Styling for HomeGoods : Part Three

 It was the day of the HomeGoods photoshoot.  The days leading up to it were filled with getting the look just right for various shots around the location house.  The photographer, Dan,  and his assistant arrived along with a swarm of others and everybody got down to business.  There were a few little details being ironed out to perfection, but most of the styling was completed and the scenes were ready to be shot.  Essentially this is how the day would go~the photog taking pics and then checking in his computer monitor to see how it looked, as the HG team looked on as well. My job was to make adjustments as the shoot was underway.  For example, move the creamer to the right....or lets try a different flower than the one we have now. 

 I will show you some before and afters, but I will tell you that my iPhone pics were NOTHING like what I was seeing on the photographers computer after he took his shots. NOTHING!!! Good photography is so inspiring and amazing, and I am always in awe of those who wield a camera with stunning results. 

The beginnings of a shot with some of the serving pieces...

And the final shot after adding food and getting it just right.

  The pretty carrot cake and pie and pastries all came from Whole Foods.

The serving pieces were all from HomeGoods.  I used silver and white and mixed in

some green desert dishes and coffee mugs that had a toile vibe to them. A very pretty pattern

using black white and grey on top of the green. That tied in our dinner table, and then to give it

a fall feel, I used orange sparingly in a flower bouquet and a carrot cake. A freshly baked apple pie

cut and served up on a plate gave it a lived in look.  I was afraid to cut into the pie as I am a bit of

a slob, and so I asked a food stylist if she would mind doing the honors.  (smile)

Tiered towers are so beautiful filled with deserts and are such a simple way to make

 your desert offerings stand out.  A white coffee pot looks both modern and traditional in stark white

sitting on a silver pedestal base.  Did you know the coffee pots are the tall ones and the short chubby pots are for tea?  

 The computer monitor allows the photographer to make adjustments as he shoots.  It also lets the team see what the finished result is right then and there.  Its super exciting to see it come to life through the lens of a good photographer, and Dan was the man who had it going on!

 Here he is capturing the front door scene that I styled for fall.  White lanterns

mixed with faux pumpkins and then that hay bale from my shed worked great to 

create an autumn scene.  The perfect candy corn blanket and a big full wreath 

finished the shot.  At the last minute I cut all the leaves off of a garland I had brought

from home.  It looked just like the trees were shedding their leaves in October. 

 The front entry of this house was lovely and by adding just a few touches, it was complete.

Dan instagrammed this pic of me styling a shot.  I had no idea he took it...probably checking for light or something, but then he surprised me by tagging me on Instagram @amymaisondecor.   I love how social networks work like this. So now I follow him and he is following me and you can see what each of us is up to when we check our instagram accounts.  That is a carefully half eaten donut on a plate with a cup of ((cold)) coffee in an adorable fox mug.  Oh, and yesterday I mentioned that I snuck a few pieces of my life into some of the shots~well look over my shoulder and a few of the photo frames contain pics from my family!  That is hubby and his brother's baby portrait. 

This shot of the table you might barely notice a little wooden squirrel sitting on the wooden pedestal that I used to elevate the candle hurricane.  My grandfather carved that squirrel.  I sat him on the table and when we started shooting, he was moved into position so Dan could capture him better.  He was a star!  I never met my grandfather as he had died before I was born, so this was kind of a neat tribute right before Fathers day.  We had a lot more shots, and I don't want to steal the thunder of when all of this comes out this fall, so I will leave it here.  I will share when they publish the finished shots, and I cannot wait to see how they look.  It was a wonderful experience styling shots for HomeGoods.  I shop there all the time (like today again for a Newport RI shoot coming up tomorrow for someone else) so it felt like a natural fit to work with them.  So call me when you need help HomeGoods!

I can't say enough good things about this company.  They are all lovely people.  Have you ever noticed how that happens.  Nice people hang around other nice people.

I went to bed with another job set for the morning. So much for closing the shop and being a homemaker.  The next day I headed to Newport Rhode Island with my old shop manager, Julia.  We were there to do some faux finishing on the mantel and bookcases, hang up draperies and style the place with a bunch of pillows from HomeGoods. 

And when we had finished on Sunday, this is where we left off.  Formerly all white, it looks so beautiful and the entire room has a much more sophisticated yet relaxed vibe.  I am loving this finish we did with Annie Sloan's French Linen and Old White.  The pillows were an important touch to the overall look of the room. It had the owners furnishings, which were all in neutrals, and all that I needed were some decorator accents in pillows. Well I will be back there tomorrow to do a shoot with Matthew Mead and I have a car load of HomeGoods accessories to set up! Like beautiful sconces for the mantel and other goodies.  

I styled the bookcase with HomeGoods pillows too!

Out of an old apple basket they spilled onto the top

of the built in, giving it a soft warm inviting look.  

All I need now is hurricanes on the mantle shelf.  The decor is minimal

and it gives a modern feel to a traditional layout.

The before picture...

And the after picture...well almost after. It will be finished as of tomorrow.

I will be back and show how we painted the built-ins to get that Restoration Hardware 

look if you want to give it a try yourself. I'll share how basic the editing was to get this

finished look.  Sometimes its more about what you DON"T use than what you do in decorating.

Note: this post was partially sponsored by HomeGoods as part of my participation in their designer Pinterest board, Happy by Design. Click here to see tips and tricks from Designers using HomeGoods accessories and home furnishings.