Dre & Les's Engagement Shoot

What a dream couple! Dre and Les are so comfortable and joyous around each other that they are just a dream to photograph, as they just have fun together while you just snap away! I worked a lot with architectural symmetry, natural yet expressive moments, working only with natural light, while maintaining a creative edge throughout the shoot. I am looking forwards to working with this fun-loving couple in less then a month's time!

life.

in case you missed it on instagram, we are in the process of moving...again.  someone was interested in our house and i was up for another project, my husband not so much.  i wanted a gut job, my husband not so much...he was really enjoying our brand new home.  we are moving a couple of blocks away to a mid-century ranch.  never did i think i would say those words.....

but it's been fun so far.  is it my choice of desired exteriors, not really but i love a challenge and i love watching the process of something transforming into your own.  our house has only had one owner and so everything in the house was circa 1969.  i tackled the kitchen first.  here are some before pics...

here are some pics of the process.  we ripped out all of the upper cabinets, which opened up the eat-in kitchen side and made it feel like part of the kitchen.  it seems so much bigger now.  all of the ceramic tile was ripped out and will be replaced by a white washed oak wood floor.

we had our carpenter rework the lower cabinets by keeping the shell and making new drawers and doors.  i had one new upper cabinet made b/c i like having somewhere to store glasses without them being out in the open.  i will do open shelving on the other side of the window (much like our current kitchen).  we built a new cabinet on the end where the double ovens use to be.  all the brown paneling was covered with ship lap, super excited about this!!  we built a custom island that mirrors the walls w/ ship lap.

one side of the kitchen, we are leaving the same layout.  it houses great upper and lower storage, a pantry, and a built-in desk.  we simply reworked the cabinet doors and drawers, changed out the bi-fold doors for the pantry and added ship lap to the walls.  this side of the kitchen, we plan to use more as a bar.  i am thinking of putting antique mirrors on the upper cabinet doors to make it a little different. 

on the oven side, we ripped out the cook top and will replace it with a range.  a new bottom cabinet was made to sit on the other side of the stove and a cabinet surround was made for the new refrigerator.  our cabinet guy built a custom hood for the stove.  there will be no uppers on this side of the kitchen.

well that gives you an idea on what i've been up to this summer.  i want to be better about blogging during this renovation so don't give up on me :)  xoxo, shannon