Romantic Homes

I am happy to announce the September issue of Romantic Homes, featuring my store and home, should be on the newsstand any day now. Retailers who carry the magazine received them about 10 days ago and home subscribers should have gotten them right after that. This is the cover to look for:

Not only is my home featured but the store as well. (This is a first!) The editor Jacqueline deMontravel teased me back in March saying they loved my bedroom shot and it would make a great cover, but- it did not make the cover after all.

What I had hoped to be the cover shot above, my bedroom. The headboard is now for sale in the store. The double lamps were a last minute thought.

I got an email last January from RH asking to shoot my house. RH allowed me to pick the photographer (former Hallmark photographer Bill Krzyzanowski), style the pics and email it in. A few months later my former employee (and photographer that shot my home for Vintage Christmas Crafts) Nicole Cawlfield shot the store photographs for the article. Below are some of the pages as shown in the magazine and some of the pictures as taken. Enjoy.

I wanted to explain how I use texture instead of color so I sent a lot of closeups of different items in the house.

The giant tumbleweed on the mantle was borrowed from my gardener. That was tough to give back.

Behind the scenes facts: The knobs on my cabinets were hot glued on to save time, the chandelier is hanging by raw wires (and still are) and the greens in the galvanized tub were just for show. I bought this enormous round burlap tablecloth for the store but no one had a table big enough for it so I went and found a table to sell them together.

The following two pages I mocked up for fun before the story came out.

My silver frame collection with old family pics.
Back left photo: Mom and dad's wedding pic, John & Hazel 1956. Large oval: Grandma Georgia Peterson 1920. Back right: My other Grandma and Grandpa, John& Mable Dusenberry 1963,
Small sailor pic, my dad off to service 1940's. Couple with car: mom and dad 1955. Front small oval, my big sister Wilma June Garrison 1943.

The shot above was my desperate attempt to make the winter weather appear like Spring. A disaster from the beginning as the wind was so strong that day, it blew the heavy statue down, broke off it's head, and other pots were busted on the floor. It never made it into the mag anyway and I am thrilled! It looked rigged and I never liked it- but cute enough I guess.

Thanks to Carol Spinski (Raised in Cotton) for helping during the shoot that day and Gwen and Terri from Mission Road Antique Mall for loaning me some authentic French accessories: (pressed botanicals in the living room, metal canisters on the counter and garden statuary on the porch).

And now the store :

Nothing thrilled me more than to see the tongue-in-cheek heading to the shop article (above). I am not sure even they knew what this title says to a shop owner!

It's official. Pearl has been in enough pictures. She needs to retire from modeling.

I was shocked at myself when I realized I didn't put anything on this table at the end of the bed! We were moving so many things on and off it for the right angle, I forgot.

This great galvanized wall piece I bought in Round Top last March.

The display above was one of my favorites but they cropped it too much in the magazine to get the full effect.

They cropped this picture too much as well and you lost the great pieces in the back.

I have decided to sell the religious stuff all year.

Thanks for looking! More images and lots of text in the magazine. Try to pick one up.