Bread Salt Broom Arranged: A Workshop with Hilary Robertson

Have you ever been a wanderer, a drifter, a roamer? 

I embraced this exhilarating identity when I moved into a Parisian chambre de bonne my junior year in college and have never looked back.  My own wanderings found me living in 6 countries over 2 decades, traveling to many more, and reinventing myself over and over again.  In fact, that long and winding road brought me to real estate, the best professional decision I've ever made.

Being in a new country makes me feel alive and connects me to a larger sense of humanity and history, and I'll travel far and wide for as long as I live.  It was strange, I'll admit, to return to Pittsburgh in 2022 after our family's most recent wander across the pond for a year in England and realize it was very much time to settle down - maybe forever.   So how, I've wondered, do I bring my love of travel and the artifacts I've gathered along the way into our current and *maybe* forever home?   Thank goodness for Hilary Robertson!

Hilary came to Pittsburgh last weekend for a unique workshop at Leanne Ford Interiors' space above the brand spanking new Buck Mason + LFI concept store in Sewickley.  She took us behind the curtain of her new book, Nomad at Home: Designing the home more traveled.  Then, Hilary and the incredible local architectural photographer Erin Kelly lifted the hood on their magic with interior styling and imagery and invited us to play with personal mementos and natural objects we then photographed with their expert assistance.

"Every kind of journey was an opportunity for daydreaming, a blissful flow state as essential to the five year old me as it is to my current mental health... I was always ready for a new horizon and the invention of a new me. It is not, therefore, surprising that I have spent much of my life wondering where I should live, so much so that it rarely occurs to me to stay still."                    

                                                                                            - Hilary Robertson, from Nomad at Home

Here are just some of the highlights from our Sunday afternoon:

• Nothing is off limits when you are artfully arranging objects.  Don't be too precious about what you choose.
• Let things fall, literally, on the surface you're photographing and see what it looks like where they land. 
• Consider building a mood board for the space.  
• Turn off the lights - don't be afraid of moody lighting!
• Filters are ok - consider the vignette feature if you have an iphone.
• Consider what your anchor piece will be. Is there a thematic image?
• Want to create an inspiring tabletop?  Check out this video from Hilary's website.

Follow Hilary on Instagram here: