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HBOs intense 10-part miniseries, shot almost entirely in England, examines global conflict from the foot soldiers perspective. This article originally appeared in AC, Sept. 2001. Some pictures may be additional or alternate.

HBOs World War II miniseries Band of Brothers transports viewers to the front lines in brutally realistic fashion as it follows a single company of U.S. soldiers from their training in America through their first year of combat in Europe. The firepower was so intense at times and the danger seemed so real that even members of the crew forgot they were making a movie. Recalling a particularly harrowing sequence, director David Frankel says, I was running with the camera operators as our guys charged a German-held village. There was a German machine gun high up in a church tower, and our guys were like fish in a barrel. Blanks sound as loud and scary as the real thing, especially when youre seeing men go down and the officers are still sending more in.

At one point a soldier got hit and another guy ran out to rescue him. The camera operator was supposed to follow the action, but as he started to move forward he became so alarmed that he hid behind the actors. His instinct was, Oh God, theyre shooting at me. Needless to say, we had to cut. That was the moment when I felt what the horror of battle must be like.

Band of Brothers focuses on the men of Easy Company, immortalized by historian Stephen E. Ambrose in his nonfiction bestseller of the same title. As members of the 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, they were among the first American paratroopers trained for the war. When Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg decided to produce a TV miniseries that would honor the hundreds of thousands of citizen soldiers without whom World War II could not have been won, they turned to Ambroses book.

At a cost of $120 million, Band of Brothers is the most expensive original programming venture in HBOs history, as well as its most ambitious. Production on the 10 episodes, all of which were shot in England with the exception of a few scenes in Switzerland, began in April 2000 and wrapped eight months later. Academy Award-nominated cinematographer Remi Adefarasin, BSC (Elizabeth, The House of Mirth) and Canadian cinematographer Joel Ransom, CSC (The X-Files, Harsh Realm) split the 10 hour-long dramas between them. They shot simultaneously, and each had their own crew.

The producers wanted the same type of realistic look and feel that Spielberg brought to Saving Private Ryan (AC Aug. 98). [They were after] that same kind of heightened contrast and lowered saturation, affirms Adefarasin. A much-used phrase was: Like dropping a documentary unit into the past. That was the approach.

The latest post-production techniques were used to get a truly authentic look; the shows 35mm footage was scanned as 2K digital data that was color-timed at Kodak/Cinesites digital mastering lab in London (see 'Virtual Coloring' at the bottom of this article). Steven [Spielberg] didnt want to get into the long-lens, high-speed, backlit feel, because that would have been too romantic, Ransom explains. He didnt want to beautify war.

There were a few other ground rules: minimal use of cranes, German POV shots and slow motion. I think Steven wanted the series to reflect the American soldiers subjective experience, theorizes Frankel, who was one of eight directors on the project. That meant [making it] experiential for the audience as well. By using a crane in effect, stepping back and seeing things in context you make it too objective. There were exceptions, of course, when it was important to have the height of a crane or to be able to manipulate the camera into certain positions.

The majority of the combat footage was shot handheld. Ransom estimates that 90 percent of these scenes were shot with 45- or 90- degree shutters, a technique that Janusz Kaminski used in his Oscar-winning work on Private Ryan. Reducing the shutter angle has the effect of making action sequences punchier. It gives a staccato effect to panning shots, and it pixilates explosions, Ransom elaborates.

The first major fighting sequence occurs in Episode 2, which was shot by Adefarasin and directed by Richard Loncraine. The scene shows Lt. Dick Winters (Damian Lewis) hunched over to avoid being shot as he runs down a long trench. Bullets zing by just above his head. The camera precedes Winters as he runs, catching him first in wide shot and then in a tight close-up of his face. A-camera operator Martin Kenzie recalls, Our problem was the width of the trench and the length of movement it required. All of the usual tools you might use for that type of shot dolly, quad bike, wheelchair were too wide and not maneuverable enough for some of the tight corners. Running might have worked if it hadnt been necessary to run backwards.

Joel Ransom came up with the idea of using a rickshaw, and special-effects supervisor Joss Williams and his men built it and made it work. They took two bicycle front-fork assemblies, built a frame with a seat and attached [about 15"] cycle wheels. The handles were extended at the front so that dolly grip John Arnold could run forward, pulling the rickshaw. He was doing all the hard work while I sat in the seat, facing backward, with a Moviecam SL [fitted with a 32mm Zeiss Ultra Prime lens] in my lap. At one point, John parked the rickshaw in a siding, skillfully tipping me off [as I stayed on Winters], who I then began following from behind.

To facilitate the work and avoid possible injury, Adefarasin encouraged his operator to use a liquid crystal display (LCD). Using an onboard LCD monitor as a Viewfinder eliminates the need to keep your eye squeezed against the eyepiece, which is difficult during vigorous operating, the cinematographer explains. Mounting the screen to the front of the camera also helped when we had to move quickly to keep up with the troops. It also enabled us to do very low running shots without complicated rigging.

England recorded its wettest year in history last year, and the constant rain posed its own set of hazards. The trenches got waterlogged, and we had to keep pumping the water out, Adefarasin recalls. The mud was unbelievable! On the very first day of the shoot, I was helping to push a camera trolley up a muddy slope. Ben Wilson, my A-camera first assistant, was in front pulling, and he slipped in the mud. He didnt even scream as I pushed the trolley over him. (fortunately, the soft mud gave Wilson a cushion.)

Episode 2 opens with one of the most nerve-rattling sequences in the entire series: Easy Companys parachute jump into the Normandy countryside in the pre-dawn hours of D-Day. It was the companys first combat jump and first taste of war.

To film the sequence, the production managed to find a mothballed C-47 plane. Crew members removed its wings partially to eliminate some of the weight and partially because they wouldnt be seen in any shots and refurbished the interior. All but one of the interior C-47 scenes were shot inside the aircraft, which was housed inside one of two giant airplane hangars that were being used by the production as soundstages. The hangars were located at the former British Aerospace Aerodrome in Hatfield, England, some 30 miles outside London. The site, which the crew affectionately christened Hatfield Studios, also included a backlot where many scenes were filmed.

In order to suggest the bounce of typical aircraft movement, the crew placed the plane atop two separate motion rigs, which sat one on top of the other. Each rig produced a different kind of shaking and jostling. Directly beneath the aircraft was the first rig, an air platform consisting of a steel frame and 16 small air bellows. The plane floated on the bellows, which were round rubber units about 8" wide. Each was filled with a small amount of air, and over a wide area they provided tremendous lifting power.

Deflating and inflating the bellows very rapidly created a strong vibration. To produce an even stronger movement an out-of-control tilting for moments when the plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire the air platform rested on a gimbal positioned on the hangar floor. It could tilt 20 degrees in 2seconds, an extraordinarily fast movement considering that the planes fuselage was 45' long. The hydraulic system that controlled the gimbal was operated manually. You only need computer control if you have to repeat the exact same movement, and nothing was so tied-in that we had to have the plane in exactly the same position twice, explains special-effects supervisor Williams, who devised the dual rig.

Inside the fuselage, two rows of soldiers sat facing each other on benches. As the German fighter planes attacked, filling the outside air with explosions and flak, the C47 reacted violently. Those scenes were hell to shoot, acknowledges Adefarasin. We all came away with bruises. In fact, the shaking was so fierce at times that we had to use Hot Gears. It was in anticipation of just such circumstances that Adefarasin had suggested renting Hot Gears in the first place. Its a very clever device that controls a geared head and can save the operator from injury, he comments. Its also great for very awkward shots that are physically difficult. Its main beauty is that its relatively cheap, so you can keep it on standby.

Williams came up with a clever idea for making it appear as though flak was breaking the sides of the aircraft, right by the heads and bodies of the actors. He cut square pieces out of the aluminum fuselage and replaced them with pewter sheeting. When compressed air was blown into the pewter from outside the plane with several speciallyrigged 40- to 50-pound pressure canisters, it created small holes that, given the circumstances, appeared to be flak, especially as the pewter peeled back when the shrapnel penetrated the plane.

The planes pitching and rolling proved especially troublesome for focus puller Wilson, who wound up working almost entirely with the Arri LCS remote-focus system. According to operator Kenzie, Its much easier to work with a remote-focus device when operating handheld. It also keeps Ben and me out of each others way, especially since the inside of the C-47 was incredibly cramped.

The Moviecam SL was our best friend throughout the shoot, Kenzie continues. Its a very light and adaptable camera. Ben had some brackets made up, and by using the Arri Blue Handle system, we could quickly change between three handheld modes: conventional shoulder or high mode; low angle, backache, monitor-watching mode; and midheight mode, when most of the camera is under your arm.

In addition to two SLs, each production unit had an Arriflex 535B. It wasnt unusual for all three cameras to be pressed into service at once; at times, as many as seven cameras were running. Lenses included a full set of Zeiss Ultra Primes (18mm to 180mm),a Canon 300mm, andCooke 25-250mm and 20-100mm zooms. Arri Media in London supplied the cameras and lenses and provided superb support, according to Adefarasin. The cinematographer also praised the lighting rental house, Lee Lighting.

Night sequences aboard the C47 proved particularly tricky to light because of a historical fact: no lights were allowed on inside the aircraft during the war, lest they give away the planes position to the enemy. While the production cheated a bit by using a tiny Lightstream torch held by the cinematographer inside the aircraft, these scenes relied primarily on units set up outside the plane, which, between the gimbal and the motion rig, sat some 20' above the floor. Par cans and 10Ks were attached to a jib arm mounted on a separate gimbal, so that the lights could be moved up and down and not in concert with the planes movements. Gaffer Jimmy Wilson augmented the illumination with three Lightning Strikes units and some 1K Pars, the latter representing flak.

According to Adefarasin, it was difficult to keep light coming through the planes small windows with any regularity. We had to find angles that would make the light work when the plane moved, but still look real. We placed the Lightning Strikes units at different angles. I feel its important that they dont always look the same brightness or color, so we varied the intensity and color. Full, half and quarter CTOs were used, and a frame of .6ND was waved in front of two of the lightning units to create a more organic feel.

After being struck repeatedly by anti-aircraft fire, another plane suddenly bursts into flames and begins to dive. A fireball tears through the cabin from front to back, an effect created with a propane flame projector. Two cameras were locked off in the tail section, filming the fireball as it hurtled straight toward them.

The challenge Adefarasin faced was having enough light in the plane so that when the ball lit up, there would be enough stop to hold the textures in the flame. I shot it on Kodak [Vision 200T] 5274 stock at around T8. We lined the rear wall of the C-47 with heavy-duty aluminum foil to throw light back onto the stunt mens bodies. We used some older Zeiss lenses and optical flats, just in case.

In addition to the 5274, Adefarasin used Vision 500T 5279 and Vision 800T 5289 on the show. He and Ransom chose the same film stocks, though each arrived at his decision independently. Ransom considered using Fuji stock on the first episode, the only one set in the United States (although it was shot in England). Ultimately, however, he decided that the difference would be so subtle especially given what digital colorist Luke Rainey could do in post that he stuck with Kodak. Between the two units (and a model unit headed by cinematographer Nigel Stone), two million feet of film was exposed during the production.

Episode 7, which documents the Battle of Foy, was one of the most combat-intensive episodes in the series. Shot by Ransom and directed by Frankel, it was set during the winter of 1944-45. The men of Easy Company were literally living in foxholes outside Bastogne, and they were short on food and ammunition and had no winter clothing. One-third of the episode was filmed on exterior locations, and the rest was shot on a woodland set designed by production designer Tony Pratt. The faux forest, which was also the setting for most of Episode 6, filled an entire hangar at Hatfield Studios.

The hangar was a 300-square foot building that stood 50' high, and the forest set filled the entire structure. It took four weeks to dress the set, which consisted of several hundred real pine trees and 250 trees built by the special-effects department. A painted backdrop covered all four walls of the hangar. The hangar floor was covered with thousands of tons of dirt in order to create a raised forest floor. At a depth of 5', the dirt carpeted the entire set, stopping some 10-15' from the painted backdrop. Railroad ties, stacked one on top of another and camouflaged with dirt, created a kind of restraining wall around the manmade forest floor. It was there that electricians hid 2K and 5K lights aimed directly at the painted backdrop.

American Cinematographer's set visit coincided with the filming of Episode 7. The forest set was breathtaking, both artistically and from a lighting standpoint. Gaffer Wilson, who has worked with Adefarasin for 12 years, was brought in early to design and rig a full lighting grid that would cover the entire ceiling of the hangar. Wilsons first concern was weight: the hangar was 50' high but had only one central support, so the lighting gantries had to be tied into the buildings existing steel work. It took rigging gaffer Barrie More five weeks to build the grid, and another several weeks to hang the lights.

We decided to light the forest canopy with 500 space lights, each of which had two feeds, in order to give us three light levels 1,600 watts, 2,400 watts and 4,000 watts each with quarter bottom diffusions, Wilson details. All of the perimeter space lights had black skirts, while the interior lights had white ones. We lit the painted backdrop with 2K and 5K Skypans, which again gave us three light levels [for day, dusk and night scenes].

Backlight and top sunlight were generated by 100 CP-61 Par cans, 30 CP-61 Maxi-Brutes, and eight quarter Wendies, all of which were on dimmers and could be moved around the grid as needed. Power was supplied by four 1.2-megawatt Aggreko blimped generators, one in every corner of the hangar. Each one had a 1,000-gallon fuel tank that had to be refilled every two days.

We ran a total of about 26 miles of cable. To enable us to work quickly and to change from day to night conditions, we had a four-man crew on the top of the grid at all times and a six-man crew on the forest floor. The first problem we discovered was that standing among 500 snow-covered trees and trying to relate a position to the grid crew was difficult. We therefore made a numbered grid system and communicated by radio, which worked great.

For daytime scenes, Ransom moved 12x12' bounces around and aimed 5Ks or 10Ks into them. For some nighttime sequences, he turned off all of the grid lights and simply illuminated the painted backdrop to achieve a sense of depth. He put smaller lights Peppers, 300s and Babies on the actors.

One scene late in Episode 7 finds the Americans charging out of the woods, barreling down a hill and storming the nearby town of Foy, where the Germans are holed up. It sounds simple enough, but the sequence required shooting in three separate locations: in the forest set, on the backlot, and in a real pine forest located about 20 minutes away from the set.

The shots of the soldiers walking through the woods prior to the assault were filmed on the forest set. The shots of the men running out of the woods and down the hill, however, were filmed in the real forest. The camera operators were located on the side of the hill, filming the men as they charged out of the woods and down the hill. For the actual assault on Foy, cast and crew moved to the backlot, where the town had been recreated. The cameras were now behind the Americans, revealing their POV as they ran toward the town. It took three weeks to film the entire sequence. We had to make all three locations look like one place, says Ransom with a laugh. For me, the most difficult aspect of the entire series was waiting for the clouds to gather and give us a soft, even light.

To help foster the illusion that the activities were all taking place at one site, certain landmarks were carried from one exterior location to the next, so that in either direction the soldiers (and viewers) looked, theyd see the same haystack or house. It worked pretty seamlessly, marvels Frankel. We decided to do it that way because the backlot had no pine trees at the top of the hill, and it was important to see our guys come out of the forest because we had spent so much time with them in the forest. The alternative would have been to create the forest with visual effects, but I didnt have great confidence in that because it would have limited the number of times we could see the men streaming out of the woods. There are only so many CGI shots that can be budgeted!

Maintaining a consistent look wasnt easy, and not simply because the camera was moving from natural light outdoors to the interior of a studio. A second consideration was that Ransom knew he would be shooting with 45-and 90-degree shutters. In the end, he decided to push the 500 stock one stop. I knew I was going to need the extra stop to go with the shutters and/or any [non-standard] speeds we might decide to use. Pushing the stock one stop brought me up to 1,000 ASA, which introduced a consistent level of grain throughout the entire episode.

The attack scene was shot with five cameras. The base stop at the standard 24 fps/ 180-degree shutter angle was T5.6 V2, but shooting with a 45-degree shutter took it down two stops to 2.8 V2.1 didnt want to shoot at 5.6 V2 in the studio unless we really needed the stop, like for a really long lens shot, so I would ND it down. When we did regular scenes with the shutter at 180 degrees, I would just ND it down to 2.8 V2. On the wider shots Id let focus pullers Sean Connor and Alex Howe decide for themselves.

Three huge artillery barrages took place on the stage, one at night and two during the day. In one 20-second stretch, the special-effects unit set off more than 100 explosions. Ransom enhanced these explosions with Lightning Strikes to give the scene an added sense of horror. I think we used the 70,000-watt units, he says. They generated a tremendous burst of light. The next day he and his crew moved to the real forest, where the special effects team set off 50 more explosions. Shots from the two locations were then intercut.

According to gaffer Wilson, the biggest exterior lighting setup occurred in Episode 8. Directed by Tony To, who also served as one of the projects co-executive producers, it concerned the American attack on the town of Haguenau in February 1945. The night of the actual assault was completely overcast, and to create some form of illumination the Army beamed searchlights into the clouds, which then bounced the light back down. The searchlights gave an overall wash of light, Wilson says. That was the actual light source and thats what we had to simulate.

Wilson came up with the idea of making a giant soft light, the equivalent of a 100K space light. It had to be able to shed light over a 300-square-foot area on the back lot. Dubbed the Jimmy Light, after its designer, the unit was 20' wide by 12' deep and consisted of eight nine-light Maxi-Brutes, all wired to dimmers. We hung the whole thing on a 200-foot crane, about 120 feet off the ground, says the gaffer. The reach of the arm was about 80 feet. It was like an enormous, 20-foot softbox. In addition to the Jimmy Light we had a full Wendy on a cherry picker, as well as a 24K Dino. I think I left them open, neither diffused nor corrected.

Not every episode of the series involves combat or enormous lighting setups. The first episode covers Easy Companys two-year training at home and introduces viewers to the unusually large cast of characters. The guys are in training camp, and I wanted to make everything slightly brighter, with more light on their faces, and create a warmer, safer feel, says Ransom, who shot the episode for director Phil Alden Robinson. Plus, we had to establish 30 actors in an hour so that the audience could recognize them before they started getting into a dark plane with black shoe polish on their faces!

That happened soon enough. For the paratroopers first nighttime practice jump, there were no lights in the aircraft at all. Ransom underexposed the 5279 three to four stops. The theory is that you are lighting from the planes windows, with the moonlight as the source. We put lights into bounces outside the windows tungsten light, so we probably put a quarter-to-half-blue on the lamps. Occasionally, the camera was slung from a kind of mini-rail dolly track, which Williams had built on the ceiling of the C-47, running right down the middle of the aircraft.

A scene of troopers riding a train was shot in an actual boxcar, which was placed in one of the soundstages. We used a poor-mans process, reports Ransom. We had a greenscreen outside the windows visual-effects supervisor Angus Bickerton would put in an appropriate background later and we put lights outside the windows with individual cyclodrums fitted over them. Each cyclodrum had various diffusions added to it, and wed spin them to help change the density of the light and create the illusion of motion.

Another trick is that you always want straps or something dangling down as the train moves, he adds, noting that the grips were actually rocking the boxcar. When you see something swaying like that, you believe the train really is moving.

Less amenable to creative solutions was the fog that hung over the backlot during Episode 5, which was directed by Tom Hanks. Hatfield is a low-lying site and very flat, ideal for an airfield, notes Adefarasin. There are many ponds nearby, however, and a huge problem was that at night it got terribly misty, and any sort of backlight lit up the mist. And if you ffontlight in that type of situation, it looks like flash photography.

The cameraman wound up using Maxi-Brutes and Dinos as backlight while keeping the key as high as he could. Episode 6, which was shot primarily in the forest set, presented a different scenario: fog had to be added. You light the set and it looks great, says Adefarasin. You roll in the smoke and it looks even better. Then when the camera rolls, another lump of smoke springs into frame and either makes the scene too light by raising the fog level, or too dark by filtering the lights! Sometimes it does both at the same time. I was constantly consulting my Minolta spot meter and yelling out two different stops.

Adefarasin also shot Episode 9, which was directed by Frankel and was an emotional experience for everybody involved. The setting is Germany in the waning days of the war; Nazi soldiers have already fled the area. The men of Easy are walking down a road and come upon a concentration camp. The concentration camp scenes were all photographed on Vision 200T, without an 85 filter, and then force-developed, Adefarasin says. Its the only footage of mine that we force-developed. However, I didnt want to introduce more grain, so I went for a very full exposure. The lack of correction lent the images an exaggerated contrast and a bit of color distortion. You knew the men were going into a ghastly area.

After a few relatively static initial shots, we went for a frenzy of handheld images, circling our troops and the camp survivors. However, we wanted the camera to respect their presence, as if the scene was really happening, so we never got into the actors eyelines. For a scene in which Capt. Nixon [Ron Livingston] returns alone to the camp a short time later, we ran the camera at 27 fps. You should barely notice the slow-motion, but I felt it helped give the sequence a haunting feel.

Adefarasin says Episode 9 was his main motivation for working on the miniseries. Not a single shot is fired, yet the whole horror of warfare is evident in that hour. [We see] how lives are destroyed, how hate breeds, and the futility of killing our fellow man, but we also see how people help each other. The episode is called Why We Fight, and its the reason I signed up for Band of Brothers!

The miniseries Band of Brothers was not only shot in England, but all postproduction was done there as well. The 10-part drama was shot on film, and then, in a scenario that is becoming increasingly commonplace, it was digitally color-corrected and manipulated. Going a technological step beyond the recent O Brother, Where Art Thou?, technicians working on Band of Brothers utilized 2K digital data courtesy of Philips Specter, a data-storage device that allows virtual access to a scanned negative. (See From Film to Tape, AC May 99, for more on the Specter.)

The Specter is essentially a Spirit without wheels the electronics of the Spirit but with disks instead of film, explains Band of Brothers colorist Luke Rainey of Kodak/Cinesites new digital-mastering lab in London. Its also called a Virtual telecine because it has all the functionality of the telecine except it [contains] data rather than film.

After the episodes of Band of Brothers were edited on the Avid and a cut negative was produced (with 17-frame handles), the negative was scanned at 2K resolution on a Philips Spirit Datacine and the digitized material was loaded into a giant server. For the final coloring and assembly, the filmmakers then utilized the Specter to call up the desired shots and on-line assemble them according to the edit decision list (EDL) provided by the editors. Both the MegaDef grading system and the Pogle control-corrector which regulates both the Specter and the MegaDef are products of U.K.-based Pandora International.

The process of calling up the shots is entirely automated, says Rainey. The Specter comprises more than 3,000 gigabytes of hard disks to store the 1920x1440 images, a control system which enables us to play these images in real time, a basic edit system that automatically assembles the shots in the order dictated by the EDL, and a very comprehensive grading and reframing system.

Visual-effects shots were also loaded into the Specter as they became available and were matched to their previously timed background plates. Opticals such as wire removal, speed changes, adding camera shake, etc. were then pulled into the Specter. When everything was finished, the episode was output to EID-D5 tape. From there, it could be played out in a wide variety of delivery formats and aspect ratios.

The most important thing on this show was to keep the viewer close to the characters, Rainey notes. For this reason, I wanted to keep the skin tones more natural than other parts of the picture. Because I can select any entity within a frame and manipulate it separately from the rest of the picture, I would isolate the skin tones and desaturate the remainder of the picture. If there is any other color or object that should be noticed such as the mailbox in the battle scene of Episode 4 Id bring that back as well.Cinematographer Remi Adefarasin, BSC, who alternated shooting episodes with Joel Ransom, CSC, was concerned about how green leaves and fields would photograph at night. In the spring, the trees and grass are lush and light, and when backlit they look like a cartoon, Adefarasin observes. To solve the problem, Rainey significantly reduced the color green throughout the series and timed down highlights in foliage in night scenes.

Greens tend to overpower the pictures, agrees the colorist. Of course, when you take color out, you lose apparent contrast, so I some times used the greens in a slightly distorted manner, bending them toward another color, making them more ochre or olive, and thus put a wash behind the foreground characters, who were wearing uniforms pretty much the same color as the background. I then flared out the skies to create a layered effect.

Electronic grad filters (typically called Power Windows, which is the name theyre given in da Vinci color-correctors) were used extensively throughout the timing process. These work in the same way that a conventional grad does; however, instead of applying a color effect across the whole frame, it can be feathered in from an edge or even placed over an object and tracked. Rainey sometimes did this to reduce highlights on the side of a face. In wintry episodes, the filter effect allowed him to flare the snow without affecting the trees.

The data aspect of the process is the key that enables Rainey to do the things he does. He adds that when dealing with video in the past, he was always limited by color depth (i.e., the palette of colors available). But by working with virtual 2K data, he can be much more precise in composing the color imagery of a shot. He notes that every shot in all 10 episodes contains at least four layers of color effects, and often as many as eight. Blacks are squeezed, whites are flared, skin tones are manipulated and grads are added. Jean Oppenheimer

See the rest here:
Close Combat: Band of Brothers - The American Society of Cinematographers - American Cinematographer

(CNN)

Move over, modern farmhouse decor; theres a new design aesthetic in town. Blending Japanese minimalism and Scandinavian hygge, Japandi is the latest trend gaining traction in the interior design world, bringing with it a cozy but simplistic look thats popping up in homes all over the worldand piquing the interest of design lovers like us. Case in point: Searches for Japandi on Pinterest are up 100% since last year alone.

To get to the bottom of what exactly Japandi is and how we can channel the serene style in our own homes we talked with interior designer Shanty Wijaya, founder of Allprace, a boutique home design, build and landscape firm that recently completed an incredible Los Angeles home flip that epitomizes Japandi style. Dubbed Project Japandi, the home is rife in Japanese and Scandinavian influences, from a neutral color palette and an emphasis on natural materials (think wood, stone, living finish metal and leather), indoor/outdoor living and greenery throughout.

PHOTO: Jenna Ohnemus Peffley

Shanty Wijaya's so-called "Project Japandi" house in Los Angeles

Overseeing the entire stunning renovation, Wijaya says, Japandi is the East meets West design movement that blends Japanese artistic elements and wabi-sabi philosophy with Scandinavian comfort and warmth. Both the Japanese and Scandinavian design aesthetics are focused on simplicity, natural elements, comfort and sustainability. Japandi is not purely an aesthetic but also a way of life. Its about recognizing, accepting and embracing the imperfectness of life and opting for simplicity-authenticity as a conscious choice.

PHOTO: Jenna Ohnemus Peffley

Shanty Wijaya's so-called "Project Japandi" house in Los Angeles

While were more familiar with the Scandi hygge principles creating rustic, cozy, warm spaces that foster togetherness Wijaya brought us up to speed on Zen Buddhisms key elements of the wabi-sabi aesthetic, which is rooted in appreciating the imperfection of things. Focusing on principles like kanso (simplicity), fukinsei (asymmetry or irregularity), shibumi (beauty in the understated) and seijaku (tranquility), wabi-sabi can be achieved in a slew of ways, according to Wijaya.

Opt for reclaimed pieces or something that is original or handmade, she says. Use materials that can naturally patina in time, like wood, natural stones and living finish metals. To create depth, use different stained colored woods. Opt for simple, low-profile furnishings, and bring nature in by using potted and hanging plants and greenery inside the house.

PHOTO: Jenna Ohnemus Peffley

Shanty Wijaya's so-called "Project Japandi" house in Los Angeles

And in terms of overall decor, Wijaya recommends infusing bright spaces with clean lines and muted color palettes, creating uncluttered spaces and adding cozy blankets and candles to gathering areas like the living room. Another biggie: Investing in quality items that will stand the test of time rather than cheaper furnishings that will ultimately end up in a landfill.

The result? A gorgeous mix of cozy details, natural materials and clean lines, all engrained in a minimalist, earthy color palette. With Wijayas help, we curated a slew of beautiful, well-made pieces from bed linens and couches to dinnerware and lighting that will get you on your Japandi way.

PHOTO: Parachute

Parachute Linen Duvet Cover

Comfort and sustainability are two key tenets of Japandi, and Parachutes lovely linen duvet cover fits the bill. Made of 100% European flax, the light and airy cover comes in Japandi-approved hues like white, cream and light gray in sizes twin to California king, and the goods deliver more than 1,000 customers have written glowing reviews. More to know: Parachute is an Oeko-Tex 100 certified company, meaning all of its products are free of harmful chemicals and synthetics. Parachute made our favorite linen sheets of this year too.

PHOTO: Target

Threshold Designed by Studio McGee Honeyville Jute/Wool Natural Rug

Jute rugs are always a good idea, and given their neutral color and natural fibers, theyre perfect for Japandi settings too. We love this one from Studio McGees collab with Threshold, where the rug is woven with natural wool, creating a subtle textured pattern. Did we mention it has fringe? Done and done.

PHOTO: Serena & Lily

Serena & Lily Teak Stool

Were calling this little guy perfectly imperfect! Handmade in India and crafted of solid teak, the decorative stool is utterly Japandi in that its full of natural marks and cracks. How to style it? Use it for propping up plants, holding a stack of books or as a side table.

PHOTO: Urban Outfitters

Urban Outfitters Palmera Fan Headboard

Handpicked by Wijaya, this gorgeous bamboo fan can be used as a headboard or as artwork she placed it in Project Japandi above a guest rooms headboard. Wherever it lands, its sure to be the focal point of the room.

PHOTO: Wayfair

CaterEco Melange Stoneware 36-Piece Irregular Shape Dinnerware Set

Stoneware dinnerware thats also naturally misshapen? Thats a Japandi score. We love this set from Wayfair that includes 12 dinner plates, salad plates and bowls, which is a bargain at this price. More to know: If youd prefer a light gray hue, you can nab it on Amazon for 5 bucks more.

PHOTO: Food52

Sin Handmade Uni Wall Hook

Keeping a clutter-free home is key to nailing the Japandi aesthetic, which is why this minimalist hook is a big win (and a favorite of Wijayas!). Full of cool design details its made by a small Brooklyn studio firm the stoneware hook is just begging to hold some towels in your bathroom.

PHOTO: Amazon

Nathan James Theo 5-Shelf Wood Modern Bookcase

Open-air furnishings fit right into the Japandi style, which makes this bookcase a winner for any room. Composed of metal and oak laminate fashioned to look like reclaimed wood we know, the real thing would be better, but it would also be a lot more expensive! the bookshelf is perfect for harnessing clutter, and its an Amazon favorite too.

PHOTO: AllModern

Solid Wood Abstract End Table

Handmade of solid mango wood, this gorgeous side table is both interesting and sleek all at once. We love its natural wood grain coloring and the fact that it has a 4.8-star rating on AllModern.

PHOTO: Amazon

Greenco 5-Tier Wall-Mount Corner Shelves

Simple and full of clean lines, this affordable shelving unit comes in four finishes and takes advantage of unused corners. More to know: It boasts nearly 12,000 5-star reviews.

PHOTO: Amazon

Nearly Natural Ficus Artificial Tree

The Japandi aesthetic calls for lots of greenery inside the home, but for those of us with a black thumb, going faux is the best route. This maintenance-free ficus tree comes in six sizes and features lifelike leaves and branches that look so natural your friends and family will think you mastered horticulture during quarantine. More to know: This ficus is Amazons No. 1 bestselling artificial tree, and its raked in more than 5,800 5-star reviews.

PHOTO: Urban Outfitters

Quinn Striped Sofa

Nearly identical to the sofa that Wijaya placed in her Japandi flip house, this ultra-cool couch from Urban Outfitters has a minimalist silhouette and a low profile! that will make it right at home in your space. Looking to outfit an entire living room? Consider pairing the sofa with this coordinating chair.

PHOTO: Wayfair

Dorinda Solid Wood Low Profile Standard Bed

Platform beds are all the rage right now, and given their minimalist design and clean lines, they fit right into the Japandi realm. Crafted from solid pine, this low-profile frame comes in four finishes and has short, tapered legs with a neat low spindle headboard just sayin, but it could be a match made in heaven with the above Palmera Fan Headboard!

PHOTO: AllModern

Mira Modern Accent Mirror

A home can never have too many mirrors, and this modern version is perfect for your space. We love the light-colored wood stain too.

PHOTO: Wayfair

Bloomsbury Market Gwyneth Terra-Cotta Pot Planter

Just as important as filling your home with greenery is housing those plants in beautiful holders. Enter: This distressed terra-cotta planter that Wijaya handpicked. Perfect for hosting smaller plants like ferns or succulents, this pot will lend an earthy vibe to your home.

PHOTO: AllModern

Samira Task Floor Lamp

Lighting is all-important in any space, and this adjustable-arm floor lamp will get the job done while also adding some seriously chic style to your space. We love the mix of black matte metal with brass details, and the fact that its base is only 12 inches wide.

PHOTO: Amazon

Yamazaki Home Leaning Ladder Rack

Corral your households clutter with this ultra-simple leaning ladder rack from Yamazaki. Boasting clean lines and simple design, the racks rungs can each hold 2.2 pounds worth of items (from towels to scarves).

PHOTO: AllModern

Beatty 1-Light Single Geometric Pendant

Sustainably sourced, this gorgeous wooden drum shade will certainly be the focal point of your room, thanks to its super-cool geometric design and natural uddo-oil finish.

PHOTO: Target

Threshold Designed With Studio McGee Pleasant Grove Marble Top Console

Were obsessed with everything in Studio McGees latest collection, and that includes this marble-topped metal console table that will blend seamlessly in entryways, halls and living spaces alike. With clean lines, the piece is slender too, taking up just 15 inches, making it a great option for narrow nooks.

PHOTO: Target

Threshold Designed With Studio McGee Emery Wood and Upholstered Bench

A lovely mix of hygge (that cozy cushion!) and Japanese (that slim, natural-stained wood!), this bench is a must-have for anyone looking for some extra seating in their entryway or mudroom.

PHOTO: Floyd

Floyd The Sofa

If youre looking for a sofa thats going to last, Floyd is a home run. One of our favorite couches in a box, the Floyd Sofa has a cultlike following, thanks to its quality and minimalist design, and were psyched that its look (and mission) make it perfectly Japandi too.

PHOTO: Urban Outfitters

Nina Rattan Coffee Table

Filling rooms with well-curated, quality furnishings is an important part of Japandi, and we cant find a better contender than this rattan coffee table. Featuring concentric rings spiraling into the center of the tabletop, the pieces geometric base is crafted from black iron thats perfectly juxtaposed against the light, textural wood.

PHOTO: Urban Outfitters

Ria Rattan Table Lamp

Speaking of rattan, were similarly obsessed with this editor-approved lamp that reviewers love too. With different shades of wood in a cool geometric pattern, its truly calming to look at.

PHOTO: Amazon

RiseOn Boho Black Metal Plant Hanger

Bring the outdoors inside with this sleek plant hanger that can accommodate a 5-inch plant and comes in black, gold and gray hues. Its a sleek way to add some real (or faux) greenery into your home.

PHOTO: Brooklinen

Brooklinen Throw Blanket

Trust us when we say theres no better blanket to snuggle under on a freezing winter night than this throw from Brooklinen. Crafted from pure wool and made in Germany, the ultra-thick blanket will add the hygge to any space. Looking for a cheaper alternative? Check out this cozy option from Target.

PHOTO: Target

Casaluna Glass Jar 4-Wick Clarity Candle

Infuse your space with the glow of this gorgeous Casaluna four-wick candle, which is waaaay cheaper than most candles this size. Made from a smoke-free coconut wax, the aromatherapy is Japandi-approved, given its stark white hue and the sheer coziness all those wicks emit when lit.

See the rest here:
Everything to know about Japandi and how to infuse it into your home - CNN

Appropriate is not usually a sexy word. Unless youre talking about restoring a 120-year-old SoHo loft with 11-foot ceilings and original cast-iron columns for a 28-year-old New Yorker, that is. Youre taking an interesting old thing and youre making it appropriate for today, explains Andrew Oyen, principal at Ferguson & Shamamian Architects, who teamed up with Elizabeth Lawrence, partner at Bunny Williams Interior Design, to give the disheveled space back its original swagger for a client whose lifestyle included both studying for her masters and entertaining lots of friends.

Previously used as a studio by the famous architect and sculptor Maya Lin (designer of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.) and as a manufacturing facility before that, the 2,800-square-foot unit retained few of the coveted industrial features common among lofts in the neighborhood, save for a pair of floor-to-ceiling cast-iron columns. It became about, How can we work with what we have? recalls Oyen. The answer: Restore the original wood windows and floors, remove a layer of acoustic tile from the ceiling beams and ducts, hang a rattan swing , replace the 1970s door with a more period-appropriate versionand then give every exposed feature a fresh coat of white paint.

Andrew Frasz

But at the behest of the client, Emma Lasry, now a research analyst at an art advisory firm, the loft couldnt look too old-timey: I wanted my own space to feel comfy and cloudlike, but with tons of fabrics, patterns, and colors, and [Oyen and Lawrence] instantly got it. After all, the two prestigious firms were familiar enough with her style, having already worked together to renovate several (much larger) homes for her parents on the Upper West Side and in Connecticut.

Following Lasrys cues, Lawrence got to work on the palette (bright pinks and blues) and layout (adding a huge kitchen island and plenty of space for entertaining). Emma knew she wanted traditional pieces mixed with modern, so we took that feedback and ran with it, Lawrence says. Shes a sophisticated young ladyshe could pinpoint pretty quickly what she wanted.

The result is a bright, colorful apartment that feels utterly unexpectedboth for the historical address and for the firms, known as they are for more opulent projects, that came together to create it. Weve been called chameleons before, says Oyen of the team. Its a huge compliment!

You want an apartment like this to be revealed to you, says Oyen, who relocated the front entrance so that the first thing visitors see is the dramatic cast-iron columns. (Doing so also created space for a sunlit open kitchen at the front of the unit.) An impassioned search for the perfect door led them to Demolition Depot in Harlem, where they found a heavy metal door from another old warehouse in downtown Manhattan. Retrofitted with an antique door closer and new hardware, its one of the few antique pieces we brought to the project, says Oyen. It really makes the space.

Chandelier: Currey and Company. Door: vintage, Demolition Depot. Paint: Chantilly Lace by Benjamin Moore. Art: Untitled by Richard Prince (Instagram image of Andreas Aresti, @andreasaresti)

For architect Andrew Oyen and decorator Elizabeth Lawrence, the biggest challenge in this New York loft was configuring the massive open floor plan as a comfy entertaining mecca. Swing: Serena & Lily. Sofa: Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams. Pillows: John Robshaw (pink) and Lee Jofa with Samuel & Sons trim (blue). Coffee table: Anthropologie. Lamp and side table: Bunny Williams Home. Rug: Studio Four NYC.

Creating elegant but comfy seating zones was a key part of Lawrences design strategy. And yes, thats a statue of Allen Iverson watching over the room: It doesnt exactly go, but I love that people are confused by it, Lasry laughs. Chairs: Layla Grayce in Peter Dunham and Lee Jofa fabrics. Side table: RH. Bar cart: Arteriors. Art: Andy Warhol.

Custom cabinets in a pale gray (Collingwood by Benjamin Moore) set the kitchen apart from the rest of the white-walled apartment. Stools: Wesley Hall in Fabricut fabric. Pendants: Hudson Valley Lighting. Backsplash: Complete Tile Collection. Hood and range: Viking. Fridge: Sub-Zero. Sink: Franke. Faucet: Waterworks. Hardware: Rejuvenation.

The vibrant Paper Mills wallcovering and lotus-inspired pendant from Shades of Light create a wow moment in this small space. Sconce: Circa Lighting. Mirror: Michael S. Smith for Mirror Image Home. Sink: Urban Archaeology. Faucet: Waterworks.

Hints of black give the Tulu Textiles fabric (on a Wesley Hall chair) a modern feel. Bed: Niermann Weeks. Bench: Eloquence in Peter Dunham fabric. Upholstery trim: Samuel & Sons. Table lamp: Horchow. Side table: Currey and Company. Floor lamp: Circa Lighting. Rug: Dash & Albert. Wall paint: Dreamy Cloud by Benjamin Moore.

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Ferguson & Shamamian and Bunny Williams Interior Design Collaborated on This Cloud-like City Loft - HouseBeautiful.com

Remember when the quest for interior design inspiration involved stacks of magazines with dog-eared pages? That messy, cluttered world has been transformed by the internets mood board, Pinterest, which has created a whole new way of finding and organizing design inspiration. With so many designers to follow and such a range of styles to pin, it seems impossible to pick a favorite, but Budget Direct Home Insurance has tried. The company recently crunched the numbers to suss out the most popular interior design style on Pinterest, as well as the top interior designer. Did your favorites make the cut?

Budget Direct used Interiordecor.com to make a comprehensive list of interior design styles, then tapped their own data scientists to find out how many times each style was pinned on Pinterest. They found that among the top 10 design styles on Pinterest, vintage is the most popular, with 2,665,779 pins. Given the styles long history and the many images available on the internet, its not surprising that vintage came out on top.

RELATED: 10 Vintage Decorating Ideas We Were Wrong to Abandon

Budget Direct found Indian-style interiors to be the second most popular, thanks to their ornate wood furniture and rich colors and patterns. Arts & Crafts, modern, and English complete the top five.

After compiling a list of the most influential interior designers in the world, Budget Direct then calculated how many times each one was pinned on Pinterest. Joanna Gaines, best known as the better half of the duo on the popular reality TV series Fixer Upper, ranked first, with 238,163 pins. The interior design queen of Pinterest is also famed for her fondness for farmhouse chic.

RELATED: The Top 5 DIY Trends, According to Michaels

In the list of the top 10 most influential interior designers in the world, American designers nabbed all but one of the spots. Thomas OBrien falls behind Joanna Gaines, with 168,999 pins. Nate Berkus, Michael Taylor, and Tony Duquette round out the top five. The most pinned interior designer outside America is Belgian Axel Vervoordt, with 69,416 pins. Greg Natale is Australias most pinned designer, with 11,985 pins, and the U.K.s most pinned is Zaha Hadid, with 57,168 pins.

RELATED: The Best Interior Design Books for Your Coffee Table

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This Is the Most Pinned Interior Design Style on Pinterest - BobVila.com

On a recent February day in Toronto, as white winter skies spread flatly out with all the monotony of our lockdown days, I retreated into the pages of influential Swedish-born, London-based designer Beata Heumans new book, Every Room Should Sing (Rizzoli). Something stirred from deep within, a vaguely exotic feeling: it was hope. Each image, capturing the interiors Heuman divined, is alive with happy, defibrillating colour and pattern. (The name, Beata, appropriately, means happy in Latin.) Her spaces welcome and enchant with what weve so long missed this past year: freedom and spontaneity. Id gladly, it occurs to me, self-isolate in any of these pages.

Your home should be a place that inspires, that lets your imagination flourish, Heuman tells me over the phone. At its best, interior design can be transportive. Even if the only place we can travel these days is into the attic of our memories. Living in the past is, weve long been told, not ideal but living with the past can prove both comfort and escape. Having things that are sentimental, from a parent or a grandparent, is so important and gives so much personality to your home, says Heuman, whose interiors are as layered with colours, textures, patterns and scale, as much as they are with nostalgia and memories.

There is the tobacco-coloured mural in her daughters room inspired by the citified, cigar-smoking bunnies populating Ludwig Bemelmans magical mural at Bemelmans Bar at New Yorks Carlyle Hotel, the juicy watermelon coloured floor inspired by one she once saw during her honeymoon in Sicily. And a trip to Versailles Petit Trianon, she tells me, inspired the design of the trellis outside her London home. Its ridiculous to be inspired by Versailles for our small townhouse, she says, Its clich, but inspiration can come from anything. As she writes in her book: I have been known to photograph loo paper holders in seedy inns. But the place she visits most for inspiration is the republic of her own childhood in the south of Sweden, where she grew up on a farm in a tiny hamlet.

The more we chat, the more it seems, though, that its childhood itself, more than any physical place, that is arguably her biggest inspiration. Its about not forgetting how you think when youre a child. As a small child, youre not so aware of how things might come across or what is right, she says, and she brings that festive, mirthful looseness to all her spaces, each making me feel as if Ive been transported into a more fanciful wonderworld that is somehow more civilized for its playfulness, more refined for its whimsy.

Heuman shares a quote from writer Bruno Shulz, which may serve as her artistic credo: The ideal goal is to mature into childhood. That would be genuine maturity. Whats important, she says, is variation and unexpected detail. I like including elements of fantasy, things that are not quite of this world, she says. Her so-called Dodo pendant lamps, which look like a cross between a giant egg and a pineapple, have a fantastical Carollian quality, her cub armchairs have paw feet and she often embroiders eyelashes onto the arms of her sofas. We had this sofa and its arm just reminded me of a sea creature and I just thought, lets make this more obvious, so I put eyelashes on it, she says. Another Heuman trademark: red and white stripes. Its beach parasol and fun and summery, but its also bold and classic, she says.

As Diana Vreeland famously said, the eye has to travel. And now, only our eyes can travel. Mine are currently on a flight to Corsica, or maybe under a red-and-white striped beach parasol, or, come to think of it, curled up on the Josef Frank-upholstered daybed facing the bay window in Heumans singing London townhouse.

The Star understands the restrictions on travel during the coronavirus pandemic. But like you, we dream of travelling again, and we're publishing this story with future trips in mind.

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'Your home should be a place that inspires': Lessons from the interior designer who has mastered the art of happy - Toronto Star

In honor of Black History Month, Interior Design spoke with six Black creatives about how their work reflects their personal experiences, cultural narratives, and hopes for the future of design. From minimalist furnishings to handwoven textiles, sculptural forms, and bold wallcoverings, each piece invites further exploration. Here are their stories.

Studio ANANSI

Founded by artist and product designer Evan Jerry, Studio ANANSIs name reflects the African and Caribbean heritage of its Canadian-born creator and his work. Often depicted in the form of a spider in West African and Caribbean fables, Anansi is a god of knowledge, one that serves as a guide for Jerrys handmade vessels. As a design student, I was questioning culture and how I was connected to objects, he says, noting that he had to find ways to fill the gaps left by his classes. He established Studio ANANSI in London in 2018 with the goal of expanding the web of voices in the design industry.

I get lost in inspiration from different textures and techniques used in African and Caribbean design, Jerry says, describing the link between the skin and flesh of cassava, a root that grows in tropical climates, and the textures found in his work. I want the pieces to feel alive, almost like they have their own skin, he adds. To achieve this, Jerry often plays to the imperfections of the materials he works with, such as natural woods, dyes, and oils. I create objects that speak to the history of African and Black contributions to design. I want them to be modern, but also feel like they belong with other artifacts, he explains. Up next, Jerry plans include expanding the narrative of African and Black contributions in a soon-to-be-unveiled collaboration.

Barali

When longtime friends MookhoNtho andMoliehiMafantiri recognized the need to preserve the weaving traditions and narratives of Basotho culture in their native Lesotho, Africa, they sprang into action, forming sustainable homeware brand Barali. Working with local artisans to produce handcrafted rugs, textiles, and throw blankets, the two women aim to maintain the cultural continuity of each product, offer fair wages, and honor a commitment to environmental consciousness. We want to ensure our products are helping the world, more than taking from it, Mafantiri says. Every aspect of production reflects this ethos, from the farms that provide mohair and wool to the intricate patterns translated from Nthos sketches into their final form by artisan weavers. Were taking from the creativity already here in our history and culture and giving it a modern twist, Ntho says. A lot of cultural elements are slowly dying with this generation of weavers, so its nice to bring them back.

Currently, Ntho and Mafantiri are planning how to do this on a larger scale with workshops where expert weavers can mentor the younger generation, ensuring their knowledge is passed down rather than lost. Theres a huge gap between the youth and that older group of weavers, Ntho explains. A lot of younger people are not being taught these skills in local schools. Though a typical handmade rug takes from four to six weeks, the time spent honors more than the shapes and stories of Basotho cultureit also solidifies its survival.

Studio Lani

For designer Lani Adeoye, founder of her namesake studio, her current career is one she could hardly imagine as a child. Growing up in a Nigerian family in Canada, Adeoye was encouraged to study more traditional subjects, leading her to work as a management and IT consultant for several years before attending Parsons School of Design at The New School. I was always interested in interiors, but I never saw it from a professional standpoint, she says, recalling that friends often sought her advice on paint colors and furniture layouts in their homes. I started to notice a shift in how people responded to the energy in a space, and that brought my attention to the psychology of design. At Parsons, product design piqued Adeoyes interest, and her first piecethe Lilo chair, inspired by elements of Nigerian music and rhythmsreflects the essence of her brand today.

Many Studio Lani products, such as stools reminiscent of a West African talking drum, are made by Nigerian artisans who use locally sourced materials to create unique sculptural forms. Im naturally drawn to sculpture, says Adeoye, who hopes to broaden the conversation about African aesthetics with her work by showcasing collections in neutral, earthy tones rather than focusing on vibrant hues. And though the pandemic has made it challenging to collaborate with artisans near and far, Adeoye is finding ways to make it work and plans to release new designs later this year. Im always excited to share my culture and connect with people based on design, she says. Human connection is so powerful.

OI Studio

The drive to create runs deep for BOA, founder and creative director of OI Studio, who transitioned from furniture buyer to maker after being asked to design an impromptu shelving unit for a clients retail showroom. Ive always been an artist, recalls BOA, who grew up surrounded by the ocean in St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands. But product design was an accidentI didnt run toward it, someone asked me to do it. As a self-taught furniture designer, BOA prioritizes sustainable materials and processes, creating minimalist pieces that reflect the sand-colored palette of her youth. Theres a preconceived idea of Caribbean design thats very stereotypical and very narrow, she asserts, noting that often bright colors and ornate creations come to mind. But the natural landscapes of the islands, and the many cultures that thrive on them, are far more varied. BOAs pieces, such as the Om Meditation Table, reflect the clean lines of the horizon, which she sketched countless times from her childhood home, commanding attention with their simplicity. Growing up in a culture where resources are limited, you need to be quite inventive and minimalistic in your approach because you dont have access to a lot, she explains.

Last year, BOA joined the Black Artists + Designers Guild, participating in meetings via Zoom from her home in New Orleans. Her work is being featured as part of the BA+DG Obsidian concept house, designed as a smart and sustainable home for Black families. For the patio, BOA created solar-powered moveable chaise lounge chairs that fold back into the deck when the sun dips. The surface becomes seating, she notes. I want people to feel welcome and nurtured and supposed the house highlights how diverse we all are.

The Black Home

Design is an intuitive process for Neffi Walker, who found solace during an especially hard moment in her life by helping friends rearrange their homes, leading her to turn her passion into a profession. In doing so, Walker knew she wanted her work to reflect her Puerto Rican and African heritage, as well as the cultural aesthetics and needs of Black families more broadly. In design and in life, Black always seems to have a negative connotation, she says, noting that she often incorporates darker tones as focal points in her designs. For instance, her striking banana leaf-patterned wallpaper, made in collaboration with artist and illustrator Verna Fogg as a nod to the beloved Puerto Rican dish pasteles, draws the eyes toward dark hues that accentuate details in the leaves.

As a designer, it is my ultimate goal to highlight the beauty of Black from color to culture, Walker says. With this mission in mind, she founded her New Jersey-based home brand, The Black Home, where she is principal designer (while also raising five children). I started with one candle scent, she recalls. It took nine months to perfect the process before we added a second scent. Nearly 18 months later, Walker is focused on designing and launching the brands first flagship store this March. The Black Home reflects Walkers laid-back, family-first approach, featuring furnishings and pieces that invite conversation and bring a sense of liveliness into the home. It was a rapid progression, she adds. And its just the beginning.

Original post:
Black Makers Reflect on the Cultural Roots of Their Crafts - Interior Design

We are seeing a trend towards homeowners wanting to create zen sanctuaries in the home, said Imani James, certified award-winning interior designer and owner of Imani James Interiors. A quiet oasis type of environment designated for peace and reflection to recharge and recalibrate. These small secluded areas are filled with natural elements such as plants and crystals and are scented with warm uplifting scents from essential oils and candles. We are adding doors where there wasnt one previously and creating peaceful nooks wherever we can.

As LaMont Bynum, owner of consignment furniture boutique Rite At Home, put it: dont be boring... mix it up.

Out with the old model of everything must match. Todays rule is mix it up to add interest and fun, said Bynum, who is also principal owner/interior designer of Bynum Design Group. Mixing metal with design makes a statement in a room and can help bring different looks to a space. Ultimately, the finish you choose should fit in well with the style you are trying to emulate.

To infuse a modern appearance in your room, Bynum said a polished look focused on matte finishes is usually the go-to, while traditional rooms favor fixtures with oil-rubbed finishes.

But there are also things that have gone out of style.

When it comes to furniture, buying living, dining and bedroom sets are a thing of the past and provides no life to a room, he said. Find one foundational piece and start designing. It is like a woman finding the perfect black dress.

Working from our dwellings means our home lives have blended with our office lives. As such, many residents hope to outline rooms for work and play, sepearting the two in an effort to obtain work-life balance.

A real focus, and one that we definitely see continuing through the coming years, is a more defined and fuller use of every space in the home, whether it be for work, for relaxation, or for family activity, Grossman said. While most of our clients either already had home offices or spaces easily converted, we saw a wonderful trend toward adding bright spots of color rays of happiness as those spaces were organized and brought to life for full-time use. We saw an emphasis on creating comfortable spaces for the family to gather once the work and school day was done.

Grossman noted her company converted a dining room into a family dining lounge, which included a custom banquette with chaise lounges, ideal for reading or watching a movie after supper. Outdoor areas and sunrooms were transformed into areas where people can have socially distanced get-togethers.

I can only see this embrace of home continuing as the world opens back up, with newly found enjoyment and respite as continued themes, she said.

As with many things amid the pandemic, what clients seek from home decor has changed. Ashley Miller, a leading interior designer in the southeast and owner of Ashley Miller Design, said clients no longer ask whether or not their home makes them feel comfortable, alive, or secure.

Now, they ask more specific questions.

Aside from moving away from open floor plans, Miller said she also notices clients desiring spaces that can transition them from one place to another be it from a home office to a sitting room, or a living room with the kids, to a quiet, relaxing room designed to let them sit in peace and quiet.

One room might be airy with light tones, while another close by may be a combination of stronger colors with more pattern, she continued. In other words, what used to be large, open floor plans with a continuous theme running throughout is being replaced with multiple rooms and transitioning styles that are curated depending on the mood the client wants.

Clients are also seeking ways to decompress at home rather than taking a seasonal getaway.

We all wish we could travel like we once did so now we are looking to bring the travel experience and luxury into our everyday lives, Miller said. For instance, clients are now trying to mimic the experience of having just stayed at a fine boutique hotel whether its in the dining room, bar/entertaining area, or master bedroom. This has been a developing trend over the past few years but the pandemic has only accelerated it. Why not replicate that same experience at home?

More:
What are the home decor trends for 2021 - Atlanta Journal Constitution

True beauty is found in the details. For Jonathan Rachman, a multihyphenate interior designer, event planner, and author of the memoir The Garlic Peanut Story, designing gorgeous homes begins with practicality, purpose, and passion.

I absolutely love transforming a space, a house, a mansion, or resort from something thats stale, boring, and mediocre to something absolutely fabulous and fun, says the San Francisco-based Rachman. The process of finding the perfect items, furnishings, and colors completely excites me.

Ironically, being an interior designer was never part of Rachmans plan, but life took him down a different path. Twenty years ago, after being dissatisfied with his life in corporate America, he opened a flower shop without having real experience as a florist. His talent was evident, and he soon found himself designing events for A-list clients before shifting gears to interior design.

Rachman is now one of the most sought-after designers in the Bay Area. His 2,000-square-foot store, across the street from San Franciscos iconic Zuni Caf on Market Street, showcases fine antiques, jewelry, and other discoveries hes collected from his travels around the world. It also acts as an exclusive showcase for his continuing collaborations.

The human factor is most important, he says of the creative process with clients. Their homes should reflect their style and them as the owners. I also love to draw inspirations from my favorite places when its appropriate.

A MUSING IN PARIS

I love clustering books and flowers as well as objects on a coffee table to create a geometrical silhouette. Besides visually pleasing and chic, you still have room for your cocktails and apro. Remember, clusters prevent clutter! Also, dont forget to create various heights. This creates depths and interests.

Images by Suzanna Scott Photography. Duran Coffee Table available at De Sousa Hughes. Accessories and flowers by J.Rachman.

HOUGHTON HALL REIMAGINED

Traveling and collecting are the core of my design passion. Theres nothing like a giant coffee table or ottoman that can display your collections and personal items. This ginormous ottoman is so vast yet intimate as it shows the owners personality and their story. Dont forget bold multiple floral from your garden, or splurge and have a professional florist embellish your luxurious coffee table with their creations. Above all, make sure they are proportionate.

Images by Suzanna Scott Photography. Lady R Extra Large Ottoman: Designed by J.Rachman and custom-made by Konekt Furniture. This ottoman is tufted and covered with Designers Guild velvet Pavia FDG2535-02 and horsehair fringe, inspired by an equestrian photograph from Houghton Hall. Available at Coup dEtat. Antiques and accessories from J.Rachman and Antique & Art Exchange in San Francisco. Flowers by J.Rachman.

MODERN COTTAGE

Centralize your coffee table or ottoman with a tray, especially if you like to entertain or gather around this sitting area with your loved ones. Feet up? No problem. Need more room? Simply remove the tray temporarily. Casual but stylish, and dont forget to add your favorite fragranced candle (flowers too, of course). They always add to the mood. Dont overthink it; simply drop and stack your favorite gorgeous books and adjust according to your guests interests.

Images by Douglas Friedman. Ottoman designed by J.Rachman and custom-made by Arden Home in San Francisco upholstered in leather by S.H. Frank and Co., S.F. Accessories and flowers by J.Rachman.

Jonathan Rachmans interiors have graced the covers of Elle Decor, Modern Luxury Interiors California, California Home + Design, Haven, KDHamptons, and more. Relish his unique coffee table stylings below and learn more at JonathanRachman.com.

A version of this story first appeared inOut's 2021 Hollywood Issue.Jake Borelli is featured on the coveralongsideRyan O'ConnellandAlexandra Grey. It is the first print issue under theeditorial direction of editor-in-chief David Artavia. The issue is out on newsstands on March 3, 2021.To get your own copy directly,support queer media and subscribe or download yours for Amazon, Kindle, Nook, or Apple News +.

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3 Ways to Style Your (Very Gay) Coffee Table - Out Magazine

A PROPERTY expert has revealed the seven things which could be losing you money on your house price - and its bad news if you like an artificial lawn.

While its common knowledge to embrace a neutral colour scheme and get rid of clutter if youre putting your home on the market, it turns out theres a host of other mistakes youre probably making too.

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Thomas Goodman, property expert at MyJobQuote.co.uk claimed that despite DIY booming over lockdown with homeowners updating their pads on a budget, it could devalue your home in the long-run.

He claimed that ameteur jobs are easily spotted, and its better to invest in a professional.

Thomas pointed out: A spot of DIY might seem like an innocent task to do around the house, but after time youll be able to tell the difference.

Professional work is second to none in quality, when buyers step into your home and agents do a valuation, they will take note of details.

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Your DIY tiling job might look appealing to you, but amateur work doesnt have the same finish.

He said a DIY job on the cheap will usually backfire, and give buyers leverage to negotiate a lower price.

An artificial lawn is another feature which has boomed in popularity recently, with people using the faux grass to get their gardens looking lush all-year round.

But Thomas said: Artificial grass might be a low maintenance option, but it can deter some people away, especially if they are a young family.

Broken fences are a common feature of an unkept garden, fences add a sense of privacy to a property, so ensure yours is fixed and solid.

Thomas said kerb appeal is key, to invest in some bright flowers, plant pots and mow the lawn, adding first impressions count.

A spot of DIY might seem like an innocent task to do around the house, but after time youll be able to tell the difference

Weve all watched an interior show on telly and winced as theyve opened up a tin of neon paint.

Bright colours arent everyones cup of tea, but while it might reflect your personality - it wont sell your house.

Thomas said: Loud interiors might not appeal to all buyers.

A bright yellow wall in the kitchen could be comforting for you, but it might portray your room in a different light to others.

The way forward is to keep things simple, quirky dcor, such as textured wallpaper, is best to be avoided.

He said grey and terracotta is the way to go to market your house, and while its far from exciting it helps buyers see potential.

Seven mistakes which could devalue your home

Nothing dates a home quite like the kitchen, and it can be hard to update if youre on a budget.

But its key if you want to appeal to buyers, and modern is the way to go.

Thomas noted: A modern kitchen will help to sell a house.

It can be expensive to have a complete overhaul and refit the entire unit, but potential buyers might be put off if they must visualise the amount of work they need to do.

If you dont have the money for a full refurb, Thomas said to focus on table tops, cabinetry and the appliances.

He advised: The best way is to replace any old-fashioned features such as taps and cabinet doors and reinvent your kitchen back to an original state.

Removing personalised features and stripping back to neutral tones will make a big difference. Ensure everything is sparkling clean, especially cooker hoods that can attract a lot of grease.

You might not think your floor is a big selling point, but a mix of styles can turn buyers off, with Thomas saying its an integral part of the home.

While you might love a deep pile, the expert reckons you should ditch it for hardwood.

Thomas said: You can get away with carpet in bedrooms, but when it comes to the main areas of your house, such as hallways and living rooms, consistent hardwood flooring is desired.

Carpets are harder to clean, it can also be a breeding ground for hair, especially in households with pets.

If you dont want to rip up your carpet, at least make sure the flooring is consistent in your house.

One of the worst mistakes people do is having two different types of hardwood flooring in high traffic areas of the house, Thomas revealed.

If youre going to switch to hard surfaces, ensure you have the budget to cover the investment in all rooms.

Your DIY tiling job might look appealing to you, but amateur work doesnt have the same finish

Black is always a bold choice, but even if you experiment with blues or purples it can be risky, Thomas claimed.

Dark rooms are always off-putting, to invest in some lamps if your space is dull and dingy.

Thomas said: Its no surprise that a dark room will instantly shift your mood and feel uninviting.

A bright room with plenty of natural light will attract more buyers. If a room is painted in dark shades of blue for example, the room will appear dull, even next to artificial lighting.

Try to inject fresh white and plenty of lighting in rooms.

And he advised to go for curtains in these spaces, as it gives natural light space to bounce off the walls - appearing brighter.

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Weve all seen green bathrooms from the 70s, and its another room which can instantly date a house.

If you cant rip it out, start by making sure its clean and all limescale has been removed, and repair any cracked tiles.

Thomas also pointed out: One common mistake sellers make is to replace the only bath in your home.

Baths are a popular option for many people who like to wind down after a busy day.

For people that dont use a bath, they have opted for a space-saving shower instead.

Of course, this can make your bathroom appear bigger, but it can devalue your property if a bathtub is in the criteria of a buyer.

A compromise is to free up space in your bathroom by purchasing a bath that combines the two together.

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Meanwhile cleaners wear hazmat suits to clear hoarders bathroom packed full of used nappies and sanitary pads.

And this mum claims Aldis kitchen storage baskets look just like Ikeas version but for half the price.

While thisman buys a hoarders house for 7k & finds 300k worth of treasure including rare coins, silver bars & designer clothes.

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Interior design expert reveals seven things that are losing YOU money on your home including fake grass and - The Sun