The winners of the 2023 Paper City Design Awards in Dallas were recently announced, and I am delighted that several of my design clients made it to the list! It's an honor to witness their hard work and dedication get recognized.

The 2023 Paper City Design Awards honors outstanding projects by the best interior designers and architects in Dallas and Fort Worth. The winners were selected from hundreds of submissions in 21 categories, and their projects represent the very best in Dallas.

WINNERS

Singular Space: Bath - Laura Lee Clark Interior Design.

Singular Space: Dining Room - Pickering House Interiors.

Singular Space: Living or Great Room, Entertainment, Recreation and Media Room - Chad Dorsey Design with additional recognition for Blume Architecture.

I first heard of Claire years ago when a stylist wanted me to throw a couple of fireplace screens in my car and drive them up to Oklahoma City for a shoot. That sent me down to pick up the screens at Claire's studio in the design district and I was blown away by her talent, operation and her personality. We discussed shooting something together for a long time but finally made it happen in 2023. Claire's studio has a couple of faux fireplace setups to display her screens, and the challenge was to make it look like it wasn't in her office environment. A little light trickery from me and a lot of help from stylist Heidi Adams created a couple of vignettes that sold the right vibe. I'm really happy with how this all turned out, and working with people you enjoy is always a plus! 

Floral arrangements are so critical when styling interiors for photography. Look through Instagram or the latest shelter publications and you’ll see that the most successful and stunning rooms have some sort of flowers, branches or greenery. Florals are so key to a room’s styling, making a space look fresh and literally alive, even if they aren’t the first thing you focus on when looking at the photo. But there’s a balance between the florals and your interiors. The photos are being taken to show your work in the best way possible, so you don’t want to distract from that with a fussy or over-the-top display. Here are some of the guidelines for florals – and be sure to scroll down for some amazing Instagram accounts to follow for inspiration.

When our publisher Christian Owen dreamed of creating a beautiful monthly print magazine to celebrate the beauty and bounty of our River City, finding the perfect photographer was paramount to the success of her vision. Sarah Bell, whose work masterfully captures everything from portraits and landscapes to the ever-challenging realm of interiors, was the obvious choice for Photo Editor. But the mark of a true professional is that they never, ever stop learning. This month in our Home issue, it is fitting that we chronicle Sarah's recent journey to Dallas, where she attended an immersive and inspiring workshop hosted by celebrated photographer Stephen Karlisch and his wife Kristen, explicitly designed to explore the art of photographing interiors.

House Beautiful Small Spaces, January 2023

Welcome to the Clubhouse:  How one firm turned a boxy, cramped 100-year-old house into a gentleman’s lake retreat

Two-day, hands-on workshop with Stephen, learning everything there is to know about strobes for interiors

This is NOT a real estate lighting workshop, we will explore the ART of interior photography and how to make the lighting tell a story and create a mood that you can control, and repeat in any situation. By taking my interior lighting workshop, you will learn to overcome common stumbling blocks quickly and confidently, allowing you to spend more time on the important images in your projects.

The first time shooting and working with Shazalynn Cavin Winfrey was with a very personal assignment, her own home. She had updated this former parsonage by making it more functional without losing its connection to the past. We worked with the talented Frances Bailey (Stylist) and had a wonderful time during this two day shoot in Austin. The project landed as the cover story in the Sept/Oct 2022 issue of LUXE Austin + San Antonio. The backstory of this house is worth checking out from the article. Seeing how she has transformed this into a comfortable, sprawling home, with surprises around every corner, showcases her style and skill as a top designer.

The evolution of Tori as a designer and leading interior design firm in Texas and beyond has been a fun one to witness and be lucky enough to document. Her style is timeless, she is loved by so many, and working alongside her is about as great as it gets from a photographer's perspective. I can only imagine how much growth she will have in the next few years, the word is out and her team is growing.

We are enjoying a flurry of recent press coverage highlighting recent interior photography projects!

I always get a charge out of seeing my photographs featured in both print magazines an online articles, and I love interacting with talented designers and stylists. I am so honored to work with these amazing designers and publications!

A huge thank-you to Country French, Southern Home, Luxe Interiors+Design and Frederic!

Surely one of the best interior photographers, Stephen Karlisch is also a travel enthusiast and Deadshot aficionado. Over the course of his 15-year career, Stephen has been published in AD, Veranda, Elle Decor, and beyond. “Being able to translate the layers of design to a two-dimensional realm has always been an exciting challenge for me,” says Stephen. Further, as a former architecture student, he has a special eye for photographing interiors. Stephen is more than just a photographer for hire, he works closely with the top interior designers in Texas and throughout the US to help elevate their brand assets for coffee table books, editorial features, and visual archives.

If you're an interior designer or interior photographer, chances are you've got a portfolio full of beautiful images that show off your work in the best possible light. But what happens to those images after they've been used on your website or in a brochure?

There's no reason for your stunning interior photography to go to waste! Pinterest is a great platform for repurposing your imagery, driving traffic to your website, and dramatically increasing your brand awareness.

Pinterest is an invaluable tool for anyone who is looking for information or inspiration on any topic, including interior design and home inspiration. If you're not already using Pinterest to showcase your interior design work, you're missing out on a huge opportunity to reach a wide audience!

Stephen Karlisch Blog Wins AMARA Award – Best Use of Photography Blog
Imagery can make or break a blog and this award is for the blog that goes further than the rest to exhibit the most outstanding original photography throughout the site. A talented photographer, the blogger’s imagery will be an inspiration to readers for both their interiors and their own photography projects.. The AMARA Interior Blog Awards celebrates and engages with the most authoritative and respected bloggers in the interior blogging industry. Believing that bloggers are an integral part of the interior design community, the AMARA Team has worked closely with many of these talented individuals over the years and strive to give back to this vibrant community through the awards.

Our Art Shop includes a variety of scenic landscape photographs Stephen Karlisch has taken during his travels in coastal areas in the United States, the Amalfi coast in Italy, Iceland, Mexico and beyond. We have options in color and black and white, and all our prints are available in multiple sizes.

Adding large scale photographs to a room provides a dramatic focal point and enhances the space by adding narrative and a sense of place. The image you choose for your wall decor is a reflection of your personality, your design style, interests and aspirations.

I just finished listening to the latest Business of Home Podcast featuring Steele Marcoux of Veranda magazine, discussing their new issue and commitment to print publishing. It’s an exciting time for fans of Veranda, and fans of printed magazines. Veranda is not just changing the physical size of the magazine, but also doubling the page count, which is going to make this next issue feel more like a Sept issue from years past of one of the major fashion magazines.

There is a lot of effort that goes into getting that perfect shot – the one with the WOW factor that really showcases your designs in the best way. Some people think those shots are kismet or that they just happen, but I can tell you that the level of energy that it takes to get even just one hero shot is enormous.

No matter what, 2020 will be a year to remember. It reminds me of that quote about “the best of times and the worst of times.” Despite the pandemic and shutdowns, it was still a good year for the interiors business. I was honored to have my photographs showcased on many shelter magazine covers and in several books, and I was selected to be

Interior designers across the country are incredibly busy – even during a pandemic. With everyone working, playing, vacationing, and learning at home, people are laser-focused on renovating and improving their houses. So now you have all of these amazing projects completed and you want to photograph them. But can you do that in a pandemic? With the right planning, you definitely can. It just takes a little ingenuity.

I’ve shot many projects safely since the pandemic first hit, including a huge shoot for the Kips Bay Showhouse in Dallas and a Perennials campaign shoot.

There are so many elements that have to come together for a successful interiors photo shoot – great design, the right light, a detailed shot list, and more. And that’s just for one project with one interior designer. When I was asked to shoot the first-ever Kips Bay Showhouse to launch in Dallas, it was a marathon event with 27 designers, 3 days of intense shooting, and a lot of directors.

I am so excited to announce the release of Expressive Interiors by Lucas Eilers! This Houston based design firm duo of Sandy Lucas and Sarah Eilers has been a leading force in the design narrative in Texas and beyond for a long time, and they have finally put that work out for the world to enjoy. Over the past two years I've been shooting several projects for them specifically for this book, which was an education for me personally on working directly with a publisher, Rizzoli, and book designer and editor.