Christmas House Tour 2011

Christmas has always been my favorite time to decorate.  In years past I have had lots of hours to spend getting my home ready for the holidays – decorating, baking gingerbread houses, crafting, etc.  Things were a little different in 2011, as we were blessed with the celebration of my in-laws 50^th wedding anniversary over Thanksgiving and my Etsy store had its best year ever.  Thank you!

So needless to say, I just did not have time to do all decorating and blogging like I have done in the past.  Rather than dwell on all the things I could not get done and go on and on about how crazy my life has been over the past two months, I decided to celebrate the season and invite you into my home just as it is!  So welcome to my home for the holidays!

I kept the decorating simple this year with fresh greens and the white color palette I have used previously.

We added an extra stocking on the mantel this year for our new puppy, Abby.

She was determined to be in the picture of the family room shown below.

The living room was also awash in fresh greens – my favorite being the garland draped on the clock.

I hope you enjoyed the abbreviated tour of my house.  Thank you for taking the time to visit!  I wish for you and your loved ones a blessed Christmas and joyous holiday!

Holiday Floral Photo Shoot – Behind the Scenes

Many people are curious to know what it is really like to be a part of a magazine photo shoot.  So today I would like to share my experience from the holiday floral photo shoot which took place at my house this past summer.

Better Homes and Gardens December 2011 / By: Amy Panos / Producer: Ariella Chezar

Photographer: Kate Mathis / Stylist: Ed Gallagher

I have been lucky to be a part of a few magazine photo shoots and each time I learn something new.  The thing which consistently amazes me most, however, is the amount of planning, work and attention to detail which goes into setting up just one picture.  It takes an entire team of professionals to produce just the right look for a story.

The floral photo shoot took place over the course of three days.  The stylist and photographer, along with their assistants, producer, and floral artist Ariella Chezar spent the better part of the first day unloading all their equipment, supplies, props, and flowers as well as preparing the spaces where photos would be taken. 

My mudroom and laundry room were filled with flowers, the garage became a props and supplies staging area, and the kitchen served as command central as well as where most of the flower arranging took place.  Lots of stuff and people everywhere!

The first day included lots of furniture moving and rearranging - basic set up for the upcoming two days of shooting.  The photographer looked at the lighting in the house to determine what time during the day the light would be best in each room and the floral artist created several of the floral arrangements based on what rooms would be used during the first day of shooting.

Better Homes and Gardens December 2011 / By:Amy Panos / Producer:Ariella Chezar

Photographer:Kate Mathis / Stylist:Ed Gallagher

The second and third days were when the picture taking took place.  The team arrived early and worked the entire day.  Since this shoot was not about my house or family, my kids and I did our best to just stay in the background and out of everyone’s way.  They graciously allowed me to watch (whenever I had the chance)  as they worked their magic.  Each picture appearing in the magazine and online was the result of a coordinated effort between everyone involved. The flowers, props, and lighting were all arranged and rearranged multiple times until everyone was pleased with how the picture looked – a very time consuming process.  After a picture was completed, rooms were cleaned up, put back together, and it was on to the next photo.

One of the funnier moments during the photo shoot occurred when I returned home to find two huge panels of MDF (medium density fiberboard) - painted red - in the garage.  My husband and I joked that it would be ironic if they ended up using them in our living room since we had changed the paint color from red to white.  Sure enough, they did use the panels in our “used to be red room” shown in the photo below.

Better Homes and Gardens December 2011 / By:Amy Panos / Producer:Ariella Chezar

Photographer:Kate Mathis / Stylist:Ed Gallagher

When the photo shoot was complete, everyone pitched in to return my home back to the way it was when they arrived.   They left almost all the flowers and greenery – which was a super nice surprise for me.  Since many of the flowers had been stored in various pots and vases which did not belong to me, I searched through my cabinets to pull out containers to use for all the remaining flowers.  Ariella was so nice in that instead of just putting the flowers in the vases, she spent time arranging them all into beautiful bouquets like the one shown below.

I have to say it truly was a privilege for me to host this photo shoot.  I had a wonderful time meeting the entire staff who put together this fabulous story.   It was a great experience – one which I would love to do again!

Centsational Girl - the Red Door Home December Blog of the Month

If you love blogs which feature just about everything house related, you will absolutely adore Centsational Girl – the RDH December blog of the month.

Centsational Girl is written by Kate – a former lawyer turned decorator and DIYer extraordinaire. 

Her work has appeared in numerous publications including Better Homes and Gardens and Holiday with Mathew Mead.

In fact, her talents are so numerous she has also appeared on the Nate Berkus show on more than one occasion.

Some of my favorite topics which Kate covers include decorating, home improvements, holiday decorating, crafts, furniture makeovers, and recipes.

Kate’s photography skills are something I aspire too and her knowledge of all things "home" seems endless. Not too long ago she added several contributors to Centsational Girl who help scout the blog world for great ideas.

Every Sunday, Centsational Girl features these posts in a series called "The Best of The Blogosphere." TBOTB series is a one stop place to catch up on fantastic ideas you might have otherwise missed. I so enjoy this series!

To see more of Kate’s great ideas, you can visit Centsational Girl HERE. Be sure to leave a comment letting her know you stopped by!

Better Homes and Gardens Holiday Floral Shoot

Back in August I had the privilege of having my home used for a background by a very talented group of people who put together the holiday floral arranging story which can be seen in the latest edition of Better Homes and Gardens.

Better Homes and Gardens December 2011 / By:  Amy Panos / Producer:  Ariella Chezar

Photographer:  Kate Mathis / Stylist:  Ed Gallagher

It was incredibly fun and a great learning experience to watch the creative behind the scenes process of the pictures unfold.

Better Homes and Gardens December 2011 / By:  Amy Panos / Producer:  Ariella Chezar

Photographer:  Kate Mathis / Stylist:  Ed Gallagher

I was amazed at the creativity and the attention to detail which went into each and every picture.

Better Homes and Gardens December 2011 / By:  Amy Panos / Producer:  Ariella Chezar

Photographer:  Kate Mathis / Stylist:  Ed Gallagher

My very favorite moments during the three day photo shoot were simply watching Ariella arrange the flowers. She truly is amazing!

Better Homes and Gardens December 2011 / By:  Amy Panos / Producer:  Ariella Chezar

Photographer:  Kate Mathis / Stylist:  Ed Gallagher

I must say I now have a new appreciation for the art of flower arranging and the artistry which is involved.

Better Homes and Gardens December 2011 / By:  Amy Panos / Producer:  Ariella Chezar

Photographer:  Kate Mathis / Stylist:  Ed Gallagher

Below are two of the pictures which were taken during the shoot and did not make it into print. They also can be found HERE.

I love the following idea.  Wrap a simple wooden box with a beautiful ribbon and fill it with a variety of citrus themed items.  Simple and elegant!

Better Homes and Gardens December 2011 / By:  Amy Panos / Producer:  Ariella Chezar

Photographer:  Kate Mathis / Stylist:  Ed Gallagher

Another gorgeous shot features a fresh boxwood garland and poinsettias draped along a mantel. 

Better Homes and Gardens December 2011 / By:  Amy Panos / Producer:  Ariella Chezar

Photographer:  Kate Mathis / Stylist:  Ed Gallagher

Which leads me to a discovery I made as a result of the photo shoot (many of you may already know this) - poinsettias make long lasting bouquets.  One of the benefits of hosting the photo shoot was being able to keep many of the beautiful flower arrangements.  For several weeks my family and I enjoyed having fresh flowers all over the house.  The arrangements which lasted the longest were the poinsettias.

I hope to post more about this story soon – including a behind the scenes look at the shoot and a feature on Ariella.

New for the Holidays at Red Door Home

These past few weeks I have been busy stocking my Etsy shop for the upcoming holiday season.  I have added some new designs as well as several new products.   Here is a peak at what I have been up too!

I had tremendous interest last year in my ruffle top linen stockings.

In response to many requests for “something for the boys” I created the coordinating cuff top stocking shown below.

Burlap remains very popular as a decorating fabric for Christmas.  So I have added a new line of coordinating linen and burlap stockings.

There have also been several inquiries into matching tree skirts.  I am happy to announce the addition of a new tree skirt line.  The first one is made of burlap and linen to coordinate with the burlap and linen stockings. The second is the coordinating skirt to my winter white stocking line.

Also available is a ruffle edge tree skirt made entirely of linen

Another new favorite is star ornament sets made from vintage feedsack material.

Many people prefer white when decorating for the holidays, so I will continue to stock my white linen ruffle top stockings as well as my line of winter white burlap stockings.

Another new addition is linen ruffle top chenille stockings.

Made from vintage white coverlets, these stockings are a wonderful addition to your holiday décor.

For those of you who prefer a touch of “modern” in your holiday décor, I have created a line of Chevron Zig Zag stockings as well as an interlocking circle design.

These really are fun and unique!  And, like all of my other designs, these stockings can be customized with your choice of fabric combinations.

Finally, personalized gifts are always much appreciated and Red Door Home has several monogram pillow options from which to choose.

Thanks for taking a look!  For information on anything of the items shown above or to see additional products please visit my Red Door Home Etsy Shop.