I am so happy to share my first article on About.com Home today. As an interior design stylist, I hope that I can share some great tips and tricks to make your home life a bit more stylish, and less cluttered for 2015.
http://www.oprah.com/home/Organizing-Kids-Rooms-Quick-Declutter-Project
I am so excited to be writing about the release of Leon Belt and I's latest A Walk In Your Shoes video!!! We go behind the scenes with artist Rachel Schmidt as she prepares for her first solo gallery exhibit at the Hillyer art space in Washington, D.C. Her latest show explores escapism and hopes to provide visitors with a view into her imagination.
This video series is such great collaboration for my husband and I because we get to connect with some amazing artists in the area, and share their talents. In this latest project I was the co-producer, camera woman, and interviewer for this video. If you would like to be in the next A Walk In Your Shoes video click here.
I worked on this fun project for HGTV.com, AphroChic, and photographer Leon Belt believe it or not earlier this year in the springtime. For this particular project, I collaborated with AphroChic on selecting the upcycled props for photo shoot. I was also responsible for scouting the location, and I was stylist for this shoot.
In this photo Jeanine Hays and I used cut up pieces of tissue paper from the Christmas holiday to repurpose as New Year's Eve confetti. In the background we used old wrapping paper as wallpaper to set-up a DIY photo booth in your home for New Year's Eve.
During this project there were a lot propping elements that had to be sourced for this shoot. We had flowers, vintage ornaments, desserts etc. staged that day for the photo shoot. We blew up over fifty white balloons to go above the dining table for this project. I don't know if I mentioned we also laughed a lot in the process.
In this photo we wanted to make sure the photographs feel light and airy, which is why we selected white balloons and silver ribbon to play off of the white walls.
In this shot I wanted to create a small vignette of all the items you could use from the Christmas holiday for your next New Year's Eve bash.
In this shot we wanted to make sure the silhouettes and shapes of the plates popped so we chose a black, white, and pink/red color palette for this shot.
To see more from this photo shoot click here. Happy Holidays!
I was recently a stylist on a new project with HGTV.com and AphroChic to feature the amazing work of the business Chairloom. I had the pleasure of working with co- owner Molly Andrew, and learning from her first hand the intricate work that goes behind reupholstering furniture.
On this two part shoot, I was wore a lot of different hats including photographer assistant, project manager, and stylist. My priority was to ensure we got the shots HGTV.com needed for the article. In addition, I was responsible for planning and executing the after shots in the clients home for the pieces that were reupholstered by Chairloom. It was a lot of work, but also a lot of fun to work side by side with my family. To see and learn more about this recent project please visit here.
My husband Leon Belt and I had the pleasure of producing together a new, A Walk in Your Shoes video, for the sculptor Salvatore Pirrone. Sal is a friend and an amazing sculptor residing in Washington, D.C. Leon and I have admired his work for the past several years, and we were so happy to hear that Sal was recently selected to be a part of the Arlington Arts Center's SOLOS spring exhibition.
Leon and I had been talking a lot about changing the style of our A Walk in Your Shoes interview series, and I had toured Salvatore's studio earlier in the year, and I knew he was the perfect person to interview for our next video.
If you are interested in being featured in our next A Walk in your Shoes video please click here.
I recently had the pleasure of participating in the Washington Post's Home Front series with Jura Koncius. Summer has finally arrived, and getting your outdoor space set can be just as nerve racking as deciding where that one table should go in the living room. However, I loved the opportunity, and I live and breathe interior design so it was a dream come true. This past week, excerpts from the live Q&A chat were published in the Washington Post. Click here to re-read the Home Front Live Q&A.
I am so thrilled to be a part of the Washington Post's Home Front live chat series today at 11am. Please join the Q&A, and have your outdoor questions ready. Memorial Day has passed, so it is officially summer time! It's time to dine and entertain outdoors with friends and family. I want to give you some advice on how to make your outdoor space just as stylish and modern as your indoor interiors. I hope to talk to all of you soon.
After more than a year of being MIA from my blog, Fallen from Brooklyn; I have fallen in love with my new daughter Brooklyn Belt. Over the past year, I have had to learn to balance my life between being a working mom, wife, and learning that not everything on your checklist will get done today, and that there is always tomorrow to finish a project. These are two phrases that before my daughter, I would never have thought as part of my vernacular. As a visual stylist and visual merchandiser my mindset has always been getting the project done and now. But even though my priorities may have changed this past year, my love and passion for design has only grown. I am so excited to be a part of High Point Market's Design ViewPoint series, From All Corners: Exploring Diversity in Design in the 21st Century on October 20th.
As the stylist for the upcoming book, Remix: Decorating with Culture, Objects, and also one of the featured house tours in the book; I will be sharing my experiences with infusing culture into your space and how to make your home unique.
Several months ago, my husband and I found out that we were expecting a little girl! Once we got past all of our mixed emotions of shock, excitement, fear and then happiness; it was time to start planning a nursery. Above is my design board, for what this little lady's new home will be once she comes home.
The goal of her nursery was to make it both baby friendly and chic. The biggest elements of her room, the crib and dresser are grey and white, which are two colors that work with everything. Secondly, since I knew we were having a girl, I wanted to make sure pink was in the room; but I didn't want to go overboard. So I chose a pink rug to anchor the space, with a bold pattern. Since newborns are attracted to bold patterns, and high contrast in colors, I thought this rug was perfect for my little girl.
Next, I found this fantastic quilt on ETSY that infused all the colors I wanted to use for the nursery: pink, green, yellow, blue, and white. I have been warned by many friends and family that babies go through A LOT of clothes, and that I will soon be doing laundry everyday. So I chose a Senegalese basket from West Elm that is fun and durable enough to deal with the loads of laundry coming its way. Lastly, finding a rocker that meant both my husband and I's needs was a real trial. We went to several stores, and could never agree on one chair, until we landed on the Shay glider from Room & Board. This glider has a nice high back, its comfortable for both of us, and it can be reupholstered in over 300 Room & Board fabrics. I chose a pouf over an ottoman so that as our daughter grows, it can be used for many other purposes.
Here is the floor plan for the nursery; I wanted to make sure there wasn't too much product in the room, so I left enough empty space in the nursery for tummy time, and just playing around with her toys as she grows up.
Product from Design Board:
1) Beep-Beep Transportation Modern Growth Chart, $35.00
2) Babyletto Hudson crib, $399.00
3) SewnNatural ETSY Organic baby quilt, $120.00
4) Room & Board Shay swivel glider, $899.00
5) AphroChic silhouette mimosa pillow, $90.00
6) The Land of Nod Pull Up a Pouf, $129.00
7) Thepairofbirds ETSY Yearbook Peggy 8x10, $20.00
8) West Elm graphic lidded basket, $149.00
9) The Land of Nod Crow's Feet Rug, $279.00
10) Babyletto Hudson changer dresser, $399.00
Recently, I helped one of my friend's with her wedding flowers. She had a limited budget, and she wanted a selection of flowers that were colorful, exotic, and inexpensive! The first step to selecting flowers for her reception, was finding flowers that can make a big statement with only a small bunch of flowers. My friend had five main tables, and two large tables for the wedding party. To meet her needs, I chose flowers that I could mix in groups, so that each table setting would be a little bit different from the other. I recommended she purchase all of the vases from IKEA and jamali gardens. Among the flowers that were selected for this event were succulents, lilies, amaryllis, irises, and liatris, among other flowers.
Recently, I have been back on the road with AphroChic to continue work on the book. As the stylist, I worked on three phenomenal properties in Los Angeles, and worked side by side with the interior designers who made these interiors come to life. Each day the game plan was to get up bright and early, get our staple food for the day, Starbucks chai lattes & yogurt, and then be ready to work by eight. After that I teamed up with the interior designer of the space and got to work.
I did also have a day of play in LA, and went to an array of thrift shops and flea markets. My prized find were these yellow Vera cloth napkins, six napkins for only $3, a real bargain jargon moment. We also took a quick trip to the new Kelly Werster lifestyle store. It was a beautiful mix of her love for interior design and clothes. A simplistic chic color pallets of black and gold. I am also dying for these planters she had in the front of the store. Working with this team remains a real great inspiration for me to continue and grow as a stylist, as I get to work with a myriad of people and interiors.
In this interview, I had the pleasure of interviewing my friend and music journalist Marcus Moore. This is our third interview for Walk in Your Shoes. This video was shot and edited by Leon Belt. The goal of this interview series is to reach out to creative people from DC and beyond, and have them share their stories.
Last weekend we had the pleasure of doing a photo shoot at BOA and Tara's home in Brooklyn. Jeanine, Felicia, and I started once again at 7:30A to pick up some cut flowers in Brooklyn Heights, and then grabbed some yogurt and chai lattes from Starbucks. After that, it was time to work!
BOA, Tara, and Rothko (their very cute dog) own a stunning 900 square foot condo in a three story building in Bedstuy. The condo is railroad style with a rooftop deck. The home owners are both buddhists, and this feeling of calm and relaxation is felt as soon as you enter their home. The bedroom has floor to ceiling black damask wall paper, and above BOA's bed (which she designed) hangs a Mega Nelson saucer pendant. BOA is well versed in interior design, since she has worked in the industry for over a decade in various roles including buyer, visual and stylist. Not to mention, she is a furniture designer! Tara is also a Senior marketing manager in digital design, so her eye for color and texture is woven throughout the house. This home is truly a marriage between two distinct design styles coming together. This photo shoot was a pleasure to work on from start to finish with BOA and Tara.
I wanted to share with everyone the Sponsor Spotlight from AphroChic earlier this mont. As the stylist and sister for AphroChic's upcoming book, I am honored to recieve a Sponsor Spotlight!
Today, I wanted to share you with you some behind-the-scenes info on Aphrochic's first of fifteen photo shoots. These photo shoots are focused on Aphrochic's first book on modern, soulful style. Jeanine and I started bright in early in Brooklyn at 7:30A to pick up fresh cut flowers and vegetables from a local Korean market in the area. After that it was two cups of chai lattes, and we were off to work at Melene's beautiful home in Bedstuy.
As the stylist for this book, my focus was to ensure that the rooms were beautiful with a homely feel to the room settings. A key focus of Modern, soulful style is to find interiors that are contemporary in style and are also lived in. Malene's home absolutely exudes this feeling with her teal and lavender stained wood floors and an array of colors bouncing off the walls. She has a great mix of old and new furniture that make this space not only intimate, but also personalized with Malene's touch.
Leon and Bryan work on the videography side of the project. They focus on the behind-the-scenes footage of each photo shoot. They also colloborate on an interview series with each home owner to discuss their process and inspiration to decorate their homes.
Here is a photo of Jeanine selecting some beautiful hydrangeas, and mixture of other colorful flowers to add a little pop to the home owner's interiors.
Here is Felicia Shelton, the photographer for this book capturing some elements from Melene's home. Felicia spent almost an hour or more in each room setting to capture the right shots for the book.
Leon Belt doing some videography of the built in shelves in Melene's kitchen.
Sneak Peak
Hey everyone, check out a sneak peak of the house tours Jeanine and I went on last month scouting for homes in New York City. It was so much fun spending a day in Brooklyn and Harlem looking at one beautiful interior after another. Oh, I daydream for the day my home will looks as fabulous!
Jet Setter
Recently I have been doing a lot of traveling for my job. Freelance stylist projects have become the norm. In the past month, I have traveled to six cities. After each trip, I keep thinking about all of the cool items I should have packed, to help make the process of going through the security at the airport a little less tense, and a lot more stylish. I hope this post helps you add a few cool items to your look the next time you decide to jet set.
Here is the behind the scenes set-up of AphroChic for the Maison et Object show in Paris, France. We were a team of three: Jeanine Founder of AphroChic, Bryan, husband and Co-founder, and myself, sister and stylist. It was a family affair. We started out with a 16x16 square foot space, the intent of installation was modern, simple, and clean lines. Jeanine chose white bookcases, white walls, and simple white frames and hardware to present the product. The main reason we chose all white elements in the space, is that the AphroChic collection is rich in colors and patterns, and to ensure the product was the main focus, all of the other elements were silenced with simple lines and a white color pallette. In less than 24 hours, and several trips to IKEA, the space was complete.
Last weekend I went to the Object Abuse exhibition, at the KK Outlet gallery in Shoreditch, London. The concept of the exhibition was for artists and designers to take an existing object, deconstruct it, and then rebuild it into something else using only the original elements of the piece. The one caveat to the exhibit is that all the art pieces had to be hand-made, with no help from a computer. This tactile approach to the artwork was refreshing in an era where so much art and design is created with the assistance of a computer. This exhibit is on view from September 2nd-25th of this month. To learn more about the artists and designers in this exhibit please click here.
In our latest interview series, we join Jeanine Hays of AphroChic. As the Founder and Creative Director, Jeanine has transformed her popular blog into an upcoming book, and is currently exhibiting her modern home accessories in Paris at the Maison et Object show. To find out more about the book click here. While your are there, also check out the AphroChic shop. To see the behind the scenes process of how Leon Belt shot and edited this video click here.
