Celeste & David’s Modern Pin-up Pad

Name: Home of Celeste Giuliano and David Seidman and photography studio for Celeste Giuliano Photography
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Size: 2250 sq ft (1000 sq ft living space, 1250 sq ft photography studio)
Years Lived In: 7 years; Owned

In a rehabbed industrial loft in Overbrook, Celeste and David have taken their home back to the future. Both avid retro collectors, the couple has decorated their modern space with all sorts of vintage ephemera ranging from 1950s movie posters, to flea market mid-century furniture finds.

This mix of old meets new décor blends unexpectedly and yet harmoniously together. And, just like how their modern blank canvas loft gets taken back in time decoratively, it is only fitting that Celeste runs a booming home-based photography studio where modern ladies get to transform into vintage pin-up gals.

An incredibly sweet, funny, and talented pair, this creative couple met years ago at art school where David studied to become an illustrator and Celeste a photographer. Both have a shared love for all things vintage so it was a great fit when in 2005 Celeste began to shoot pinup portraits. Eight years later, she is the premier retro pinup photographer in the Philadelphia area. Ladies flock to her studio for a magical day of stepping back in time. where they are treated to professional hair and makeup artists who primp them into playful retro styles and dress them in coy vintage clothing before getting in front of Celeste’s camera for their very own personalized pin-up photoshoot.

Anyone who has every worked from home knows that separating living areas from work areas can be challenging, especially in a loft space where there is no inherent separation, and can be further complicated when both husband and wife work from home. Yet Celeste and David have managed to beautifully separate the loft into different and unique areas that all flow together with retro décor as the common thread and their creative talents as their guide (i.e. see David’s DIY cloche tower of pulp fiction below).

Celeste will have her first art book released this winter from Schiffer Publishing entitled Keyhole Cuties. Check out her website and like her on facebook to stay informed on the book’s release date or to book a shoot. Follow David on twitter and check out his website to see his incredible illustrations.

My Style: 1950s bachelor pad/mid-century modern, vintage home.

Inspiration: Mostly the products and culture from the 1920s-1960s, including: pin-up art, mid-century modern shapes and colors, the golden age of Hollywood, Nick and Nora Charles, burlesque, photography, surf rock, pulp books, Universal Monsters… the list is endless.

Favorite Element: Our office. Using a 1950s record player cabinet that belonged to Celeste’s grandfather as inspiration, we had the piece custom built by local artist, Bill Curran. He created this wonderful, “floating” office that blends our vintage style with the industrial look of our loft perfectly. It’s like going to work in a piece of art everyday.

Biggest Challenge: Since we live in one big open space, our biggest challenge was to blend our various collections and styles together so they flowed throughout our home and studio. Since many traditional homes are divided into various rooms you can alter or theme each room differently to suit your collection or style. In a loft there is a balance you have to strike from one section to another since it is wide open.

What Friends Say: Friends and family are always amazed by our collections. We collect everything from vintage pin-ups and movie posters to mid-century modern furniture to medical oddities. They always love coming back because they know there will be new additions to our ever growing collection.

Biggest Embarrassment: Our bedroom. For the first couple years, we had a makeshift bedroom that would transform into a photo studio during the day. Once we expanded our studio, our mentality of not having a “true” bedroom never changed so we did not focus on designing and creating a bedroom space.

Proudest DIY: Our bedroom…in a few months. We recently decided it was time to tackle the bedroom since it is the one room that was not decorated. One era that we love is the 1920s/1930s Art Deco influence. We are planning to makeover the bedroom to have that luxurious “Great Gatsby” influence.

Biggest Indulgence: Our office is by far our biggest indulgence, but our small collections are sometimes more dangerous to the budget than the big items.

Best Advice: Surround yourself with things you love and make the space your own.

Dream Sources: Old movies and flea markets.

ENTRY

DINING ROOM

KITCHEN

BEDROOM

OFFICE

STUDIO

Thanks, Celeste and David!

(Images: Bridget Pizzo)

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