When my dear friend and Studio Communications PR wiz Gail Rubin called and told me that Lonny magazine (www.lonnymag.com), that new design webazine everyone is chattering about, had requested to shoot my home, I was beyond flattered. When she asked me if I could have it camera ready in eight days–panic set in. 

All those updates I had planned to do over the next year or so, had to be done in a week’s time. Immediately I enlisted my good natured contractor Edgar Bamaca to paint over a shade of gray that had gone too blue in our Texas light, transforming my living room to a paler shade of Martin Senour’s Fresco Gray–in mere hours.  Then I began to clean. Frantically clean.  

Next step, I thoughtfully contemplated every piece of art, furniture and what not I had my eye fixated on for months, pulled the trigger and made them mine. I ran over to Meredith Long Gallery and fetched my friend, artist Rachel Hovnanian’s glorious “Dream Crowns” piece, a work that has captivated me since they hung her astonishingly thoughtful show last fall.  

Then I strategized what would work where and bought pieces from Area (a wonderful resource to finish a room where I found a remarkable shagreen cigarette table and black/gold murano dish), Kuhl-Linscomb (a pair of marvelous Dransfield & Ross flax hued linen pillows), the luxe Hermes (a charcoal blanket) and Waylande Gregory at Sloan Hall (Bryan Downey’s exquisite line of pottery, where the gold-lined pieces I choose appear as if they are literally lit from within).  

The talented floral team at Central Market helped me cull together beautiful blossoms like fragrant white lilies, pink garden roses and spring’s first quince branches bringing life inside in full, gorgeous bloom. (And did I mention the exquisite freckled lady slipper orchid I found there too? It’s a showstopper I dressed up in a silver revere bowl, the potting mixture covered with moss.)  

I have to admit the most heroic effort was made by David Longwood, owner of Designer’s Furniture Manufacturing (more on his diverse work in the April 2010 issue), who in less than a week completely reupholstered my new treasure: a Swedish settee (circa 1820) from Brian Stringer Antiques. And the best part, he did so beyond my wildest expectations.  

When the shoot day arrived, Lonny co-founders Michelle Adams and Patrick Cline, two of the most laid back people I’ve ever met, rang my doorbell at Noon they warned me not to be nervous that they shot quickly and without artificial light. Fortunately, it was one of the first gorgeous, sunny days of spring and my home was filled with natural light for hours. Tucking themselves into corners, fixating on the tiniest of touches, even climbing into my bathtub to get a shot of what I’m still not exactly sure, these two editorial innovators managed to snap and style shot after shot in under six hours.  

Scheduled to run this April 10th, look for talented writer Holly Crawford’s musings on the details of my home and clothing company, Claridge + King, as well as the oh so stylish digs of talented graphic designer and mother of two, Ashley Putman’s new house. Ashley has the distinction of being a Domino magazine cover girl, not to mention gracing PC’s pages in a spread several years later. To say we’re excited to see what’s Ashley’s done next is an understatement. Look for it all in Lonnymag.com this April.