My blog friend the artist James Noel Smith introduced me to a fantastic woman, Tina Wilson, who loves to decorate. Her dream was to have her rooms shown in domino, but alas that ship has sailed.
Though I'm just a humble bloginista, when I saw the fabulous spaces she designed I offered to show her off, and share her talent with all of you. I also asked her 20 questions or my version of The Proust Questionnaire.
VV: What do you do for living?
Tina: I am a photographer, who specializes in modern children's photography.
VV: See Tina's work at www.tinawilsonphotography.com
VV: In which part of the country do you live?
Tina: I live in the beautiful hills of East TN. I've lived here all my life and love it! The mountains, the people, the pace, the quaint downtown areas, old barns, stories...I could go on and on and...
VV: In regards to your decor, how would you describe your style?
Tina: My studio is a 1930s home, and I have a very modern style, so marrying the two without compromising the structure and character of the home was a fun challenge. The space is used exclusively as a photography studio (we do most all of our photographing on location). The studio is a place where clients come to dream and visualize how to use their images transfer the displays over into their own decor.
Tina: Each room has a different flair, designed to connect with each client that comes in. The idea is to inspire them to use images of their family and children as modern decorating elements in their own homes. We selected the overall concepts of Contemporary, Modern, Eclectic, Sophisticated and Industrial to serve as the base to get us started. Each room offers a little something different, but the local designer that pulled it all together (Lorrie Filson) coined the style "Rustic Glam".
VV: Which designers influence you?
Tina: I think Kelly Hoppen was the first "design" book I ever bought. That was the spark that lit my fire for interior design. All of this started because local interior designers were telling my clients that they should not display their family portraits in their living areas. As I would watch these people become emotional in my studio over their images, I wanted them to be able to display them in prominent places at home so they could "feel" the images all the time. I needed to learn more in order to give solid advice that worked. Kelly was my launch pad, and since then I've been blown away by Domino Magazine's collection of designers.
VV: I see you have a blog. Do you read design/decor blogs?
Tina: I'm completely obsessed with designer's blogs.
I stay up waaaaaayyy too long at night bouncing from one to the other.
I wish I could say I have a certain blogroll, but I'm always discovering new and different people.
Just a few of my faves are : you of course, and citified, thehappyhaven, dsharp, designspongeonline
VV: How long did it take you to pull your rooms together?
Tina: I'm a big concept kind of person. I know how I want people to feel and think and move and do when they enter a room. I have a solid understanding of what takes place in each room, who works there everyday, what their mindset should be, and I can verbalize all that.....to someone else!
Tina: I'm comfortable selecting a few main pieces (couch, chair, tables, etc) and I know what I want to go on the walls, but pulling it all together? I have no clue. I beat my head against the wall, it drives me crazy! I have a passion to learn how to do that, and I'm studying right now every chance I get.
Tina: For this home, we basically stripped it down to bare bones and restarted. It took about 7 weeks total to do it all. Lots of helping hands were involved! Lorrie, whom I mentioned earlier, really listened to what I wanted and made all the magic happen. She's amazing.
VV: Which magazine would you like your decor featured in?
Tina: Domino! I'm so sad they have been cancelled! I could cry.
VV: What is something you would never use to decorate your home with?
Tina: Anything purple, primary colors, tassels, feathers or gold plated things.
VV: What advice do you give to anyone decorating or redecorating?
Tina: Inspiration time is key! Think outside the bounds of what your local market sells (furniture/decor wise). If you don't know how to get started or finish, ask for help!
VV: Well Tina I certainly have enjoyed asking you my version of 20 Proustian questions!
Each of the rooms in your studio space are well designed and so cute! Even the bathroom is terrific! I'm sure they (and you) will be an inspiration to many other visual vamps out there. Your photography is also stunning!
VV: I especially love your color choices, and the way you combine your live-work spaces. Thank you for taking time out of your busy life to talk with us about your decor.
Tina: You are so welcome!!!!
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