when I first read… the email from Judy Aldridge asking for my help, honestly, I couldn’t believe it. I met Judy a year ago through our friend Leslie at Again Design Studio. I was starting a blog, she had a blog and Leslie thought it might be good if we met. I honestly had no idea the magnitude of the Aldridge women at that moment but I got caught up to speed fast. I could go on about this story but let’s just say that in this short time I have watched Judy and Jane travel all over the world and be published in almost every fashion magazine I can think of. Bret photographed both of them a few times as he started venturing into fashion photography. We felt lucky to know them. To say that now is an understatement. Judy, Jane and Carol (youngest daughter) are all amazing and rare people - three of the most grounded, hysterical and rock-your-face-off fashionistas I have ever known. I am forever grateful for their friendships and support. Cheers to you ladies — a huge thank you for letting me be a part of your new home.

I know many of you may have seen some of the photos already but I pulled a few additional details and thought it would be fun to just talk about the evolution and a few moments here and there.

I hope you enjoy and have a wonderful weekend!!

photography by Manny Rodriguez for FD Luxe

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Somewhat of an overview…

Just a couple of quick things here. The zodiac mirror is SO Judy. She gave me a this vintage Tortaloni necklace after I found it! Can you believe the similarity??

The brass dear on the coffee table… I don’t know what I can say about him other than I think he’s what started to push us over the edge. He weighs like 10 ounces. Shockingly light.

Brutalist chandelier… last minute find. We really wanted this one from 20C but it was WAY too big. They tell us Kelly Wearstler has been eyeing it so of course we wanted to have it!! In the end it was much too large  and we lucked out to find this one and had it expressed in for the shoot.

I’m totally obsessed with this guy. A HUGE, huge, I tell you… silver lion’s head door knocker. I stumbled upon it at Tuesday Morning (one of my favorite hotspots for weird accessories). I told Judy “this is either going in your house or mine.” And the way the lion’s head backs up to “acupuncture girl” is very cool. We imagine that at night all of these characters come to life and have their own personalities… like a mini reality tv show.

Close up of a straight on look at her lucite Karl Springer desk. Just enough room for her laptop. I adore that little faceted green vase turned pen holder.

Another shot of the Karl Springer table (can you tell I love this piece)

Pillows were key and kind of a struggle. We loved this ikat print and needed to find something that worked. The result is a mix of Target, custom and TJ Maxx - typical of me.

Everyone asks about the light fixture so I thought I would say it’s from Horchow. Horchow and Horchow Finale have several little treasures hidden. Hit it often enough and you’ll get great deals too.

I don’t know how well you can tell but the tables are layered… I’m really into this at the moment. I found the marble tables (which are beautiful) and then paired two lucite little stools underneath one and a moroccan gold stool under the other.

Love this concentration of greens inspired by malachite. A few pieces of malachite here and the python is a piece of Judy’s jewelry.

The dining: vintage lucite and chrome smoky lights…very cool. This room feels like you’re in a really cool hotel. It’s dark and moody but lux. The clamshell on the table and the cowhide are two of the key components that when you’re actually there send it over the edge. We filled the clamshell with amethyst geodes. I lucked out and there was an International Gem Show that weekend. Crazy. I’ve never seen such beautiful rocks.

You will see Shim and his baby there in the background. “Shim” is knicknamed by us because we don’t know if it’s a man or a woman but it is a bust that is SUPER heavy. And then we thought he needed a little weird floating head. Thus insert Shim’s son.

We covered her french barrel chairs in black shiny vinyl…now I want to cover everything in vinyl! I love the look!!

This crazy cherub mirror…yes, cherubs. Judy found it actually at Leslie’s. We just thought it was so over-the-top and since that was the direction we were headed…why not?! This is the hallway that leads into her bedrom so instead of just a piece of art we gave her a place to hang some of her amazing jewelry, jackets and hung drapes outside the door. It’s just a little taste of the fashion that explodes when you actually get into her bedroom.

Just a couple of cute shots Manny took of each of us as we were both on our computers for much of the shoot. SO FUN.