<img src="http://thehaystackneedle.typepad.com/.a/6a01053610d3e6970b01156f06fcb9970c-pi" alt="Styling by Lili Diallo" width="300/">

<em>"...good production design is not always about making a film noticeably beautiful – often, it is about creating a space that you can’t tell has been ‘styled’ or designed in any way. That is actually the greatest challenge – dressing a set from scratch, but giving it the feeling that the decor has grown over time, that the character has personally selected everything in that room."</em><a href="http://www.homelife.com.au/blogs/insideout/article/a-qa-with-lucy-feagins-from-the-design-files/">- Lucy Feagins from The Design Files</a>

I read the above quote this week and it really got me thinking. I love food /kitchen /dining room shots that are well styled. But above all, I love shots that look real. One that immediately evokes a mental image of what the person who lives there looks like, what they watch on tv, do on the weekends and so on and so forth. A few visuals immediately popped into mind. A few of which, were the work of stylist <a href="http://www.lilidiallostyle.com/">Lili Diallo</a>.

<img src="https://www.decorpad.com/photos/2009/12/30/168c27c483fc.png" alt="Styling by Lili Diallo" width="300/">

My encounter with Lili is nothing short of a 'New York story' I suppose. See, I was a huge fan of Domino magazine (RIP), wherein Lili styled many a photo story. I loved her work. What I didn't know was that I actually KNEW her all along... we used to hang out at my <a href="http://www.loopymango.com/">friends store</a> in brooklyn every week, talking about clothes, fashion, whatnot. It wasn't til much much later I realised that 'Lili' and 'Lili Diallo' was one and the same.

<img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Jsawyz1DgYM/SxQGGBnbUTI/AAAAAAAAB4k/vmMrZ8rcz0I/s1600/lilo+diallo.jpg" alt="Styling by Lili Diallo" width="300/">

There is a certain something to Lili's work that has a personal touch; insomuch as it looks like the person who lives their just 'got up from the table' to go get something and would be 'right back'. Yes, the images are beautiful but they are also very 'real'. I easily envision the person who lives there, made the dish and how they use the space.

<img src="http://blog.ounodesign.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/LiliDialloShipChandelier.jpg" alt="Styling by Lili Diallo" width="300/">

All images in this post are from <a href="http://www.lilidiallostyle.com/">Lili's online portfolio</a>. The above one though is one of my absolute faves, in part because of the insanely kewl 'mariners' chandelier! Where does she find this stuff?! Despite the splendor though, the room doesn't look stuffy and unlived in, but like the sort of dining room that 'super creative' friend would have where one would enjoy many a great late night dinner parties. Sigh.

Her site hasn't been updated for a little while, but rest assured when it is, you will be seeing more of Lili Diallo here on the craven maven.

<i>all images from the respective photographers for <a href="http://www.lilidiallostyle.com/">lili diallo</a></i>