styling tricks of the country living photo shoot

I learned an awful lot from the Country Living photo shoot and I thought it'd be fun to share some simple ideas they applied to my house.  Now that I've seen what they did here, I can look back at almost every old magazine I own and see the same principles applied to other homes.  The magazines mission is to make the rooms as pretty as possible and to appeal to the vast majority, so function is not always the main goal for them.  I'm sure what I'm about to share, you already know but seeing these little tricks done in front of me really hit home.  Take the above photo for the kitchen photographs, they brought in tons of fresh kitchen towels, pretty soaps, nice baskets, flowers and even some pretty food products.  If all they had done was exchanged these items for the ones I owned, it would have been an improvement.  Of course they went further and actually styled the rooms but the trick here is that sometimes the things we use every day can get worn, tired looking and we can become blind to that.  Freshening them up can have a big impact.

The pantry is a great example of that idea.  Most everything in this room is mine but they brought in those 2 bottom baskets which hide lots of random things and give it an organized, clean look.  The dish towels stacked and the jars of fresh herbs from the garden, some pretty food packaging is a nice touch too. So use what you have in fresh ways.  Those towels came from Home Goods and I think they were $6 for a package.  They went so far as to take the labels off the bottled water which, 1. I never buy bottled water and 2. who has the time for that, but 3. it sure looks pretty.

In the above photo, that lamp next to the stove does not work for everyday use because I have very little counter space and I don't need the extra lighting so the lamp is gone but that pitcher on the warming shelf?  It stays because it's perfect for transporting water from the sink which is across the room. Same with the stack of platters, I don't know why I never thought of this before. Also, fresh clipped herbs next to the stove, so easy and so pretty.

This is where I had the painting Alex had recently given me before Country Living got here.  I knew I wanted it above the stove and they agreed so it's one of the first things we did.  Just moving things around is one of the best styling secrets I noticed.

Compare the above 2 photos.  Can you see how the stylist really filled the shelves?  It looks so good in the photo but in real life it's too hard to get to what I need on a daily basis.  These are all my things except for the dish towel and small potted plant.  How easy is this to freshen things up?  It helps if you have the eye of an excellent stylist like Janna Lufkin too. :)

Again, everything in this shot, I already owned, it's just being used in a new way.  The silver tray holding all the cups of essentials, the garden stool holding fresh towels and a new soap.  Simple.

I love the lemon tree that they brought in.  It gives the space such an open and airy look.  Of course a lemon tree won't live inside but another indoor plant might.  Simple cut branches from the garden in clear vases again, repeat the look.  The crystal decanters on the bar do the same thing.  I didn't realize it at the time but that open airy look really is pulling the whole house together.

I wasn't thrilled that they didn't want to use my old lamp but I have to say this clear glass one really carries out that airy feeling in here.  So the house begins to flow from room to room.  To me this shot would be perfection if those pillows were not on the bed.  I tried to put my foot down but you see what that got me.:)

Green healthy plants make such a big difference.  Also, love the way the trellis pattern on the pillow picks up the trellis pattern on the small side table.

And even though the living room was not included in the magazine, Those clear cylinder vases (purchased at the Goodwill) with fresh branches do look lovely.

I'm committed to...

1. Keeping fresh plants and greenery in the house.
2. Replacing old worn out towels in the kitchen/bath.
3. When i want a change, just move what I already own around for a whole new perspective.
4.  Keep things uncluttered, light and airy.
5.  Live as beautifully, simply and frugally as possible.

Oh and P.S.

Who knew?
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