2014 sees Bricks and Mortar kick off Home Truths, a new monthly article focusing on one of our clients, their home and what keeps them busy. This month we interview Dominique Baynes, who lives with her family in SW Portland.

Dominique Baynes Prop Stylist, Set Decorator

How do you fill your days?
I am freelance so my days vary widely. If I am working on a job or project, I am either preparing for the shoot or shopping for props or decor for an interiors project, or on set of a photo-shoot. As a prop stylist and set decorator I am required to do a wide spectrum of tasks from creating a giant pile of money in a wheelbarrow to building a miniature room set and everything in between. As an interiors stylist the requirements can be just as diverse, modern minimalism to bohemian colorfests, which is why I love it so much.  If I am not working, I juggle my time between being a mum to two little ones and enjoying any snippets of creativity I can sneak in. I am often to be found browsing in shops or obsessively scouring blogs and websites looking for inspiration or ideas. I’m not sure what I did before Pintrest. It is an amazing tool. My days are very full.

How do you beat the January blues?
Buy myself lots of flowers and keep busy. So far I have painted and upholstered a bench, cleaned out the garage (well a bit) and made lots of soup. I actually enjoy the calm after the storm of the holidays to regroup and clear out.

What’s your favorite part of your home?
The living room. I love how bright it is even on the dreariest of Portland days. It has glass on all sides because of the atrium and the triangle windows in the roof, so it is never ever dreary. Sitting on the couch at different times of the year I can see a magnolia tree in bloom, a sea of colored leaves or frosty lawn. Misty birch trees in the garden on one side and tropical plants in the atrium on the other. It never gets old.

If your house was on fire and you could only grab one thing what would it be?
Apart from the kids and the dog it would be my Eero Saarinen marble table. Well, if I could lift it, which I probably couldn’t. I have had it for a long time and it was the first piece of designer furniture I bought. It has been in many of my homes and now serves as a breakfast table for my family which I really like.

2014 will be all about…..
Color, I am going to bring more color into my very white home, oh and cook more.