Designing French Home Accessories and Magazine Secrets

 2017 has been an incredible year for me as far as magazine features goes!  It never gets old

to know that my home or yard is going to be inside a magazine, and never did I think I would 

get a cover.  Until the day that Fifi O'Neill came to do my house for Romantic Country Spring 2017 

issue and the photographer, Mark Lohman said to her, "This is going to be a cover try", as he

pointed to my living room and where he planned to take a photo.  Um...what??? I was standing

right there, but its like I wasn't standing right there while they did their business.  Any way, after

that comment, he mentioned another angle that could be a "cover try", and that is when I started 

thinking that getting my house on the cover would be very cool indeed.  And it happened!

I got an email from Fifi telling me they had picked my living room for the Spring cover.

Wow.  Just like that.  It takes months before it comes out in print (and sometimes longer),

and of course you just would never mention anything like that or you might JINX it and it

would likely be considered bad etiquette in the magazine world.  I would think.

My next two shoots were with Matthew Mead for different publications, one being his own

brand special edition magazines, published by Country Sampler, and it was all about Outdoor Style.

 Since we are good buddies now, I was able to see the process of the magazine cover decision,

and it was pretty darn interesting.  The publisher likes to have control over these things, and they 

picked many "possible" covers, including several of my shots.  Images get edited and re-edited and copy gets changed and colors of the titles and on and on.

OMG, could it happen again, with another cover shot?  

Yes, it did!! I had to keep it quiet for several months, which was not fun.

I was so proud of this shoot, and the way it all turned out, and I just hope this magazine gets the readers it deserves, because its packed with all kinds of outdoor spaces, including my awesome French Courtyard.  We love our courtyard!  If anyone is interested in getting a chance to win a free copy of this Upstyled Home Outdoors issue, leave a comment letting me know why you would like to get one, and you will be entered to win.  Make sure I have an email address so I can contact you for your mailing address, in case you win.  This magazine hits news stands April 25th, 2017.

 The other magazine that you may have noticed on the first photo, was Where Women Create.

This is a big honor, to be featured in this magazine, as artists of note and talent are interviewed

in their workshops and studios.  This issue will be out May 1st, and it is a biographical type article

on where I found my creativity and what nurtured my creative nature.  I hope you enjoy it.  If you ever wanted to know more about me, this is your chance, lol.  So one of the secretive parts of the magazine world, is that sometimes you get left on the cutting room floor.  And that just happened to me this week.  I was contacted by an editor of Country Home to possibly be included in their Style Makers section of the next issue, due in June 2017.  Wow.  This is really amazing! I wasn't sure what to make of all these features, but it was certainly thrilling to be considered a Style Maker.  And just like that, I got an email saying there wasn't enough room in the issue, and that I may be considered for one of their future issues. So POOF!  But hey, I am more than thrilled to be in the racks this year

in these great issues.    

The other bit of very cool news is that I was contacted to do some design work for a private company who is a wholesaler of romantic styled European clothing and who has decided to add some complementary home accessories to the line.  They wanted to know if I would give them some designs for French home decor.  So we struck a handshake of a deal, and my designs have been well received thus far.  Its funny because as a former owner of a little retail home boutique shop, I had a hard time finding things that I personally was attracted to, given my penchant for French style.  And now I get to CREATE French style items that will be made in factories and it couldn't be more exciting!  As things move along, I will be sharing more specifics, but for now we are fleshing out concepts and items to be included in the collection.

 One of my favorite things is to sketch. 

My design sketches are done in pencil with a bit of colored pencil 

added to give it some life, then emailed to the owner of the company for approval.

The feeling is an overall rustic and elegant European look.  

I will share the company and where you may be able to find these items

designed by moi as soon as they become available.

Yum. 

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2016 Top Blog Posts: French and DIY with One Runaway Hit

The start of this New Year at Maison Decor Blog  has me looking back at what my readers seemed to find most interesting.  Sometimes surprising, but this past year underscores that my DIY projects combined with a French flavor seem to bring the most views.  And I am happy about that, because those are two things that I consider a big part of who I am and what I love to do.  

Home and Garden projects that cultivate my love for the French style makes me a happy girl indeed.  

So lets take a look at the posts that everyone seemed to love, and that perhaps you may have missed.

A French Style Courtyard Comes to Life

This was a huge project and it was hands down my favorite!  Taking a dumpy unused space behind our home and making it a family favorite was really not that hard to do.  It took vision, more than anything, and some persuasion to get hubs to help me moving stones.  But stones aside,  I hope it gives you the idea to take a second look around your home's property to see what spot you could do a makeover on to gain a well loved and used space.

The before and after are quite startling, aren't they?  

Not taken from the same vantage point, but both showing the back facade of our home.

  Where the single window is, in the before shot, now stands the French doors.

 And the rest flowed from there.  The most important single element to creating this 

French style courtyard was using pea gravel as a base to create the French style outdoor space.

  Look for this courtyard to be featured in Matthew Mead's Spring issue of Upstyled Home, 

coming in March 2017.  I have seen the preview, and I have to say I was totally blown away

 by this feature and the other gardens Matthew has for this issue. 

 I CANNOT wait for you all to see this issue!!!

French Labels: An Easy DIY Transfer Method

This DIY post on how to make easy labels was another hit.  I love easy projects, and this one fits the bill.  Most of us have these battery operated pillar candles, and I personalized mine using a simple method that took a few minutes, using my printer and some packing tape.  After the candles, I did the lantern itself.  This method works great on glass or plain surfaces.  

Look how pretty it looked at Christmas! 
It would be awesome to make stamps personalized with names or monograms for weddings or showers or birthdays.....you get the idea.  I guess people like doing easy projects, just like I do. 

French Door For the Shed

This was another DIY garden project that I was very proud to finish.

The garden shed was created using a dilapidated structure, and then I shingled it with

the help of my son.  Never having done anything like this before, it was very fun

and although we may have not done it according to the "rules", it is a sturdy 

attractive feature to our back yard. 

I think the French door I found on Craiglist and added to the front gave it big time curb appeal.  
You can read more about the shed in the first post I am sharing above about the Courtyard.

Blue Fairy Tale Table

This painted daybed was part of an antique bed set that 

I had in my possession when I operated my shop.  

All pieces sold, except for the tea table which I kept for myself.  

Readers, like myself, seem to love beautiful French style antiques!

This charming painted table has made it's way into the

 current issue of Romantic Country magazine!

I had moved it from the living room up to my bedroom, where it is today. 

For a behind the magazine shoot story, here you go: 

Funny thing is, I sleep on the other side of the

bed, and that is where the table sits, under the window.  So for the shoot, Fifi O'Neill

moved the bed to hubby's side so it would make for a pretty picture.  And then she piled

up any pink and floral linens I had on the bed, and as they say, the rest is history!

(P.S. You can buy the Spring 2017 Romantic Country mag

where ever magazines are sold, so go get one!)

My living room is featured on the current cover, and inside you will see the 

rest of our home.  Some of these rooms have not been seen in the blog, so don't miss it!

And last, but not least, was this post that turned out to be a mega-hit as far as 

my statistics are concerned.  I was shocked at how many people read this post.

At least five times more than my most popular post, the biggest post of the year

was this tutorial I wrote on how to upholster a French chair.

How To Reupholster The Easy Way: My French Chair

My first attempt at reupholstering is captured step by step as I tried to 

show how you can do it the easy way.  Have I said I like things that are easy?

Yup, it was pretty easy, although nontraditional, I am pleased to say it is almost a year

since I have done it and the chair looks just as good the day I finished it.

So that is my 2016 round up for popular blog posts.

Just a mix of French with DIY and that is me, in a nutshell.

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My Photo Shoot with Fifi O'Neill and Mark Lohman

 I had the pleasure and the honor of being selected to have my house featured in 

Fifi O'Neill's Romantic Country magazine.  For months it's been in the making, and 

the last few days were killer, getting everything looking polished and shiny.

Living with a pesky puppy in particular means white slipcovers need to be washed

and I didn't dare put them back on until the morning of the shoot.  As soon as I 

did, Colby came over and wiped his breakfasty mouth on one of the cushions.

Grrrrrr!!! I decided to have him spend the day with my son Brandon to get him out

of the house and away from what was about to take place.  While I waited for 

Fifi to arrive with photographer Mark Lohman and his assistant, son Taylor, I took a 

few shots of my "before" status.  I was very interested to see what Fifi would do to

style the rooms in the house.  As soon as they arrived, I gave them a tour of the 

house and they rooms they wanted to shoot.  They spoke their own language it seemed

as they made decisions rapidly about what angles would be shot, and what things 

needed to get changed up for a good looking photo.  They have shot over 50 homes 

together and they work efficiently and playfully to capture the best these private homes

have to offer.  So for me it was a pleasure to observe and sometimes chime in on 

the different stages of how the photos were coming together.

Although we started in the bedroom, these iPhone pics show them in action.

Little adjustments are made between each shot, and then accessed in the monitor.

Notice how dark the room is...after having sunshine for the last three months, it decided

to be the darkest day ever the morning of my shoot.  But I was told not to worry.

And boy was that the truth, as I soon would find out.

 They set the monitor on the piano top and focused for this shot, only the sofa

and coffee table.  Fifi set up a cup of tea (actually diet coke with water) and some 

other items she rummaged from my kitchen.  She asked if I had a few cookies...errrr...

no I did not. But luckily I had my mother in law (who lives next doors) to rely on.

I proudly told Fifi and Mark that she was a Swedish gal who loved baking cookies and I 

would run and get a few for this shot.  But when I went over to get them, she looked 

flummoxed and said all she had were some Keebler elves cookies in the freezer.  

Hahah!! OMG, the cookies were little elves....with writing on them. Not so Romantic.

Then Fifi asked me if I had any mint, and when I gave her some sprigs from the garden,

she arranged the cookies on the plate with the mint and it all looked quite nice.

This was the resulting shot.  Most beautiful!  

She added big fluffy pink hydrangeas to my Costco bunch of roses

 and the floral arrangement went from standard to luxurious.

Fifi plucked elements of my pink lusterware collection for the "tea" service.

A snap of the camera would result in micro adjustments of a pillow or a throw,

and those little adjustments often made the difference between average and glorious.

The shoot actually started on the top floor of the house with my bedroom and bath.

The equipment was all brought up by Taylor and set up to include lighting

and the camera and the monitor.  Here Fifi checks the shots from the bedroom.

After checking, she would go make adjustments. When it came to my bedding,

she opted to switch out some of the pillow cases and added toss pillows and a pink

chenille bedspread to give it a more layered Romantic look. Colby hates that pink spread

and when I did have it on the end of the bed once, he made sure to get it off in short order.

After the main shot of the room was taken, Mark zeroed in on some detail shots.

The small swedish chair came out of the bathroom, as did my pashmina.

It ended up being a very pretty shot, and I loved it.

Seriously, how good is this?!

The master bath was the second room to shoot, and they worked on an area

that centered on the sink.  White rugs were replaced with a vintage hooked rug

I had and Fifi set up my vanity bench in the center.  It looked pretty before

they even snapped a shot!  She switched things around and used some of my costume

jewelry and my big bottle of Chanel No 5 to make the shot more glamorous.

Other rooms were the kitchen, my tiny dark kitchen.

But they made it look bright and beautiful.

And the dining room, which centered on my transferware collection and the Swedish bench I got

from Matthew Mead and then they did an overall shot showing the whole room.  So pretty!

After six hours, my day of watching styling and shooting had come to an end.  

Things were returned to their rightful spot and we said our goodbyes.  

It was such a fun experience for me, as I covet home decor magazines, 

and have examined lovely rooms over the years in their pages. 

 To have my house come out in Romantic Country will be such a thrill!

Due to be out in December, it will officially be the spring issue. 

 Other homes around New England will also be featured.  

If you have instagram check us out!

Fificoconut and Amymaisondecor are our account names.

Since we both hate having our pics taken we decided to just

look at each other, hahah!

At the end of the day, the wires were all corralled and the dog was let back

into the house.  Life begins again, regular style.

But I will always love the idea of how it could be... with a small village to help!

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