behind the scenes at Blue Door Cottage

It was a long day yesterday at our photo shoot for Cottages & Bungalows at the Blue Door Cottage. We were there for almost ten hours trying to fit in every adorable shoot we could!  

I have to say it’s such a fun group to work with! Editor of Cottages & Bungalows Jickie Torres, has so much experience in the magazine world, and I’m truly so thankful to be able to collaborate with her and her team on a fun project like this. 

Photographer Bret Gum is amazing at what he does, and coordinating editor Kelly McMaster is so creative and fun!  

You may know Kelly from her instagram called Cottage Flea by the Sea. She’s got a darling little cottage in Laguna Beach filled with flea market goodies and other treasures. 

Another exciting thing about Kelly is she recently became the brand leader of Holiday Décor magazine, which I got a peek at yesterday.  

I’m not exaggerating when I say that this Christmas issue is filled from cover to cover which gorgeous holiday inspiration. It comes out next week, and I’ll be first in line to purchase it! 

And speaking of Christmas magazines, I'm sooo excited to see the  Cottages & Bungalows December issue which will feature my home that they photographed last Christmas. It comes out on October 22nd!

There’s so much excitement with the holidays drawing near, but let’s get back on track. The Blue Door Cottage photos and story will most likely appear in the June or August issue, because of its summery, beach town vibe. 

I was fortunate enough to set this tablescape in the dining room, and I wanted to utilize the cute starfish and messages in a bottle from the July party table I set on the front patio.   

We changed things up a bit with coastal references like the scallop shell-shaped salad plates and the seashell embellished placemats.  A striped blue runner, patterned napkins and blue hydrangeas finish off this look.

Here’s a look at the bar area. The beautiful red and white block-printed napkins are from Pacific & Rose. I just got these this week from my friend Elizabeth along with a few pretty items that are perfect for fall.

Here’s a pretty indigo blue towel we used in the kitchen bar area. Watermelon spritzers were on the menu yesterday! 

A perfect little guest room in green... 

and a peek at the master bedroom. 

This red and white pillow from Pacific & Rose is the latest addition to the living room. I couldn’t resist a pair of these pretty “Buta” pillows for the cottage. 

Kelly and I were unstoppable yesterday, in a funny way, because we both love creating cute vignettes, and when I found this adorable heart pillow in the closet, we had to set a little Valentine’s Day scene. 

The striped red pillow behind the heart pillow is the flip side of the "Buta" pillow seen in the previous photos. And I can never resist a grouping of red geraniums in clay pots.

Everyone’s favorite shot of the day was having Pippa the Golden Retriever peek out of the back Dutch door. She was a little shy at first, but then won everyone over with her big smile!

Do you see Pippa in the window?  

Blue Door Cottage

Here’s our last shot of the day. There were so many beautiful spaces to cover, and we were lucky to have sunlight 'til after 7pm. It was a long day, but so much fun! 

ciao! fabiana