Last week, I was invited by a central London design team to give a talk on Styling. There's nothing quite like amassing a selection of visuals, and analysing the styling of those photos - rather than the decoration - to focus the mind. Why does a particular image work? How do the props make it welcoming yet serene? What's the secret to a perfectly balanced photo?
I like to think of styling as a 'visual tidying up', the crucial setting of ambience, and the creation of an image that you'll look at once, twice - and perhaps a third time, peeling back the photo in layers.
This is one of my favourite images from my book, Think Home (brilliant photography by Polly Wreford, published by Ryland Peters & Small). The mood here is tranquil, there's a clever (and inexpensive) decorating idea and the eye can breathe.