new piano

i found this square grand piano on craigslist the other day.  i got an upright piano on there years ago, but this time i was supposed to be shopping for my boyfriend who was looking for a piano for his loft, but you know...truthfully,  i can't resist hunting for deals... and wellllll... i kinda fell in love with this one,  so i told him he could have my upright piano if he helped me get this one into my house.  i hired a piano tuner to get it into shape because it had been years since it's last tuning & this guy didn't mess around. if you need a tuner in the Birmingham area, Robertson Piano Tuning is the best!


big oak ranch spots

Taylor Robinson of Six Foot Five Productions is always a delight to work with, and a lot of his work is with clients who support humanity and love people in practical ways. it's always a plus to work on a job where the end result supports a great cause and this commercial for Big Oak Ranch was really a gift to be a part of. thank you At Home for the 2 farm tables!

each of the lines in this commercial were based off of true stories of individuals who were rescued and live at the ranch.


regions + coach saban

working with the hilariously funny guys from World War Seven was a real treat, not to mention the main talent was coach i really admire as well. overall really entertaining shoot. we had to transform a conference room into a college rec center so as to maximize the amount of time we had with Coach Saban. He was a great sport and delivered his lines beautifully. a special thanks to West Elm Birmingham for the benches!

war room

one of the last days of filming, was the vietnam period-piece scene of a war room// strategy tent. we built the tent inside a large warehouse making a lot of flats out of 2x4s and stapling authentic army green canvas to the frame as the walls. i rented a lot of authentic gear from a source in Asheville which really helped sell the look. the pendants over the table were from CB2 and the old flag was actually a scarf from Free People. everything i own is up for grabs when it comes to propping, in fact it helps me feel better about owning// collecting so many things (some call it junk, i call them little money makers).

we leaned authentic wooden tent poles in the corners to sell the look and as i took a closer look at the poles, i noticed something familiar. <on each of my bigger gigs (multiple day shoots) i feel like i get a little message from above... it's always confirmation that i am right where i'm supposed to be; much appreciated and super encouraging always.>  see what you think about the photos below...

war room // danielle's room

another room that i really enjoyed designing was Danielle's room, mostly because it was youthful, current, fun, and open to smart DIY ideas. she was adorable and truly professional. over her bed, i chose butterflies to signify change and how everything in life changes, but God is a master of making challenging changes beautiful. we purchased frames from the local thrift and spray primed them white, and did the same with faux butterflies from Hobby Lobby.

we shot in each space for a couple of days at most before having to strike the room (empty and reset it). this room was previously a boys room, and would return to a boys room before the week was over,  any wall treatment that would facilitate a quick set up and tear down was always running through my head. i love the scotch paper tapes... they are inexpensive and come in fun colors. so we striped her walls in tape & it turned out fabulous.


war room // mrs claras home

i was honored to accept the position of Production Designer on the Kendrick Brother's fifth movie, War Room. (i'm back posting this post as confidentiality requires that we keep all details secretive until the movie launches) the Kendricks are some of the most loving people and it was truly a blessing working with them on this film.

i wanted to feature a few of the behind the scenes pics of the set dec// production design, beginning with Mrs. Clara's house. my amazing team and i had a lot of design challenges as we always do on Art Dept. & Mrs. Clara's prayer closet "War Room" was no exception. we had to build it out in a room about the size of a closet, complete with walls that could move easily to allow camera to fit in there. here's the build out right before sweet Kali Bailey was about to paint it and then used these amazing paint rollers to put an "old wallpaper" effect on the wall.

here's the final closet, styled and ready for camera.

the rest of Mrs. Clara's house was a full dress because the owner had the house on the market for about a year (we believed it was saved for us!) and it ended up being sold right when we wrapped shooting there. the dining room was tricky because the home owner requested that we wouldn't do anything permanent or damage the wall paper that was there. our solution, paint pieces of thick paper and roll a pattern over it and tack it to the wall. the aqua was selected because it complements dark skin tones beautifully. the collection of blue and white china came from local flea malls.

i felt like her kitchen would be bright and soulful much like the sun or a cheery yellow. One of my favorite pieces that i purchased at a local flea didn't make the film, but it was there all along and made me smile and likely offered support to Mrs. Clara as she was prepping for her role. I feel like my sets are characters and offer substructure for actors to really get into the part, so i spare no detail. i put it all out there in an effort to make it as real life as possible.

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one of the more thoughtful scenes in mrs clara's house was her prayer wall. this was her reminder of answered prayers . instead of fabricating stories and finding stock photos, i reached out to everyone for authentic testimonies of victory. the result : the wall is full of real life, bonafied miracles... one of which is a doctors report which includes, in his handwriting, the confession of the miracle.

i luuuvvvvv LA

i had the opportunity to travel to LA to style the shoot for the wonderful Joy Cho of Oh Joy and her line of accessories that was about to hit the Target supermarkets. travel is where i gather inspiration and LA is full of goodies. from the flower market to the never-ending boutiques, i filled my inspo tank all the way up.

stephen devries getting the shot

stephen devries getting the shot

i came up with the spray primed fruit because it's an inexpensive alternative to flowers and makes for interesting shapes and a tropical vibe that really works. these little wooden pods are available at the flower market in bulk (that market has everything!) and a little paint around the base and interior will actually increase longevity of the pod and adds a beautiful pop of color. i really loved Joy's use of color in her collection, so i tried to tone my table setting down to neutrals so her pieces would shine.