Behind-the-Scenes @ the Apartment Therapy Photo Shoot

Being a blogger in NYC means that your part of a very large club.  Being a house blogger makes you a member of a more elite group.  My Husband, the founder and editor of Charles and Hudson is one of the latter.

Obviously, his position as a top DIY authority doesn’t mean that we get invited to P. Diddy’s parties or have a sitting reservation at The Waverly Inn, but it does afford us some perks of the household variety.  The most recent being our inclusion in Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan’s new book:  Apartment Therapy’s Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces

Having had our West Village apartment featured on the Apartment Therapy website, it’s so much fun to now have professional record of our West LA Bungalow – even if just for posterity.

It was two months after we packed up our tiny NYC home and made the trek across country in our newly purchased car (we hadn’t owned one for 9 years) to settle ourselves near the surf of Los Angeles, when Maxwell and his NYC crew came knocking on our door.

His professional team of assistants, stylists and photographer Jim Franco, made themselves at home in our small bungalow and with a few tweaks and a couple props, they made our small space photo worthy.

I’ve been involved in countless fashion shoots and I’ve worn every hat from producer and designer, to stylist, intern/slave, and even photographer and “model”, but I had never been behind the scenes at a still-life shoot.  In fashion our subject (the clothing) takes on life by its relationship to the model who flaunts it.  Garments gain attitude and breath simply by being draped on a living being.  With still-life, the challenge is intensely aggravated.  How does one bring energy and life to something totally inanimate.  It’s a different art all together.

I haven’t seen any of the photos from the shoot and I really don’t know what to expect…I’m hoping our home is photogenic and oozes spirited personalty.  What I do know is that, as the head of a blogging empire Apartment Therapy, Maxwell has incredible taste and must have chosen some unique and creative spaces to feature.  I’m sure even those living in mansions and plantations will find the book to be interesting and inspiring.

Needless to say, I’m quite flattered that our home was one of the few chosen to be featured, and I’m thoroughly excited to pick up my copy of the book when it drops on May 11, 2010.