Sneak Peek: New England Design Hall of Fame Photo Shoot

By Jared Ainscough

It’s become a New England Home tradition that, after the New England Design Hall of Fame inductees are chosen, Kyle Hoepner and I head over to the Boston Design Center to arrange a photo shoot of the inductees. We walk around the Design Center and cherrypick some of our favorite pieces; the BDC is always gracious enough to provide us with a suitable space where we can set up our shoot.

This year Kyle told me that he was passing the reins to me and I would have creative freedom over the setup for the shoot. Imagine it! I get to design a space with the entire Boston Design Center at my disposal–and an unlimited budget. Granted, I do have to return all of the pieces after a few hours, but it’s a great feeling nonetheless. I am always amazed at the welcoming, accommodating showrooms in the BDC.

This year I returned to Steven King Decorative Carpets (Suite 405). As always, the staff spent an amazing amount of time with me, browsing through different styles and colors until we found this beautiful brown rug.

I also made a stop at one of my favorite spots: Ailanthus Ltd. (Suite 434), where we’ve borrowed pieces for past photo shoots. It was here that I found this beautiful white armchair with a tweed seat cushion. I love the contrast of the cushions.

One of my other stops was a space I’d never visited before, Studio 534 (Suite 534, of course). I found this lovely sofa with gorgeous nailhead trim running down the arms (a little hard to see in this photo). I’m hoping it will pick up the light browns in the rug.

So take a look and tell me what you think–do I have a future as an interior designer? With so many amazing pieces at my disposal, can I really go wrong?

The finished photos of this year’s New England Design Hall of Fame winners (with all of my carefully chosen pieces in place) will be published in our upcoming November/December issue.