Grey & Yellow Room
When I was asked to produce this grey + yellow colour story by editor of Real Living magazine, Deb Bibby, I jumped at the opportunity. Not one to shy away from colour, I threw myself in to this challenge, and decided to use my own home in Bayside Melbourne, for the location. This combo has always been a favourite of mine, with cool grey tones offsetting the sunny yellow hues.
I painted the walls a dove grey, and teamed an Elliptical Eames style coffee table, with a yellow Saarinen Tulip side table and vintage sofa for a mid-century vibe.
One of my favourite images from this story was this desk set up with the sculptural metal MRD lamp anchoring the shot, and a collection of mini artworks by local artists, Me & Amber, adding just enough interest and balance. Homing in on the essence of this simple colour palette has created a calm, ordered space.
As usual I had a tight turnaround to bring this feature together and I remember adding the finishing touches to the paintings on the morning of the shoot, just before James Geer, our trusty photographer arrived, with camera in hand.
The speed at which I gather props and set up these shoots seems to be an unavoidable part of the job. The advantage of shooting at my own home meant there was no driving time to get to a location house on the other side of town, and I could paint the walls which wasn’t often possible at the homes we hired for photo shoots.
Transporting furniture and delicate items always has its challenges - I wish I’d taken behind the scenes shots to show the piles of packaging and boxes. I felt relieved after a shoot when all the furniture and accessories arrived safely back at the stores without any breakages or damage.
Easy DIY artwork ideas included cutting out simple leaf shapes from paper and popping it in a frame and attaching some patterned fabric to an artist’s stretcher to add a personal touch.
As well as designing the room sets, I got my paintbrushes out and painted two artworks especially for this shoot – one was a yellow abstract piece to feature above the sofa in the main sitting room shot, and the other was a decorative floral design in subtle grey tones to hang in the dining room shot.
Going on a hunt in homewares stores around Melbourne proved fruitful and I found many pieces to fit the brief, including the iconic Cockatoo lamp base from Studio Australia, complete with a grey and yellow striped lamp shade.
