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Eye on Luxury

What do you get when you combine an interior designer/antique store owner with a landscape designer? Tasteful digs and jealous friends. It's a double dose of luxury. Their attention to detail is amazing.
  
Every corner is choreographed to photograph well. Those shells, that feather and that sculpture are meant to be together. The beauty is that it is not overdone. It just seems effortless. Let's face it, they inherited the creative gene in spades. Damn them!

Click on location S307 to view more images. Feel free to contact me at info@locatethis.net or 631.805.6252/917.727.1162 for information.

 

Have you been to Shelter Island?

Let's face it. If you are going to do a shoot it would be great if it was some place you actually want to go. Now that summer is in full swing, might I suggest Shelter Island. You will feel the stress fall from your body  the minute you step on the ferry. The ease of shooting here is palpable. There are plenty of places to shoot, plenty of places to stay and plenty of places to eat. It a veritable one stop shopping for all your shoot needs.

Need some examples of all of the above. I will take that challenge. Let's start with places to shoot. Click on "Shelter Island" under categories and you will find beaches, homes, galleries, a private island and a chapel.  Now that we've determined that you could shoot here for a week if needed, let's find you a place to stay. You must have heard of the Andre Balaz hotel Sunset Beach. It's hip happening, beachfront chic and the place to be. Dining could not be better. Catering by Planet Bliss is a must. They can supply breakfast, lunch and dinner. All of my crews from various shoots rave about Planet Bliss's food. Looking for restaurant options? Planet Bliss, Sunset Beach, Vine Street and MarkitwithG are among my favorites.

Okay, I am going to stop here and link you to my other Shelter Island shout out posted earlier this year. I regaled you with all of the nitty gritty details, the who, what, where, when and how of production on the island. Seriously folks, take the stress out of your shoot. It's guaranteed the minute you step on the island. Feel free to contact me at info@locatethis.net or 631-805-6252 for location and production needs.

The Rest of the Story

I put a little teaser in a previous posting titled" Design Sense". For those of you (all five) who hang on my every word, I am finally getting to the rest of the story. Just to refresh your memory, although I am not sure how you could forget,  this house is really two houses in one. The original house is fresh and white and summery with some chocolate thrown in for some warmth and contrast. The add-on part of the house is all wide open spaces, high ceilings, a beautiful combination of light wood walls, dark wide plank wood floors, a stone fireplace and gorgeous natural light. Have I sucked you back in yet?

I promised a peek at the grounds, all four acres. I feel the privacy factor bears repeating. My drive took me down a few heavily wooded side streets. The owners had the good taste not to clear cut the property before construction. There's plenty of mature growth trees and the house is set quite a ways back from the road. Stone pathways lead to the all entrances. The house, as big as it is, still blends into its environment with its stone and gray green facade. 

The piece de resistance however lies beyond the front of the house. The back yard is really several more rooms. Take a walk with me through the main entrance to the dining/living room. Go ahead look around, then pick your jaw back up and follow me through the doors to the first outdoor room. This is right off the kitchen so you guessed it, we are looking at a table, large grill, seating and a hot tub. Step down a few steps to the pool and look to your left where you will find another room, this one free standing with a roof. Again, a beautiful combination of subtle colors, stone floors and a floor to ceiling stone fireplace. It's a wide open living room. 

Of course they are still landscaping what with four acres to assess. I saw pathways heading toward the back forty but was glued to my immediate surroundings. So I correct my original statement about this being two houses in one. It's really two and a half with all of the extra outdoor rooms. Pick your favorite room by viewing location S300 under photo albums. As always, I can be reached at info@locatethis.net or 631-805-6252 with inquiries.

Design Sense

I am pretty sure the homeowners have more design sense in their little pinkies than most of us have in our entire bodies. First, the home is set upon 4 acres of wooded land which makes for privacy, privacy, and more privacy. It started with a lovely smaller home which is now the guest house and is connected to the main house which is connected to the office and more guest bedrooms. Yes it's big but somehow down to earth at the same time. The subtle color scheme combined with wood and iron make it welcoming and comfortable. Walk into the large entrance way and meet the main open room which includes dining and living areas. There is a long narrow table cut down from a Dutch work table and a seating area with gorgeous stone fireplace. And the light! The ceiling is quite high and the back wall is all windows. The kitchen is at the other end of the main room and has a dining area as well. An ensuite bedroom and den fall on either side of the entrance way.

Follow the staircase up to the second floor to another ensuite bedroom and the master suite. Can we talk about the master bath or should I say spa? I think I could live in it if it had a small bed. There is a seating area, bathtub, shower and sauna. The master bedroom has wide sliding barn doors that open to the 2nd floor walkway overlooking the first floor. The master also has an entrance to an outdoor sundeck complete with the requisite chairs and umbrella table. Hmmm...where is that cabana boy with my fresh spring lemon water and towel?

As mentioned, at one end of the main house is an office, small gym and more guests rooms and at the other end is a beautiful guest house. The guest house is a study in white, bright and airy with touches of chocolate.

I am sure you are curious about the grounds. I think I am going to keep that to myself for now. I will give you a few teasers though. Of course there is a pool. There is also an outdoor living room with a beautiful stone fireplace, bar and cozy dining and seating areas. If the house is anything to go by, the exterior landscaping is going to be stunning. Stay tuned.

I don't think I need to tell you how to use this space to your advantage. It is clearly ideal for just about anything shoot or event-wise. You could spend a couple of days on a photo shoot or commercial. And events...picturing a fabulous 50th birthday party. What about a wedding. Rent it for the weekend and throw your rehearsal dinner, wedding and party all in the same place. Just look at it. I am sure you can come up with an idea or two. Location S300 can be viewed under photo albums. Please feel free to contact me about this location at info@locatethis.net.

Your Private Oasis

New York is feeling a bit cramped, dirty and city-like. You wrack your brain. Who do I know that has a house away from the maddening crowds? Perhaps something peaceful near the water. A hidden gem with an open floor plan, vaulted ceilings and a fire place or two. Since I'm going for broke, how about if one of those fireplaces I mentioned is in my bedroom. The bedroom should have a view of the water too. And I love to cook. A big kitchen with a table and cozy couches so I can chat with my friends while I cook a fabulous feast would be ideal.  And can it be a secluded, off the beaten trail kind of place so I can never see a soul if I choose? View your private oasis under photo albums (S105). As always, please feel free to email me with any inquiries. 

Dream House

It's that house they show in the financial planning commercials. You know the one where a couple is contemplating their retirement while sitting on a dock next to their sailboat. Their dream house is shimmering in the background. It's that house that you find in those coffee table photo books. It's that house where you want to have a swanky summer cocktail party by the pool. Champagne is generously flowing of course. It's that house where you want to have a post-summer dinner party and stoke up the outdoor fireplaces during cocktail hour. Oh and let's use the guest house since it is so much closer to the fire. Oh, I digress. Okay, it's that house you dream about living in. Spy this dream house under photo albums (S104). As always, feel free to contact me with any inquiries.

She's So Stylish

Here I am again telling you about yet one more dream house. It's a story about a New York City ex-pat who bought a house out east and refurbished it to their specifications. And once again they have impeccable taste. It has a mid century aesthetic, an outdoor fireplace, a pool and it is surrounded by trees. In fact the ground cover is not the usual manicured lawn so you feel like you are taking a walk in the woods. 

And in the spirit of working where you live, the owner also have a gallery. It has established quite a reputation, one that rivals any New York gallery. Both properties (S107 and S107a) are shown under photo albums. As always, feel free to email me with any inquiries.

No it's not in Montana

I recently had the opportunity to visit a beautiful log cabin. It's a log cabin on a grand scale built by the owners. It's their dream house in their dream location. The cabin has an open floor plan, cathedral ceilings and a fireplace in the master bedroom to name a few of the choice details. It is quite peaceful, off the beaten trail and overlooks a pond. I would never want to leave. In honor of the holidays, they put up a 15 ft tree. It's a lot of work but they started a tradition and no smaller tree will do. Why go out west to capture the log cabin feel. We have it right here in Eastern Long Island. You can view photos under photo albums (S109). For all inquiries, click on the "about" under my photo to contact me via email.