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Last Minute Centerpiece - Lessons from an 'Architectural Digest' Photo Shoot

Perhaps by way of karmic reward for the unstagable house I did this week, I was rewarded with the opportunity to accessorize a photo shoot for Architectural Digest on Thursday. What a hoot!

Such a cast of characters - the tall, stately photographer, the fastidious, finicky interior designer, the cool, calm architect, the nervous, perplexed homeowner and me, the stager. What, a stager? Well, I had the accessories, you see, and the crew to move all the distasteful rugs out of the shot, plus the ability to accomplish "temporary design."

I have yet to see the pictures, so quite honestly I don't know how successful we were. But, man did I learn a lot! The most useful tip I got, was probably something you all know. Really good for Owner Occupieds. On the off chance you don't, here goes -

The kitchen, breakfast nook and one of 3 family rooms are all open to each other. We had spectacular floral arrangements brought in for the DR and Breakfast tables. 2 seriously awesome pieces, here's one -

Floral Design used in staging

(These 3 are my photos, btw, which is why the lighting is odd, the framing a bit off and you can see a white plastic bag in the background!!!!)

We had typical faux fruit in a variety of places. Here's the biggest one -

Fruit used to stag home for sale in NJ

But then we needed one more. I had arrived with more props than I would normally because I knew every piece would be a discussion between the architect, the designer and myself. I also knew the designer would have to have options. (This contributed to the sheer exhaustion of IN one day and OUT the next, but was an incredibly good workout.) I had a basket left.

No problem, says the designer (who was perhaps warming to the whole usefulness of a stager/accessorizer, who knows?) and she heads over to the fridge. She takes out every vegetable the lady has and voila - a very tasteful centerpiece:

Vegetable Centerpiece for home staging NJ

Good, eh?

She (the interior designer) tweaked when I wasn't looking. I tweaked when she wasn't looking. The photo-dude took 35 minutes to frame and light each shot... 4 - 8 angles in each of 6 rooms...it was the longest day of my life!

In a day or so, I shall blog on all the other things I learned working alongside these amazing pros - just a phenomenally talented architect and the aforementioned, up and coming interior designer, whose work was in Elle Decor already, I think. It could have been a nightmare, but we all agreed up front to be good friends when the project was over, and it worked.

For owner-occupieds, I tell you, a vegetable display is a great quick fix. I'm a believer, now!

Juliet Johnson Staging provides home staging services, in addition to accessorizing photo shoots, temporary design and holiday decorating within New Jersey.

Juliet Johnson Staging provides NJ Luxury Real Estate with staging and online promotion services, and been successfully home staging nj for the last 7 years.

Posted by Home Staging Myrtle Beach - Juliet Johnson on 10/07/2007 09:05 PM

Comments (17)

home staging new jersey, accessorizing photo shoots, great staging centerpiece

17 Comments on Last Minute Centerpiece - Lessons from an 'Architectural Digest' Photo Shoot

OCT

2007

I will remember your tip. Looking forward to part 2 of your day.

Hi Vicky, thanks for visiting. What a neat title you have! Are you an auctioneer for lots of things, or just real estate? Sounds really interesting. Would love to hear more.

Juliet - You are the luckiest of ducks!!! I read (as most of us do) many, many magazines, BUT I have been a looooong time fan of Architectural Digest! That magazine must be one of the few that I decide every now and then I must keep for future reference, not an article to be clipped mind you; the entire magazine! - I have a shelf (a very large one at that) devoted to A.D. magazines - and yes, I definitely DO refer back to them when I'm "stuck" and need some inspiration.

I like the basket of veggies suggestion. The lettuce is what surprised me...I'm sitting here thinking, "but of course!"

Quick ?? for you....are those white shears on the inside of the breakfast nook or are they part of a sitting porch? I'm curious as to why they're on one side and not the other and am trying to figure it out.

Jackie

reminds me of some of the various shoots we've been part of in LA. It's a long day, that's true, but we always learn a lot, and it's fun. Like your photos, and the last one best.

cheers

Yeah, the lettuce - lush, green, interestingly textured. Not sure how long the piece would last, but it would get you through a brokers' or public open... or a last minute, "we're in the driveway" showing. I too love AD, Jackie, and really study it trying to learn all I can. I often get distracted by the details, however.

Juliet,

I wouldn't worry about how long the veggie accessory will last, as long as it makes it through the photo shoot. This is exactly the type of thing we need to bone up on. not only do we need to know how to create a beautiful setting but we need to know how to create a beautiful shot. I'd like to see stagers take control of the listing photos. The MLS would look a lot better.

Cool, thanks, great ideas and nice blog

Juliete! How cool was that? Isn't it amazing how long it does take to get a good shot? He probably took a hundred shots but will only use one or two. Did he have it hooked up to the computer so that you could actually see the shot? I love AD and look forward to seeing how the whole thing turned out for you. I learned so much by working with a photographer, too bad I can't afford the equipment :)

Juliet - Let us know when it will appear in print, that will be fun to see the finished shots! Looking forward to reading your blog about this experience ~ Congratulations!

OCT

2007

Hi Juliet -- Sounds like a great experience. I love that you mention how you tweaked when the Designer wasn't looking...and she tweaked when you weren't looking...quite the funny visual!

Abso-tootin-lutely, Susan! The MLS is no help at all when it comes to looking at pictures of a house to see if it's worth visiting. We've just started looking for our next house, in a different part of the state, and it's quite remarkable how hard it is to get any sense of a place from the photos.

LKP - He had it hooked up but wouldn't let us see them.

Maureen - I'm hoping to see the proofs soon... I'm most anxious about whether or not there was enough stuff for good shots.

Dee - a great experience, if albeit l-o-n-g!

OCT

2007

Juliet,

All I can say is OOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHH, AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH! How cool the whole experience must have been!

Penny White

Juliet, It looks great and also can't wait to see the finished photos. How do you get these jobs? Word of mouth and being in the business for awhile? You do a great job!

Diane Concialdi

Congratulations on a great job!!!!!!!!! I too was wondering how in the world do you come across these opportunities? It's neat to see that "someone" knew that not only did they need a designer on the set, but your services as well.

By the way, I don't think I would luck out and just happen to have such a great assortment of fresh vegetable in my fridge!!!! LOL!

I haven't marketed this aspect of staging yet... nor Wall Street Divorces... so far it has come via referral. The magazine shoot I got from staging someone's house who referred me to their architect. The Divorce came from a realtor.

I'm with you, Julie, on the veg. Tired old mushrooms would be about it!