Happy “Cyber” Monday! Today I’m sharing a bit of a behind the scenes look from the Cottages & Bungalows story that’s in their current issue.
“Sweet Treat Stations” is the what their calling this fun article. I styled this cute Newport Beach home last December, and it was such a fun project. I really wanted to keep with homeowner Anne’s style when adding my own touches, so we used a lot of plaids, deer and sweet treats are a recurring theme in the holiday décor.
Our first shot of the day was this craft table I set out in Anne’s backyard. My vision was to shoot it framed out by the lovely orange tree you can kind of see in the top left.
Here’s a peek at my behind the scenes photo... My good friends Amy and Brenda joined Anne for this photo where they’re busy potting a few little evergreen trees into embellished clay pots.
I really like these red and white plaid throws a lot! In fact, you can also see them on a tablescape in Country Sampler Farmhouse Style’s Holiday 2020 magazine on page 96.
In this blurry phone pic of me setting up the table, you can see how the oranges would’ve framed up the shot. I was thinking, you know, Orange County... Christmas... a fun California inspired Christmas look.
Although my main focus was styling the entertaining areas, I did help with the living room by bringing in the flowers, gifts and pillows.
One of my favorite vignettes was the hot cocoa and treats we had on the family room coffee table.
Those marshmallow snowmen had to be sitting just right!
There’s a lot of planning that goes on before photo day. I really loved the cute plate rack Anne has in her kitchen, so the first day I went to do some preliminary work, we styled it like this (above).
Then on photo day, I moved a few of the platters around and added some fresh greenery. I really liked this angle for the photo, but the final shot that made it into the magazine was a slightly different angle and also captures their adorable red chalkboard on the right.
I added the cute strand of jingle bells at the top, which I think was the final touch this plate rack needed!
Of course, the tablescape was a big deal to me... they always are! Here’s a slightly different angle that you see in the magazine. We used Anne’s napkins, placemats and flatware, and I brought in the white plates, florals, and holiday accents.
Here’s a peek at Bret’s perfectly framed shot of the place setting.
The backdoor mudroom area was one spot I was really excited about. I just loved the Dutch door going into the laundry room, the bench and the beadboard coat rack. Above, you can see a preliminary styling of that space.
As the day went on, this shot was going to be our last one, so to make it really cute, I thought a dog would be fun to have peek out of the open Dutch door.
“Can we borrow a dog from a neighbor?” I was thinking... When I mentioned it to Anne, she suggested bringing in her “grand-puppy” Bodie, who was just as sweet as could be. Here he is in his big moment!
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