I did the coffee table loaded with hard bound design books, big clear seeded hurricanes, little candles, and a crumbling fruit basket statuary. Very fun and a little busy. The dining table I did with a faded red olive motif tablecloth slung to the side, an oversize mercury vase with fresh greens, and two 30″ (that’s pretty tall) myrtle topiary in clay pots.  The mantle was very simple with little bottle green bulb vases holding hyacinth, Osage oranges (not really orange but bright lime green) also known as horse apples…love those interesting bumpy little fruits, L and R’s gorgeous oil landscape by Leslie Hurst, and my own funky painting, Chinese House Man Holding a Birdcage.

The first house to be shot was a very rustic, Spanish style home built around 1995.  I counted nine sky lights in the main house alone. The floors are tile, the walls are stucco.  It has gorgeous hand carved beams throughout. In this home I did a slip covered sofa and armchair, two small upholstered secondary chairs in an ethnic stripe, a rustic coffee table, matching television cabinet, a planked wood dining room table, 6 wood and straw chairs, and 2 slip covered parson chairs in a brown print with pale blue trim and ties. And a beautiful bronze Jamie Young lamp with a silk bird motif shade.  I like the shade because the bird motif matches the hand painted designs above many of the doorways. I did custom pillows and curtains too. The second shoot was a much different style home: different architecture, different clients. This particular client had a lot of accessories to work with, many of them purchased from my store. She calls her style Cape Cod. I call it ‘vedy’ British.  I restyled the living room simply by rearranging the pillows and doing a new arrangement on the coffee table.  I had already accessorized this place a few years ago so today it just needed a little freshening up.  I did a wire basket with lime green pears and a stack of coffee table books.  In the dining room…so sweet…I again did two 30″ myrtle topiary and a cream and pale blue British soup urn.  Then we set the table for an impromptu snack with wine glasses and a stack of dessert plates.  When I was done, even my brother the minimalist thought it looked great.  He was so inspired, he took 300 more photos!  Just kidding.  But I bet he took 150.  This client loves yellow and blue, the colors of Sweden not Britain, but no matter! She loves it and so does her hubby. And so do I. We did a new floral slipcover for her old sofa, custom pillows, a new cream color armchair with contrasting trim, custom window coverings, and slip covered dining room chairs to match her curtains. With her living room, dining room, master and guest room done we’re now at work on the study/television room and outdoor patio.