My winter warmer picks for The Home and a stunning country photoshoot

I was delighted when The Home asked me to pick some of my favourite products for a special winter warmer sale (starting today) and to join them on a photoshoot on location to bring them to life. Isn’t the end result stunning? I’m so in love with this clever photo!

I headed straight to some of my favourite places, like Cadrys rugs and Have You Met Miss Jones to pick some cosy and colourful items. I’ve always loved the look of layered rugs but never tried this in my own home so it was fun to pick several to work together. I think this shoot goes to show that mix and match can totally work, and it’s all about contrast and texture. And how about that lamp? I’m buying one of those babies for myself!

As for these beautiful images, a LOT of hard work and talent went into them behind the scenes, which I got to watch, but cannot take any credit for (apart from putting the flowers in the vase and making the tea for the cup on the tray…)! Joining me at the gorgeous property in the Hunter Valley were The Home’s stylist Marj Silva, photographer Lisa Zhou and buyer Emma Blomfield (also stylist at Nest Designs). They made that picture happen, and no, it really isn’t glamorous! Unless of course you count climbing on scaffolding and holding boards up on the other side of windows to stop pesky sun rays coming through and spoiling the shot glamorous!

Here are a few of my favourite pieces

You may have seen similar before but these vintage ikat cushions from Cadrys are a true one-off and bound to be snapped up quickly!

I love the texture in this knitted look Have You Met Miss Jones vase, which can also work as a tealight holder, throwing out some lovely light shapes!

And this gorgeous antique look lamp

Behind the scenes

Like I said, it’s not all glamour so I thought you might like a little peek behind the scenes of a photoshoot like this one.

Here’s Marj perfecting the look while Lisa gets ready to take the shot from up on the scaffolding  (yes, that’s the pesky sunbeam I mentioned and I think that’s Emma about to try blocking it out!)

All hands on deck as Lisa and Emma (fabulous gumboots!) unpack many boxes of product

And here’s Marj giving everything her magic stylist’s touch. Don’t you just love the navy and white throw blanket on the end of the bed?

And here’s me and my new friend Alice, who kept trying to assist while we were there!

And Marj’s trusty bag of styling essentials; a serious bit of kit (nothing much glamorous in there either)!

I had a great time on this shoot. Gorgeous location, great team of people, donkeys, sunshine — what more could I ask for? It made me realise what a huge production a shoot like this is though, and how much hard work and talent goes into it behind the scenes. I hope you enjoyed the insider access!

If you like what you see and it’s time to add some cosy to your home, shop this sale at The Home today. You can also read an interview with me in their online magazine.

Professional photos by Lisa Zhou. Behind the scenes photos by Jen Bishop.