Styling: The Woodstock Retreat

The Woodstock Retreat is located just outside of Woodstock NY, the upstate town where Winona and I both live. It really lives up to its name, a place you could retreat from the world. The master bedroom upstairs, feels like a luxury hotel room, and has soothing wood and white tones, and lots of texture. Styling this shoot was pure joy for me as the owner has great taste and was a pleasure to work with. She had also given us some inspiration pictures ahead of time, so we had no problem creating the desired look and feel she was going for.

In this short term rental section of the journal we are featuring some of our favorite properties we have photographed that you can also spend a weekend in. Come with us on a tour and get a behind the scenes look at working with Shelter Upstate.

Winona & I are both obsessed with creating beautiful interiors and it’s always seamless when we work together. We have similar but slightly different styles, and notice different shots and angles so our work is very complimentary and creates something extra special when we come together.

Winona had actually shot this property before for the previous owner, so it was interesting to come back and see what changes the current owner had made to the space - read a lot!

The current owner Christina Galbato is a travel blogger who teaches strategies for growing online businesses and building personal brands. Winona and I were pretty fascinated by her as these are areas that we also want to work on, and she was a pleasure to work with and participated in some of the shots.

Christina had worked on giving the property a makeover to a more minimal style - think hotel meets country cottage, with white walls, wood floors and a few well chosen decorative accents. If you are curious you can check out the airbnb listing here.

How I Style

Generally, when Winona and I arrive in a space, the first thing we do is a walk through to decide the order in which we are going to shoot the rooms, taking into account which rooms will require the most styling and furniture rearranging, and how the light is moving around the building. Then we get to work. Winona setting up the camera, both of us checking the shots, moving things around and playing with angles. I usually have my car packed with extra props in case we need anything for the shot, but for a short term rental shoot, I try and keep it as authentic as possible to the property so that potential guests will see photos that are true to the space and use mainly what I find at the property. I enhance the images by removing clutter, adding props, creating little vignettes, and setting up scenes so that future guests can envision how they will use the space.

Styling - It’s all in the details. In the bedroom I styled the side tables with a book, a pair of glasses and dried flowers. On the bed I added a tray with yummy snacks from Overlook Bakery, a local favorite in Woodstock, and a blanket.

The second two photos show the bathroom of the main house. Eucalyptus in the shower is one of my favorite ways to bring nature and texture into the bathroom and create a spa like atmosphere. When the hot water is running the eucalyptus oils are released, which help to open your airways and smell divine.

The living room in the main house has shelves that are ideal for styling and I added the plants to the windowsills. I like to restyle shelves seasonally, and use a mix elements such as ceramics, art, plants, books and keepsake items.

Sometime part of showing a space is showing people in a space and I get to be a part time model (haha). The homeowner Christina graciously stepped in to play a round of The Hygge card game with me for these shots.

In the kitchen: This beautiful, light and airy kitchen boasts pink hued handmade tile from Zia Tile. I always love to add a plant wherever I can, and handmade ceramic mugs bring the earth element and are perfect for a soothing herbal infusion.

The Woodstock Retreat property has two living spaces. This second structure known as the bungalow, has a cabin like feel with an open plan kitchen and living room and a separate bedroom and bathroom just off the living space.

This mini kitchen is set up for all your basic cooking needs. I think the blue microwave is so sweet.

Outside we have a large fire pit with Adirondack chairs, a hammock and a hot tub. It was rainy and grey on the day we shot the interiors so we came back to shoot the exteriors on the next sunny day. I set up a s’mores station by the fire pit with blankets and mugs for warm beverages. It was a little challenging getting a fire going with all the snow but we managed. There’s nothing like a winter fire to lift the spirits.

This beautiful handmade cedar barrel hot tub is made by Hudson Hot Tubs who are local to the Hudson Valley. I definitely have one on my home goals list.

I set up the hot tub shot by adding basket of towels, some mugs and draping a towel over the side of the tub. All we needed were some people to go in it!

Thanks for following along with our house tour and get in touch if you have questions or comments or there’s anything you’d like to see in the future.

xo

Venetia

Photos by Winona Barton Ballentine, Words & Styling by Venetia Boucher