I have just finished a long campaign for Sainsbury’s which showcases their homeware collections across many Time Inc publications including Ideal Home, Marie Claire and Woman & Home. The image below is from their Coastal range and was shot for Marie Claire. I chose this image (and without sounding like I am waxing lyrical about my own styling) as I think the Sainsbury’s products look really good. I wanted to show how to style up Supermarket products, when mixed with authentic and characterful textures, such as this rustic wooden table (which I love) wooden shutters and painted brick backdrops, you can achieve stunning results. I know we haven’t all got a beautiful warehouse apartment but it’s not about that, it’s about the combination of ‘textures’; rustic chopping boards, vintage napkins, recycled glass vases, a beautiful contrast of old and new.
Forget any preconceived ideas you might have about supermarket brands, after all, glass is glass and the vase below is just as good as one you might find from John Lewis. I think the supermarkets have done it, they have finally caught up with the high street, you’ll be hard pushed to tell the difference between a £30 John Lewis vase and a £4 one from George Home, they have moved on from overly ‘themed’ products and instead opted for a more pared back look, and it works. The fun part of my job is to style up the product and if I get a reaction of ‘oh I would never have guessed that was from Sainsbury’s’, I have succeeded! Shot by the lovely Si Bevan
The image below is their Coastal bedroom collection. Shot for Woman & Home magazine, by the lovely Jon Day. You can see my styled image and then how it appeared in the magazine. Lots of texture again but this time with the addition of beach style linens. The trick is to ‘mix and match’ the price points and no-one will know. I have some very expensive Danish cushions at home which sit alongside a £7 George cushion, and why not! I’m also a MASSIVE thrifty scavenger and constantly hunting in charity shops for bargain fabrics for cushions covers, but that’s another feature in itself!
The image below is for Ideal Home and shot by Daniel Farmer and underneath is my mock-up, it’s always interesting to see this against the finished shot. No, I’m not on commission with Sainsbury’s, purely demonstrating ways to style up supermarket brands :)
