Staging 3339 Ellington Villa Drive was a total blast, and served two purposes. The first purpose  was to help out a client who was preparing to sell her home, it’s first time on the market in 40  years. The second purpose, was to create a set for filming an episode of Artful Living. Locations for filming can be very expensive, so it was a perfect trade, plus this gem of  a mid-century ranch home built in 1957,  was the ideal backdrop for our episode about all things mid-century.

The  pilot episode of Artful Living was finished in the fall of 2017. After getting some great feedback from several of our contacts  in the entertainment industry, we decided we needed to do a  re-shoot to streamline the shows message.  Therefore, we were looking for a new mid-century location to film an interview with architectural historian Eleanor Schrader.  Eleanor was my  instructor during my studies at the UCLA Interior Design  Program, and I was elated when she agreed to join for such a special interview.

If you’ve never been on a film set, it’s a long arduous day. We literally spent 13 ours filming our interview,  which included a walk through of the home. We discussed my staging choices, as well as the design hallmarks of this mid-century ranch home.

When it comes to staging, each room needs to have a ‘color story‘ as I like to call it. I’ve learned from experience that a beautiful monochromatic room might feel wonderful while you’re sitting in it, but when you look at images of those kinds of spaces, they can completely die and have no life whatsoever on camera. Therefore, little spikes of color can make the space feel exciting and alive.

For the living room, I used my Purple Hydrangea painting (yes I’m a painter) as the spring board for the color story. I found nick nacks  for the room at Marshall’s, Home Goods and T.J.Maxx, with the exception of the purple chenille cubes which came from my personal collection.

For the dining room and kitchen, my Yellow and Chartreuse Bird paintings were the spring board for my color story.  I used a few simple items in those same tones, which kept the room looking crisp and simple.  In case you’re wondering about the dining room table, it came from IKEA for less than $200, and was a perfect fit for the mid-century styling.

I’m happy to report that the home went into escrow during it’s first week on the market, and many people also commented on how much they loved the staging. We’re working hard with our editors putting together our show, and can’t wait to share it with you in the coming weeks! Stay tuned…

See listing HERE