Photographer Helen Norman

{Norman Farmhouse}

Photographer Helen Norman shot our home with her assitant, FJ Hughes, for the Better Homes & Gardens Magazine shoot back in February.  We had such a great time and I can't wait to work with them again!  Helen is not only crazy-talented but she's hysterical and so much fun to be around.  She's one of those people whom you feel instantly at ease around.  (clearly my toddler, Christian, agrees- below)  FJ is super-cool and very relaxed, and he & his wife also just had a new baby.

{me, Jessica Thomas, Joanna Linberg, Helen Norman- holding Christian- , FJ Hughes}

When Helen first arrived at our house, she checked it out and immediately told me how crazy it was because  our kitchens were so alike.  She has the same gray-green cabinets with wite open shelving instead of upper cabinets and a sort of clean-lined  modern farmhouse feeling in her kitchen.  She informed me that our styles were really similar and she even has many of the same types of flea-market./ thrift-store finds that I have.  Joanna told me what an amazing house Helen had so I bugged Helen for pictures- in particular of the kitchen.  Well, I got them and now I almost wish I hadn't seen them!!!  ;)  Her kitchen is basically my kitchen all grown up.  (i.e WAYYY BETTER!!)  It's everything I wanted for my own kitchen:  custom inset cabinets, soapstone sink, marble countertops... I could keep going but never in all my life have I seen a space that I just want to blatantly copy like this one. 

{I just want to be there}

Perfection!!!  Here's my dream sink:

I just get such a feeling when looking at Helen's photographs.  There's so much life and they feel personal and real.  Her kitchen feels so relaxed and functional and perfectly simple. 

 

Look at here amazing collection of cloches!! (below) Soooo amazing!!  And these cabinets?!! mm mm mm

How gorgeous are the shelves??  I seriously just want to copy everything in this kitchen.

Even her piled up dishes in the sink are beautiful!!

I love how the shelves frame the window:

Anyway, if you want to drool some more head over to her website here.  (Her portfolio is perfection!!)

Hope you had a great weekend!!

xoxo,

lauren

*photography by Helen Norman  ;)

Photographer Helen Norman

{Norman Farmhouse}

Photographer Helen Norman shot our home with her assitant, FJ Hughes, for the Better Homes & Gardens Magazine shoot back in February.  We had such a great time and I can't wait to work with them again!  Helen is not only crazy-talented but she's hysterical and so much fun to be around.  She's one of those people whom you feel instantly at ease around.  (clearly my toddler, Christian, agrees- below)  FJ is super-cool and very relaxed, and he & his wife also just had a new baby.

{me, Jessica Thomas, Joanna Linberg, Helen Norman- holding Christian- , FJ Hughes}

When Helen first arrived at our house, she checked it out and immediately told me how crazy it was because  our kitchens were so alike.  She has the same gray-green cabinets with wite open shelving instead of upper cabinets and a sort of clean-lined  modern farmhouse feeling in her kitchen.  She informed me that our styles were really similar and she even has many of the same types of flea-market./ thrift-store finds that I have.  Joanna told me what an amazing house Helen had so I bugged Helen for pictures- in particular of the kitchen.  Well, I got them and now I almost wish I hadn't seen them!!!  ;)  Her kitchen is basically my kitchen all grown up.  (i.e WAYYY BETTER!!)  It's everything I wanted for my own kitchen:  custom inset cabinets, soapstone sink, marble countertops... I could keep going but never in all my life have I seen a space that I just want to blatantly copy like this one. 

{I just want to be there}

Perfection!!!  Here's my dream sink:

I just get such a feeling when looking at Helen's photographs.  There's so much life and they feel personal and real.  Her kitchen feels so relaxed and functional and perfectly simple. 

 

Look at here amazing collection of cloches!! (below) Soooo amazing!!  And these cabinets?!! mm mm mm

How gorgeous are the shelves??  I seriously just want to copy everything in this kitchen.

Even her piled up dishes in the sink are beautiful!!

I love how the shelves frame the window:

Anyway, if you want to drool some more head over to her website here.  (Her portfolio is perfection!!)

Hope you had a great weekend!!

xoxo,

lauren

*photography by Helen Norman  ;)

Etsy Fave: Sharon Montrose

I'm declaring 2010 the year of the bird. Ok, fair enough, when have birds ever NOT been trendy in the design world? This year, however, I think we're going to see a lot more birds of the clunky, quirky variety. No more cutesy robins and nightingales -- I'm thinking haunting owls, cranes, wobbling ducks, hawks, and big fat chickens. I like to think of them as birds with personality.

My favorite source for affordable, stunning bird photography (and lots of other animals, if you're so inclined) is Sharon Montrose, a California-based photographer who's received lots of recognition in the blogosphere, especially for this picture.

I own the owl photo pictured at top, and out of everything in my gallery wall, it is consistently the most commented on. Sharon's work is so surreal that everyone thinks that it's a drawing instead of an actual photograph. I love how the clean white background really puts the focus on the aesthetics of each bird-- from the muted colors, patterns and texture of their feathers to their bumpy, bright beaks and feet. Check out more of Sharon's stuff in her Etsy shop here.

Raymond Loewy Palm Springs House

Raymond Loewy House, Palm Springs, California, USA, Photographed by Peter Stackpole, for LIFE.

If you were close to Raymond Loewy and you were living in Palm Springs in the summer of 1947 you certainly had it made.

The Raymond Loewy House, 600 Panorama Road, Palm Springs, California, was designed by Palm Springs architect Albert Frey. Built in 1946-47 as a bachelor retreat and expanded later when Loewy got married, the house has been restored by metalware manufacturer Jim Gaudineer who said of the design, "When you slide open the glass walls, it's almost like living outdoors." A typical Palm Springs modernist villa with a low-slung pavilion and plenty of glass that provides striking views of desert, mountains, and the pool and garden that make the private oasis complete.

Happy Eid

xx Happy Eid Everyone xx

LINK

If I could, I would... Gordon Beall

If I could have Gordon Beall photograph my work, I would in a heartbeat!! (I would flip out actually!!!!) And It's Friday and I finally decided to join the Hooked on Houses Blog Party because I'm hooked on Gordon Beall!!! All of the images below of from Gordon Beall Photography and I apologize for not listing all of the designers whose work is shown, but wanted to focus on the photography:


As some of you know, I've had a lot of projects this year (including the new house) that are wrapping up & I'm looking to get them photographed. If I could afford any photographer on this planet, it would be Gordon Beall.

He did all of the photography for Darryl Carter's The New Traditional and since then I've noticed his work for some of my other favorite designers, including Stephen Knollenberg and Sue Burgess.

Of course the rooms themselves are AMAZING, but Gordon Beall captures them in a way that's just perfect to me.

Out of my league, yes, I know, but a girl can dream, right??

Every picture evokes a mood, a feeling... It's never just about the room but more about how it would actually feel to be standing in that room, enjoying it, appreciating it.

OK, going through all of these images, I just decided to send a query in on the Gordon Beall website about pricing... I figured, it doesn't hurt to ask, right??

I had to explain that my work is in more "normal" homes than what he usually does. (I'll get there one day- ahhh!!! ;)

How beautiful are these photos & spaces?!!!!

I would love to have a room like this at home:

There's such a simpl, beautiful feeling about the spaces...

This one feels a bit nostaligic:

Again, perfect simplicity:

Love this shot:

I'm sure a lot of you recognize this one:

I love this photo below because of the little boy reading... What are your thoughts on having people in the finished rooms?

Oh wow:

LOVE seeing dogs in interior photography. When I used to photograph my work, I would stalk my puppy, Ashby, around the house and put her where I wanted her... :)

Remember this one?:

And who can forget these windows?

So, what are you hooked on this Friday? Have any thoughts/ tips/ words of wisdom for me on hiring a professional photographer?

xoxo,

lauren