Creating a Cover

For the past two years I have been working on a book for Clarkson Potter which is titled “The Well Dressed Home” due out in September 2009. It has been a real lesson on patience, learning to create with others, and finding out for myself that anything is possible. What started out as a burst of creative “what ifs” in my office in 2007 and has lead to my first published book on design and how fashion influences our home décor. I am grateful for the experience and look forward to sharing it with you all. Here is the story of our final days of creating the perfect “cover” for “The Well Dressed Home.”

Many ideas have been suggested as to what the cover of the book might look like. If I think back to my first visual of this book, let alone its cover, it has changed so much from what I had originally thought. It has been an evolving process that has taught me that it important to explore all ideas. The original concept has morphed and grown in so many ways that I have outgrown my earlier ideas. What I have learned is that “simple” is best and that inspiration and ideas are often best when presented in a subtle manner. We all live in layered homes. Ones that are a mixture of ourselves, those in our lives and the journeys we have taken. There lies the beauty, in the details of our lives.

Some of our favorite spots on our journey were Shareen Vintage, Palace Costumes, American Rag, Warner Bros Cotume Dept, Walnut and Poshgirlvintage.com

After scouring Los Angeles and the internet for dresses we did finally find 3 candidates to shoot for our cover. In our search here are some of my favorite contenders that deserve honorable mention. Part of the puzzle for finding all the right elements was to be able to match the dress to a wallpaper sample. We wanted to show the relationship between fashion and home décor as simply and as beautifully as possible. To show you how it is all connected. That beyond color there are many other ways in which fashion influences our home décor style. From pattern to texture to details they can all be found in our closets and living rooms in a design that reflects our own unique style.

Setting up proved to be a styling challenge. Getting the dress to lay right on the mannequin. Trying to get the wallpaper as smooth as possible. No creases… hard to do. In the end our stylist Hannah, photographers Karyn Millet and assistant Bret Gum captured the perfect shot. Our cover was done.

It has been a great journey putting together the visuals for “The Well Dressed Home.” Thank you to all that helped make this possible. I look forward to the second half… getting the book on the shelf and sharing it with all of you. Look for my new book in September 2009 from Clarkson Potter and see what dress made the cover and the events that will follow with its release.