or a martini?



 Subscribe to ::Surroundings::

Cast Your Vote for the Academy Award® for Achievement in Art Direction

 

Click here to read more and to cast your vote!


 Subscribe to ::Surroundings::

The Real McCoy: An ode to my cookie jar

via Ebay - starting bid $39.99

For my fourth birthday, my best friend and next door neighbor Patty Zimmerman (who was three) gave me this very cute Humpty Dumpty cookie jar.  This became our family cookie jar, gracing our kitchen through many moves and houses.  Although it was technically mine, I didn't have free reign of the cookies inside, sadly. However, I did master the ninja art of silently removing and replacing the lid in pursuit of a purloined cookie or two. It took a steady hand and steely nerve with my sharp-eared Mother sitting in the next room.  It was quite a skill!  When I moved out in my twenties, Humpty came with me. While I've rarely used him for cookies, he still has his place in the kitchen with his Cheshire Cat-like grin firmly in place.

  "The Cookie Thief" via Flickr

So, as I've been blogging about, I spent the last several months remodeling my kitchen and Humpty was moved to the relative safety of my dining room. My kitchen is finally finished (woot!) and I'm getting ready for the final photo shoot on Monday. I'm thrilled that Michael Lee is going to be shooting the kitchen (he did the gorgeous shots of a Boston town house living room that I did which was recently featured in the Boston Sunday Globe). Michael's process includes a site visit prior to shoot day so he and the designer or stylist can decide which shots will work best and what kind of styling should be done to bring out the best in the space. It's a fantastic extra level of service that really makes for wonderful finish shots. So, Michael came over to my house this past Monday. I didn't spend a lot of time "styling" my kitchen for this pre-shoot visit, but I did put Humpty in a place of honor on my new counter.  And what does my fantastic photographer say? "Is Humpty going to stay?" Hmm, apparently, Humpty is not sexy enough for prime time.

Or is he?

Below is one of the scouting shots Michael took. Now, these are not meant to be beautifully finished shots. There was no photographic lighting, my kitchen is dark and required a wide open aperture to bring in as much light as possible to the shot and he was holding his camera by hand, not on a tripod. And, as I said, I had done no styling so there are visible sponges (the horror!) and brown bananas in the otherwise empty wire baskets. Oh, and my pans need polishing. But, doesn't Humpty look fetching in profile?

Un-styled scouting shot taken by Michael J. Lee

Anyway, we'll see if Humpty makes it into the final shots, maybe yes, maybe no. But I spent a little time researching his provenance and found out several currently for sale. He was made by the Brush Pottery Company of Ohio (formerly the Brush McCoy Pottery Company) and the bottom is marked "W29 Brush USA".  According to ArtPotteryBlog.com, the Brush Pottery Company produced over 50 different novelty cookie jars between 1954 and 1971.  My Humpty (with the jaunty cowboy hat) was made in 1962, and so was I, actually.  The "W" in the marking denotes that my jar was made by Don and Ross Winton, who worked as freelance potters.

Ebay has two listed one with a starting bid of $39.00. But there are some antiques sites where they are listed upwards of $250.00. Not that I'd ever sell, but it's interesting to learn a little more about something I've owned nearly all my life.

Meanwhile, it's been doppelganger week on Facebook and as I was doing research about Humpty, I couldn't help but notice a few similarities... Blue eyes, pink cheeks, round face, big grin, pale, and dare I say it, porcelain complexion... ah, I crack me up.

 

 Subscribe to ::Surroundings::

Decorative Arts through history: Mosaic Tiles

 

Irano-Roman floor mosaic detail from the palace of Shapur I at Bishapur.

Mosaic designs have long been a staple of the decorative arts and as an art form, are held in high regard.  Mosaics are made of small, usually square, pieces of glass, stone, shells or other material that are placed in such a way as to create and pattern or a picture. Dating back to Roman times and before, mosaics have been used the world over to cover everything from walls, to ceilings and floors.

Floor pavement representing female dancers. Marble mosaic, ca. 260 AD (Sasanian Era). From the iwan of the so-called palace of Shapur at Bishapur, Iran.

Roman mosaic of Ulysseys from Carthage. 

Mosaic ceiling inside Baptistry of St. John, Florence

Mosaic tiles are still a staple in the decorative arts, from floors to walls and ceilings and fine art.

"Starry Night" wall mosaic made from glass tiles by Brett Campbell Mosaics

Mosaic tile floor by Stephanie Marsh Fillbrandt for the 2009 San Francisco Decorator showhouse

 

Floor rug from Sicis Tiles via Trendir

Ellen Blakeley Studio - contemporary mosaics from recycled tempered glass

 

Ellen Blakeley mosaic wall via Mosaic Art Source

Mosaic tile bar in the movie "Mamma Mia"

And I'm loving these lines from Erin Adams "Facet" collection for Ann Sachs Tile

 

 

From New Ravenna mosaics

 Subscribe to ::Surroundings::

Wednesday This and That

A big thank you to Gwen Driscoll of Ragland Hill Social for featuring me in her ongoing series It's A Small Blogworld today.  I am so flattered to be included with other bloggers such as Brooke Gianetti of Velvet & Linen and Laurie Schroeder of My Domicile Style, two of her past features. Gwen is relatively new to blogging, but has taken to it like a duck to water, so to speak, and is coming up with new and unique features all the time - something not easy with all the design blogs out there! Her latest projects FDO (Friends of Design Obsession) and Week in White are just two examples of Gwen's creativity. So, if you haven't visited her blog yet, go take a look!

                                                         

New England Home magazine is sponsoring a new initiative called 5 Under 40. Nominations are currently being taken for the best New England designers and architects under the age of forty. (Sadly, I'm no longer qualified!!)  The 5 Under 40 awards spotlight the hottest emerging talent in residential design in New England, including architecture, interiors, furniture, and home-design products and accessories. Selected by an all-star committee of regional design leaders, 5 Under 40 winners are the people to watch, producing some of the most beautiful and innovative work available today.

Nominations for 2010 are due by 5:00 p.m. EST on January 31, 2010. Winners will be honored at a festive celebration on June 10, 2010.  Each winner will have the opportunity to design a custom rug that will be produced by presenting sponsor Landry & Arcari. Rugs will be auctioned off at the June 10 event.

My friends at New England Home have been hard at work on the launch of their new magazine Connecticut. The state of Connecticut is part metro New York and part New England has it's own unique style. This new glossy magazine is sure to highlight some of the best design and architecture of the area.

I'd also like to thank Laura Newman of Laura Newman PR & Marketing for including me in her post What Thriving Design Business Will Look Like and How To Get There on her blog Publicity Wit. I was flattered that my views on the design industry were included with others such as designer Irwin Feld, Alexandra Gibson of Gibson Design Management and fellow blogger Jamie Derringer of Design Milk.




 Subscribe to ::Surroundings::

Bloomingdales' Big Window Challenge - Vote early, Vote Often

The Big Window Challenge is a design battle between Apartment Therapy, ELLE DECOR, and Bloomingdale’s. Three of Bloomingdale’s Lexington Ave. windows in NY are being designed by Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan for Apartment Therapy, Eddie Ross for ELLE DECOR, and Eileen Joyce for Bloomingdale’s.

Bloomingdales' Window designed by Eileen Joyce

 

Apartment Therapy's Window designed by Maxwell Gilliam-Ryan

Elle Decor's Window designed by Eddie Ross

Voting takes place through Thursday, January 28th, via AT's website, where they enjoy a home court advantage and yet are still running a distant second to my friends at Elle Decor and, of course, Eddie Ross. Go team Elle Decor!



 Subscribe to ::Surroundings::