Muraca Design and Studio Brocante
I first met Sandy years ago when C-Ville Weekly hired me to take a portrait of her in her favorite space. When she got back in touch, wanting portfolio images for her website and product vignettes for her online store, I was thrilled. Who wouldn't want to spend hours with a talented designer, surrounded by French antiques, chatting about food, travel, and family? We hit it off immediately and had a lovely couple of days building her image library.
Check out Sandy's shop, Studio Brocante, filled with pieces she has personally chosen while traveling in France. I'd like one of everything, please.
Zynodoa
Images of Zynodoa Restaurant in Staunton, captured for STOA Design + Construction. Not only do I love the design of this space, but I also adore the food. It's worth the trip over the mountain my Charlottesville friends!
Living Space | A Family Home in Greenwood
I adore this home outside of Charlottesville in Greenwood, VA. The Abbots have called this house, built 180 years ago as the Greenwood School for Boys, their home for nearly twenty years. Their three girls grew up here, as have their golden retreivers, leaving traces of family in every room. A true Living Space in every way, when I visited last December I knew I needed to return to document this special place.
The house itself is dripping with character, from uneven plaster walls to exposed beams across the ceilings, and is adorned with the simple, chic style of a family who loves comfort, nature and art. Each room is comfortably bright even on the grayest of days, nearly causing me to give in to the desire to curl up with a book or magazine on a slip-covered chair in a light-filled corner. With the family dogs pressing their noses to the glass doors, I moved through each room slowly and meticulously, taking moments to sit on a couch, touch a blanket, and observe the art on the walls, trying my best to imagine how the family who lives here inhabits each space.
Welcome to the Abbots'!
Living Space is a personal project inspired by real spaces being inhabited by real people in a very real way. If you know of a home that would be a good subject for this series, please get in touch with me, here.
6 living space | the home of abby kasonik and roderick coles
5 living space | a fry's spring family
4 living space | an artist's home in charlottesville
living space | abby kasonik and roderick coles
This is the home of Abby Kasonik and Roderick Coles. I knew before I stepped across the threshold that their home would be extraordinary. She's an artist, he owns The Curious Orange, and together they've created a living space filled with a collection of furniture, art, and objects that reflect the creativity that drives their life. I first met Abby when I photographed her backyard studio for Cville Abode. She invited me into her home for a tour and I immediately fell head over heels for her style. Lush fabrics, dark wood, gilded mirrors, found objects and giant house plants had me swooning in each room we entered. I am so grateful that she agreed to be part of my living space project, inviting me back on a cold morning two weeks ago.
These images are not styled. Abby understood my intention to capture details of the life lived within the walls of her home, and purposefully refrained from throwing out flowers past their prime or removing laundry from an upstairs bed. I adore her. Because the point of this project is not to capture perfect, spotless interiors. The point is to capture real life in an evocative way. To attempt to insert myself into these spaces and see them the way their owners' do. To sit on the couch and take a moment to look around, to let the light hitting the pillow beside my shoulder move me to capture an image of that one little detail that makes sitting on that couch, in that space, at that time...special.
Abby and Rod, thank you for allowing me into your life for one morning. I hope these images evoke the same emotion for you as they do for me.
If you have or know of a living space that would photograph well for this series, please contact me here.
5 living space | a fry's spring family
4 living space | an artist's home in charlottesville
published | cville abode | kiki slaughter's studio
Charlottesville is filled with so many young, talented artists. Painter Kiki Slaughter is one of them, and her contemporary home/studio/gallery was one of the featured spaces in the October issue of Abode. I love the neutral interior of her country cottage that allows her art to shine. Pick up Abode to read more about Kiki and her beautiful space!
published | cville abode | jeannette andamasaris' studio
The second live/work space featured in the October ABODE is the home studio of interior designer Jeannette Andamasaris, of JAID. I love her eclectic taste and mix of old and new, as well as the abundant light that pours through the windows of her 2nd floor loft. Pick up the issue, on stands now, to read Jeannette's story!
published | cville abode | abby kasonik's studio
The newest Cville ABODE is on stands now! The feature story this month focuses on the live/work studios of three local women; two artists and one designer. I loved meeting each of these women and photographing their lovely, creative spaces. Each deserves their own post, and today I am starting with painter Abby Kasonik's backyard studio. I love the bright, open space with oversized plants and a collection of unique found objects.
published | cville abode | staunton garage renovation
Tucked behind a beautiful historic archway in downtown Staunton lies a modern loft worthy of a New York City address. Converted from a garage, the two-story home of Katie and Ty makes good use of every nook and cranny, including the often-overlooked space beneath the stairs.
Check out this month's ABODE for the full story.
stay charlottesville | monticello bedroom
I love this sweet bedroom photographed for Stay Charlottesville yesterday. Don't you want to wake up in this lovely light?
published | Cville Abode
Check out this month's ABODE (on stands now!) for the full story about this eclectic Charlottesville residence!
convenience + charm | stay charlottesville
I have another Stay Charlottesville beauty for you today...gosh, they manage to find the best homes to rent to Charlottesville visitors! I love the feel of this one, styled by the talented Amy Gardner using the homeowner's fabulous decor. I could move right in...
Dogs not included...but aren't they precious? :)
And, in honor of the concert I won't be attending on Saturday (sob). If any of you have available tickets...consider this a hint. :)
living space | amy's house
this is the second installment of my living space series, in which I spend a few hours in a home capturing the details of the lives lived within its walls. this one belongs to my friend amy, a small business owner, wanna-be-interior designer (her words, not mine...I think she's a pro!), and mommy to ben. I adore amy's taste, and her unwavering kindness in letting me borrow some of her fabulous pieces for my own staged shoots. if you're in charlottesville, no doubt you're familiar with SCARPA, her other baby. and my very favorite boutique.
also, if you're not from cville, or know somebody coming to visit, this beautiful home is available to rent through stay charlottesville!
if you have or know of a living space that would photograph well for this series, please contact me here.
for the first installment of living space | the home of two designers in charlottesville, click here.