There’s nothing I love more than a modern approach to a rustic affair. And this, m’dears, is how it’s done. With Nancy Liu Chin Designs, Mira Aster, rEvolve Furniture Company and Michelle Walker on the job, they whipped up a “modern homestead” shoot that combines rusticity and minimalism like you’ve never seen before. Do yourself a favor and hunker down right here.
From Nancy Liu Chin Designs…. With so many rustic, country, outdoor affairs, it’s nice to see a refreshing artisanal and modern twist on the “Rustic Log Cabin / Barn” look. We’re calling this Modern Homestead!
This all started when photographer Michelle Walker and I got talking about the designs we like. Michelle is a true mid century lover while I am a minimalist who likes modern with comfortable. Michelle lives in a hipster Eichler home and I like in a modern contemporary loft so we both gravitate naturally to a more modern aesthetic. Both of us wanted to mix rustic, organic with modern and together we came up with this concept of taking a rustic and old log cabin building and transforming it into this “industrial modern” design with soul.
Together with our great team of vendor friends which included Manu Kingston of rEvolve furniture rentals and Anne Millett of Mira Aster, we located a perfect venue for our inspiring shoot —- Presidio’s Log Cabin
Our inspirations for the flowers and details where partially based on our mutual love for good food and artisan chefs. Being familiar with the SF food scene, we loved the direction of many restaurants like Central Kitchen and State Bird Provision which are two rising restaurants in the SF culinary world. We wanted the flowers and details to see like it was very composed yet artful. Like the SF restaurant scene, selecting local products were really important to creating a soulfulness to our modern twist on Log Cabin.
The colors we loved included dark and moody hues mixed with vibrant rich hues and a touch of neutrals. Colors like raspberry, wine, merlot, bright reds mixed with black as well as a nude hue. All the flowers we picked had to have this wonderful texture. Flowers like dahlias, scabiosa, garden roses mixed with tree foliages, passion vines, olive, jasmine vines had the right texture and vibe. We colored treated ceramic vases with black matte paint for our vessels.
While planning for the invitation suite, Anne and I had a wonderful meeting where we spotted a whisky bottle during our brainstorming session. The label from the whisky bottle inspired us to create a suite that had this “blue collar modern”. We thought about this hipster bride and groom and knew that they would be big foodies who were into the meat du jour(pork) and who weren’t going to serve mocktails but something authentic to them — a whisky bar. So two things emerged from our brainstorming. First and foremost, we would use a “pig icon” for our motif. Our font would also be more bold and straightforward. Second it was important that all the paper goods had this modern, non cutesy humor to it. It would be direct and easy but decisive and not flirty.
The furniture was all Manu! He was such the master at finding the right piece that looked worn and weather along with vintage rugs that carried substance and soul(yes, one was an authentic Native American throw rug). He also was in the middle of creating a new table when we were selecting all the pieces. When Anne, Michelle and I heard of his new table, we had to say yes. It is beyond words — wood fashioned in a chevron pattern. Yes.
When it came to the china, flatware, we used very simple Rosenthal plates because it was very reminscient of what a modern restaurnat would use. Matte mid century inspired flatware from IKEA and grey glassware finished the main table. The piece that really stood out on the table for me was the hand stitched grey napkins by Anne Millett of Mira Aster. It was just the perfect balance of industrial organic.
For the welcome table, we figured that our hipster couple would welcome their guests with a whisky bar as opposed to a drink station. With a touch of olive and a rows of old fashion glassware, it featured a custom calligraphed “Bar is Open” sign by Anne Millett of Mira Aster. We hope you like this inspiring Modern Homestead as much as we do.
Photography: Michelle Walker Photography | Event Design: Nancy Liu Chin | Floral Design: Nancy Liu Chin | Invitations: Mira Aster | Reception Venue: Log Cabin | Make Up: JBeautique | Lighting: rEvolve Furniture & Lighting Co. | China: Bed Bath and Beyond | Furniture: rEvolve Furniture & Lighting Co. | Glassware: Ikea | Napkins: Mira Aster