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How to Decorate

Ep. 337: London Living with Simon Upton

How to Decorate

Caroline McDonald

Arts, Business, Design

4.4 • 838 Ratings

🗓️ 28 November 2023

⏱️ 55 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Simon Upton, celebrated as one of the world's leading interior photographers, has spent the past 25 years capturing the work of the foremost interior designers. His work has been featured in The World of Interiors, Elle Decor, Architectural Digest, Vogue, House and Garden and more. In 2021, he published his first book, New York Interiors, and in September, he released his second book, London Living. In our conversation with Simon, he talks about the process behind his beautiful mastery of sharing the story of each homeowner, and the uniqueness of the different homes and stories that the spaces had to tell. Simon talks about the difference in his photography for London Living vs. an editorial magazine shoot, and why it was important to him to tell an honest story of London through his eyes.  What You’ll Here On This Episode: How Simon got into interior photography.  The importance of strong visuals in storytelling.  Simon’s process for the homes and rooms he featured in London Living.  Simon’s passion for scouting new locations and building relationships with those new friends.  Were the rooms styled?  Tips for getting the most out of your lighting for a photography shoot, and why it may be a good thing that it’s overcast!  The importance of passion in making a house feel like a home.  His Zen approach to appreciating and enjoying homes but not coveting them.  Learning to embrace your own individual style.  A tease for his next book in the making.  Also Mentioned:  Ballard Designs Simon Upton  London Living   @simonupton   Please send in your questions and decorating dilemmas to podcast@ballarddesigns.net so we can answer them on our next episode!   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

Welcome to How to Decorate from Ballard Designs, a podcast all about the trials and triumphs of decorating and redecorating your home.

0:08.7

Each week will help you unleash your inner decorator.

0:11.4

I'm Caroline, and I'm on the marketing team.

0:13.7

And I'm Taryn, and I'm a product designer.

0:15.8

And I'm Liz.

0:16.6

I head up the Ballard creative team.

0:18.2

We're your host. Join the expert team at Ballard Designs

0:21.7

for tips, tricks, and tales from interior designers, stylists, and other talents in the design world.

0:25.9

Plus, we'll answer our listener question at the end of each show. So don't forget to send

0:29.6

them to podcast at Ballarddesigns.net. Yes, we love answering them. Now on with the show.

0:36.1

Welcome back. Whether you realize it or not, you're probably familiar

0:39.3

with today's guest's work. Simon Upton is one of the foremost interiors photographers in the world

0:44.6

and is 25 years photographing spaces designed by the world's top interior designers.

0:49.9

His work has been featured in the world of interiors, alticore, architectural digest,

0:54.0

Vogue, House and Garden,

0:55.4

and Morm.

0:56.4

In 2021, he published his first book, New York Interiors.

1:00.0

And in September, he released a second book, London Living,

1:03.5

which we're going to be talking about today.

1:05.3

Simon, welcome to his show.

1:06.6

Thank you for joining us.

1:07.8

Thank you so much for having me.

...

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