It was one of the
more challenging projects for lots of reasons.
·
Our task was to outfit 11 empty lofts in less
than 3 weeks making them comfortable, cozy and livable for the cast who would
be living there for about 3 months. We
provided everything from furniture, bedding, towels, kitchenware, glassware and
accessories. We had to shop until we
dropped and then go back at it the next day.
For example, we bought over 80 pillows for the loft bedrooms.
·
We were decorating and furnishing for folks used
to living quite comfortably including two of the biggest stars in the world (as we were reminded on more than one
occasion). It felt then and continues to feel surreal that these celebrities lived
and slept in spaces that we decorated.
·
We had only 2 weeks from possession of the lofts
until the cast members arrived in Bartlesville.
Those two weeks included lots of trips to Tulsa for buying sprees
filling up our SUVs; lots of coordination with our furniture resources; and
lots of late nights getting these spaces ready.
·
We delivered the completed lofts just in time –
finishing at midnight on Friday with the cast arriving on Saturday and Sunday. And, Walt and I were beyond exhausted but
very proud of what we had done.
My objective was to transform these lofts into “home” for
the cast. This project was a
priority for the movie’s executive producer, Celia Costas. Plus, I really
wanted her to be very happy with the results as she was my client. You
can see photos of this project on our website at http://www.transitions-home-staging.com/August--Osage-County-Cast-Housing.html and see how we achieved our objective.
The August: Osage County cast housing
project was also one of the most rewarding I’ve ever done for lots of reasons
but not the ones you might expect. I did
not become buddies with Meryl or Julia and actually never really met them, but
I was fine with that.
It was rewarding for
the support and partnership I received; feedback given about our efforts; and,
relationships we made with key members of the crew.
·
In addition to what Walt and I did on this
project, I also partnered and was helped by local friends who “saved my bacon”
on more than one occasion:
o
Price Connors
is at the top of the list. Price is a
senior designer, Dujardin Design (http://dujardindesign.com
) who relocated to Bartlesville in 2012.
He helped me immeasurably in taking the design of the lofts for Meryl
and Julia to the next level. I know that
I could not have done those lofts without Price’s incredible taste, style and
experience.
o
Lauren
Taylor was the production assistant assigned to assist us with the cast
housing project. She was a godsend!!! While she studied film, her DNA is design
with an architect father and designer mother.
And we exploited her design roots, work ethic and creativity. Plus, Lauren was fun to be around.
o
I am grateful for the artwork provided by Royce Myers (http://www.roycemyers.com ) and Leslie Gregory (http://photoleslie.com) as well as Gary Gibson of Ampersand Graphics in
Bartlesville.
o
My friends at Cort and Bassett who
provided the furniture for these loft spaces.
And I especially want to thank their delivery crews who had to haul
furniture up 2 and 3 flights of stairs in these lofts.
o
Lindy
Lein, Heather O’Donnell and Megan
Burnett for their hard work helping us outfit these lofts.
·
The feedback we heard directly and second-hand
from the cast was so rewarding because it reinforced that I did in fact
decorate and furnish comfortable, cozy and livable spaces for the cast.
o
My clients loved it – Celia, the other producers
and the key production managers.
o
Chris
Cooper, Abigail Breslin and her mother, and Margo Martindale told us personally that they really appreciated
their “homes”.
o
We heard that Meryl Streep described her loft as lovely and thanked the
production coordinator.
o
We were told that Julia Roberts said she felt right at home when she moved in that
first weekend.
·
The relationships we made with key members of
the August:
Osage County crew were the most rewarding parts of this
once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. There
are great stories attached with each person but I will just name our new
friends – Celia Costas (executive producer), Deb Dyer (unit production
manager), Evan Beier (production coordinator), Nancy Haigh (set decorator) and
Courtney Cunniff (production assistant).
Plus, we were invited to visit the set and were given a cast and crew
gift!!
Who could have
imagined the possibilities when I received that call asking if I would like to
meet and discuss a housing project for the movie being filmed locally? The result of that call became a
once-in-a-lifetime opportunity -- and for that I am deeply grateful and
honored.
Dwell in
possibilities
Cindy
