(Saw this at Brimfield Friday before shoot and seriously should have bought it for my office.)

Last week I styled a photo shoot for a magazine.  This is something that I never would have dreamed I would have been asked to do two years ago.  It’s just another thing that has happened to me this year that leaves me going “What? Me? Really???“.  To most people, myself included, hearing the words “styling” and “photo shoot” conjures up images of glamour and air kisses and rainbows. I now can tell you that is not so. While I am very proud of the results and feel it was very much worth it, it was one of the hardest, most stressful things I’ve done as of late. So here is how it REALLY goes down:

THE DISSECTION & TIME LINE OF A STYLING JOB

• May 5: OMG, I’ve been asked to style a magazine feature! Am real, grown up, legitimate designer! This is magnificent news, worthy of three or four drinks!
• May 25: I have so much time to do this. SO much time. No sweat (scurries off to Facebook/ client work/ puppies/interwebs).
• June 1: Holy sh*t, this is happening in a month and a half! I need to start thinking of ideas! (**Crickets chirping**)
• June 2: I suck. I can’t think of anything. Will be exposed as complete fraud! All of Boston will point and laugh!
• June 15: Ok, I have an idea! It’s going to be brilliant! Happy dance!
• June 16th: Just kidding, that idea won’t work. Back to the drawing board. (Hits forehead on desk)
• June 17: Have done nothing but lie on office floor and stare at ceiling waiting for divine design intervention to happen. (Ok, and maybe a little Facebook.)
• June 18: Design concept is due ASAP! Panic ensues! Spend 48 hours on interwebs obsessively searching for things and muttering to self. Husband contemplates straight jacket as birthday gift this year. I request that it’s zebra and monogrammed.
• June 19: Facebook friends become concerned about negative, homicidal status updates.
• June 20: It’s actually coming together. I’m liking it.
• June 22: Finish up concept boards. Not perfect, but good. Send off to editor.
• June 24: Editor likes them! Success! It’s all a cakewalk from here (Note: foreboding music plays in back round)
• July 1: Shoot scheduled for July 20. That’s in 19 days. Ruh-roh. Will deal after the 4th. I need to carb load in preparation for the home stretch.
• July 6:  Have assistant call people begging them to lend us furniture. Some are nice, some are not. Hello, free press people! This biz is bananas.
• July 10: Realize I have to order/buy the non-loanable stuff. Shiz.
• July 12: The rug I planned on using is BACK-ORDERED! AHHHHH! Good thing I have one in my living room. Will have to get wine and spaghetti stains out of it ASAP.
• July 13: Waking up in the middle of the night panicking that everyone forgets about loaning me items and nothing shows up. Way worse than being naked in the middle of school/work dream. This happens for the next 7 nights. Yay for prescriptions.
• July 15: OK, everything seems to be in order. Off to Brimfield tomorrow! Can finally relax!
• July 16: In middle of hot, sunny field hyperventilating. Pick up of items needs to be day earlier than expected. As in MONDAY. OMG. OMG. OMG.
• July 16: Text/call assistant on day off obsessively. She saves the day. Bow down in front of antique stone Buddha praising her existence. Vendor wondering if I’m buying it or not.
• July 19: Make husband and assistant assemble random IKEA items. Dodge evil glares like ninja.
• July 19: Pace in circles waiting to hear if movers picked up everything. Tick tock, tick tock.
• July 19: YAY! It’s all being delivered into the space! Drive over to check it out and unload car full of items.
• July 19: OMG. They picked up the wrong piece! WTF!?!? Am going to die! DIIIIIIIEEEEEE.
• July 19: Crisis averted. Vendor bringing right time in the morning. See everything works out! Set up room #1 and love it. First smile in days.
• July 20- 4 a.m. : Up before roosters. Freaking out. Why don’t stores open at 6 a.m.? Write crappy blog post, too nervous to focus.
• July 20- 9 a.m.-: Last minute pick up of items.  Have incredible trouble picking out houseplant. Feels equivalent to finding peace in the Middle East. Stress has reduced brain to oatmeal.
• July 20- 9:30 a.m. : Where is vendor with correct piece? Melt into puddle of anxiety on townhouse floor. SERENITY NOW!!!
• July 20- 10 a.m. : OK, this is not good. Vendor not coming, have to go get myself two towns over! Attempt to delegate to assistant but am control freak and want to do everything myself. Note in Blackberry: Must work on this.
• July 20- 11 a.m. : Shoot starts in 45 minutes but I am not liking that vase on bit. Send assistant to store to get new one. She probably updates her resume in the car and/or contemplates driving into road divider.
• July 20- 12:00 : Photographers arrive. They are nice. Yay for nice people.
• July 20- 12:01: No, I do not know how we are going to hang that light without putting holes in the ceiling. I did not know I had to have a M.S. in Craftiness! Run to hardware store to get magical sticky hooks.
• July 20- 1:00: Dear Magical Sticky Hook People: You should get Nobel Prize. I love you. xoxo, Erin
• July 20- 1:30: Room is the wrong orientation. Shot needs to be vertical. Room is horizontal. Basically write out mathematical theorem trying to figure out how to make it work. P.S. I nearly failed math.
• July 20- 1:45: Click. First shots taken! It looks AWESOME!
• July 20- 1:45-3:00: Click. Click. Think about  celebratory dinner husband has surely planned in head. Click. Click.
• July 20- 3:15: WE’RE DONE!!!!
• July 20-3:20: JK. I forgot we have to move everything out. Realize I could patent “Photo Shoot Staging Diet/Workout”- have lost 5 lbs in a week and a half. Watch out Tracy Anderson.
• July 20- 5:00: Husband did NOT plan celebratory dinner. Humph. Rob Pattinson surely would have.
• July 20- 6:30: Go our for dinner. Eat half of large pizza. Pat self on back.
• July 20- 9:00: Go to bed same time as most toddlers. Dream of wild editorial success (and Rob Pattinson).

THE END!!!!

Lets’ start with the color saturated cover story- a 390 square foot Manhattan residence designed by owner David Kaihoi for him, his wife and their daughter.  There are so many fabulous things about this space- the daring choice of color, the multi-purpose furniture, the jaw-dropping wallpaper in the bedroom and cherry red closet interior!  The only thing I wonder about is the kid sleeping in the same room as her parents every night on a trundle. That would get old fast for me, and I have to imagine it’s  abit of a drag on their “relationship”. But let’s gloss over that and focus on the space:

Next up, what might be my favorite of the spaces covered- a one bedroom in NYC’s Gramercy Park (I lived there in college and LOVE that area).  I absolutely love the light in this place- and the decor just amplifies that with the white floor, the neutral but interesting color palette and the slight dollhouse feel to it. I would live here in a heartbeat.

And finally, a California bungalow that undoubtedly will cause you to smile and fire up your desire to blend up a fierce margarita! I adore the whimsy, sense of fun and LIFE in this space.

]]> http://www.elementsofstyleblog.com/2010/07/hb-julyaugust-inspiration-galore.html/feed 27 http://www.elementsofstyleblog.com/2010/05/meg-ryans-vineyard-home.html http://www.elementsofstyleblog.com/2010/05/meg-ryans-vineyard-home.html#comments Wed, 19 May 2010 11:38:18 +0000 Erin Gates http://www.elementsofstyleblog.com/?p=4589 The Elle Decor site is giving a little sneak preview of a spread from their upcoming issue featuring Meg Ryan’s Martha’s Vineyard home.  Talk about a breath of fresh air- it’s GORGEOUS. (P.S. Meg, please, keep all future work on houses and not on your face. Thanks. We love you the way you are.)

The kitchen is a phenomenal blend of old and new and feels perfectly suited for MV.

I want to be in this tub. Right now.

The view from the house looks like a painting. Perfection.

Meg has worked on some movies with incredible homes as sets (The Land of Women, The Women, etc.) but my favorite is still You’ve Got Mail. First of all, it’s a movie I can watch anytime and not get sick of. Secondly, her brownstone apartment in that film, while not my personal interior taste, is SO charming I can’t help but want to move right in. Plus, her character’s adorable little book store and the eternally charming, “I-Have-A-Inexplicable-Crush-On-Him” Tom Hanks to round it out makes her fictional life envious.

Some screen shots from that adorable studio apartment via Hooked on Houses:

What not start with editor Michelle Adams’ own apartment? I adore the whimsy of this ostrich wallpaper- you have to look close to get a giggle because at first it looks botanical or floral from far away. A sense of humor is always appreciated in a home!  The vignette of the vintage console mixed with layered art, lighting and accoutrement is pure perfection (confession: I LOOOOOOVE curating tabletop scenes like this. LOVE.)

Her dining area is totally accessible in that I immediately recognized the chairs from Ballard and the table from West Elm. The mix of traditional and modern is fantastic as are the big, modern art prints!

Oh hello black wall. Need I say more? I think not.

This shot is just gorgeous, as many transition shots are.  From bright and white to black and cozy- I wanna just move in!

Laura Day’s place slayed me. Like I almost fell on the ground and died a slow cinematic death over the details. This whole dining room- the mirrored panels, art, drapes, FLOORS, cute kid…. modern marvel (I would have added a fab chandelier though, just sayin’)

Although not my taste typically- the stylistic mix of her living room looks bright and fun- the vintage rug with the hollywood glam console, bold contemporary art and lots of textures….

The kids rooms are the COOLEST in their sparse yet creatively cool decor!  The overscale mirror above the crib? LOVE! And the photo wall above the toddler bed with the Paul Smith rug (which coincidentally has been in two posts in the past week) are fun yet not baby-ish AT ALL.

This is what I call a design sneak attack- this hallway seating area looks lovely with it’s contrasts and punch of color….

And then BAM- you’re hit square in the face with the amazingness of the back of the settee! How I appreciate details like this- it’s kind of like a ninja kick to the head, in a good way. That doesn’t make sense, but you know what I mean. :)

These two spaces I appreciated for it’s dressing up of a modern loft-like space. We looked at a loft yesterday that was really quite awesome and a potential for our next residence. I loved the super high ceilings and airy feel but those kinds of spaces can feel a bit box-like.  I love the mixed use of soft, transitional pieces, antiques and color to create a cozy feel in a architecturally cold space.

I so need a lucite trunk in my life.

I have this rug in my own LR and I am still loving it! Thanks West Elm!

This is so great- it’s a small, not totally updated kitchen seen in rentals cities round the country- she totally made it look cool and unique with the black paint, over scale print and light fixture. ADORE the craftiness.

Finally, this house I found to be so cozy and layered and interesting. A total mix of modern and traditional each room has it’s own personality and yet they work together. Bravo!

That mantle is amazeballs. I love it.

I have had a thing for dark blue dining room walls lately- fresh and dramatic yet traditional all the same time.

The moody wallpapered walls in the bedroom and closet are pretty darn rad.

Is there anything a gallery wall can’t fix?

An interesting mix of rustic (brick floors) with industrial modern. Yet it works!

Now go read the issue yourself if you haven’t!  I have a Lonny-worthy project in the works that I think I’ll pitch to them when it’s done. It’s B-A-N-A-N-A-S good, if I do say so myself!

]]> http://www.elementsofstyleblog.com/2010/04/lonnylicious.html/feed 16 http://www.elementsofstyleblog.com/2010/04/boston-modern.html http://www.elementsofstyleblog.com/2010/04/boston-modern.html#comments Tue, 06 Apr 2010 13:52:15 +0000 Erin Gates http://www.elementsofstyleblog.com/?p=3798 If you’ve wandered the charming streets of Beacon Hill’s Charles Street you know not only is it an ideal place to live, but shop as well.  One  of my favorite home stores there is Koo de Kir- nestled off Charles just a bit it houses some fabulous designs as well as Kristine Irving’s design studio.  This past issue of New England Home showcased one of Kristine’s projects right in the same neighborhood as her shop.  I simply adore the mix of modern, antique and traditional in this space- and those huge living room windows left me drooling.

photos by Scott Frances for AD

As has been reported gossip blogs the world over, the March Architectural Digest features the lovely Jennifer Aniston on the cover and inside takes a tour of her renovated L.A. home. I finally found some photos online of it (with my ninja-like web surfing skills) and to be honest, I am surprised AND disappointed! This isn’t at all what I would picture her bachelorette pad to be- instead I think it looks like a BACHELOR pad (perhaps that’s the point? To not scare off men with copious amounts of femininity?) Quite the opposite to the lovely Colette’s single gal home we saw yesterday (to which there will be a follow up complete with sources, by the way! So glad you loved it as much as I did!)

I had fun pulling together what I personally imagine for Jen (since we’re tight and all). Something modern but with a more natural, light feel that references her devotion to yoga and love for the beach. What do you think?

Jen Aniston LR by elementsofstyleblog on Polyvore.com

Metropolitan Home is done for.

ANOTHER ONE.  You’ve got to be f-ing kidding me. And yet Log Home Living continues circulation….someone please explian this to me because I DO NOT FOLLOW.

What a week for press! Check out my picks for ten of my favorite rooms on Canadian House & Home Magazine’s website! Remember i deemed them the “new Domino“? Well now I love them even more! Thanks H&H!

Top pic: dress by Club Monaco, belt by BCBG

Bottom pic: Dress by Milly