Glenn Shoots a Portrait

Photographer Glenn Race from Frenchtown, New Jersey, posed Irwin Weiner and Jay Johnson for an informal portrait in from of their living room stairs. Glenn thought that the plastered white walls, white banister and stairs, and white beadboard paneling would form a smooth backdrop for the picture. His eye for portraiture hails from his earlier work in New York City as a fashion photographer. Irwin is sitting in a mayor's chair, a traditional 18th century Dutch colonial piece with a cane seat. On the left is a 1970s side table, a witty geometrical statement made with an inverted black leather cone balanced atop three stainless steel ball feet. On top of the side table is a mid-century Italian silverplate novelty piece, a flower with petals that detach to become individual cocktail ashtrays. Glenn's photography is often featured in stylish Nouveau magazine, the creative living magazine focusing on the joys of the Delaware Valley.

Setting the Table

Photographer Glenn Race was reluctant to shoot the dining room without having a story being told on the table. He and Irwin worked for a time to bring out items that told the tale of an informal country afternoon with luncheon and champagne being served for friends and neighbors. Glenn's shot takes in the tabletop scene, sitting on a 1930s solid oak French dining table which Irwin found at an antique show in London. He designed the library shelves, large picture light, and antique-mirroed storage shelves in the wall behind the dining table to hold books, favorite collectibles, silver pieces, tea sets, and (below) dinnerware and service items.

Shooting the Kitchen

Glenn Race composed this picture of the country kitchen. He wanted to focus on the oversized German 1930s teacup (probably designed as a jardiniere for a plant) sitting on a dinette set found at the famed Lambertville, New Jersey flea market. The red Formica dinette top and buttery yellow vinyl seats with red piping go nicely with the tomato red of the walls and venetian blind tapes, and the contrasting yellow ceilings, punched with fresh white scalloped trim which houses the room's recessed lighting. Glenn's composition shows off a collection of early 1900s European and American dresser and serving trays along with other novelties, including vintage Thermos flasks like the red-topped Roy Rogers lunchbox beauty. Late summer pink coneflowers and black-eyed susans dress up the sunny windowsill. A seafoam Formica countertop was installed new in the kitchen, the red colors replaced black paint, but little was done to undo the lovely retro look of the kitchen which had been added to the house in the 1930s and remodeled in the 1960s.

Old Horse Barn

The old horse barn behind the garage on the property was modernized considerably in the past two years, and photographer Glenn Race wanted to capture it head on. Previous renovations added side steps that climb to a second-floor deck and turned the top room into a photo studio, with track lighting and skylights. The most recent renovation added a new roof, disposed of the old asbestos siding and added new firred wood siding and a fresh coat of brick-red paint, carpeted and painted the upstairs room, poured a concrete floor in the bottom room (once the horse stalls), and added new windows and doors throughout. The French doors for the bottom room make it a handy storage and workroom solution, and the second-floor photography studio was converted to an office and "holding area" for designer merchandise, from candlesticks and barware to silver pieces, furniture, and accessories. The hammock shows how this shady area, with its new Pennsylvania bluestone and gravel patio, is also a perfect place to relax and unwind.

Tea Time

This outdoor fireplace area, originally built in the 1930s, boasts a Pennsylvania fieldstone fireplace, perfect for toasting marshmallows at evening gatherings of friends and neighbors. Glenn Race wanted to create a tea setting scene, gathering a serving tray, Indian cloth napkins, and a pitcher and iced tea tumblers from Jana Kolpen and her Secrets of Pistoullet tabletop collection at Pfaltzgraff. The fireplace was tarted up with a mosaic mirror and candle accents with brass candlesticks with hurrican shades and a carriage lantern.

Summer House

Glenn Race took a shot of the exterior of the summer house that shows off the back of this Bucks County property. A deer fence surrounds the yard, enabling tender garden delights to thrive within its parameters. The summer house, however, acts as a way to leave the area, through a screen door opposite the reddish one on the front of the little structure. Originally built in the 1970s, the summer house is a screened-in area for outdoor entertaining. The sloping room is a fun touch, as is the "ruined" stone wall that runs around the sides and front. Ivy climbs the front wall, and spring daffodils and astilbe complete the shade garden in front of the house. The view inside is breathtaking, overlooking deep woods and Hickory Creek Run, with a boulder-strewn descent into the creekbed that gets you immediately communing with nature.

Outdoor Entertaining

Glenn Race shot the inside of the summer house and captured the relaxing atmosphere in this shady part of the property. Only 1.5 acres of land, it seems like there is more as large planting beds add visual interest throughout and form grassy walkways that guide you from one outdoor "room" to the next. Sunbrella fabrics cover the custom-made pillows and seat cushions to provide a cozy conversation grouping. The round garden table was an antique find from a shop in Kintnersville, Pennsylvania, and rustic Adirondack seating on the left adds a rustic touch. The colorful rug on the wood plank floor is a classic Pennsylvania rag rug. At night, candles glow from the many lanterns surrounding the summer house.