120 hours of high tension
Making-of
Behind the scenes: What happens at a professional photo shoot? Stylist and photographer Peter Fehrentz created spaces with an ambience of wellbeing. And taking pride of place: our lights.
The perfect photograph needs one thing above all else: perfect light. So stylist and photographer Peter Fehrentz left nothing to chance. The Bremen-born photographer directed almost ten people towards that one moment when he pushed the shutter button: photographic assistants, decorators, technicians and fitters working day and night. 120 hours of high tension during which they turned the 250 m2 Gebrüder Fritz events agency near the Hackesche Höfe into an apartment that anyone would immediately want to move in to: four-metre high rooms, stuccoed ceilings dating from 1883, double doors, rich colours and elegant wood panelling. This was the home of a family of textile manufacturers and for five days Peter Fehrentz restored it to its former glory.
Art of details
The tall windows in the historic walls let plenty of daylight into the rooms, making it ideal for a photo shoot. After that it was all about coming up with the right composition. The team moved furniture and accessories mere centimetres until everything was right. Details determine the impact, explains the pro photographer. For instance, the wooden vase holding two reed grasses is not in the centre of the table, but is nicely placed near its edge, surrounded by two smaller ones. The book is open, the chair moved to the side and a figure is scurrying hazily through the picture. Fehrentz created compositions that might have been produced by painters: two round-bodied vases on the windowsill. Silhouettes of grasses. And Artemide’s Decomposé whose golden rings throw shadows on the wall. Perfection is the art of cleverly placed accents.
And naturally there had to be a chandelier. Ipno Glass is a modern reinterpretation of the classic by design legend Michele De Lucchi. It combines tradition and technology, sensuousness and optical brilliance. Its clear glass body shapes light through gentle geometries inside. The hand-blown crystal concentrates the light on the underside of the glass body, dispersing it without glare. When it comes to life, its light “ipnotises” many an observer. Magical.
Art of contrasts
Contrasts invigorate, for example in the bedroom where the illuminating hoop of Alphabet of Light Circular accentuates the relief on the ceiling. Stucco, parquet flooring and large wide-open doors are a paradise for the perfectionist Peter Fehrentz who selected every book, every vase, every cushion and even the bed linen for the photo shoot. The team carried boxes of decorations, textiles and accessories up to the piano nobile. But after every set it had to be quickly rearranged. For example the bed made way for a desk in the next picture.
Contrasts aren’t just made, they have to be carefully calculated. So the architectonic track system A.24 naturally covered the room because it offers a natural counterpart to the stucco ceiling. Magnetic pendant lights bathed the dining area in sophisticated lighting. The lamp bodies in brushed copper stand out from the teal walls: technology and ambiance in perfect harmony.
Art of composition
A highlight in the late 19th-century hallway was the Miconos pendant light, with a string of glass bodies forming a line of light. Architectural lighting such as Empatia, Itka and nh1217 show how skilfully placed islands of light enhance every ambiance: Sometimes they emphasise wood panelling, sometimes they direct the gaze at alcoves. Naturally there was no chance that the design icon Tolomeo wouldn’t be included. Whether placed on a desk or sideboard or as a floor lamp, the all-rounder fits easily with every ambience – or is it the other way round?
A propos ambience: for his arrangements Peter Fehrentz used furniture from our partners COR, Team7, more, Bene and The Rug Company. Thank you! We’re convinced that when clear design meets high-class functionality and when sensuousness merges with high tech, products emerge that are radiantly appealing.
Bremen-born Peter Fehrentz has many talents. He is respected as a designer of minimalist furniture, while his work as a photographer, interior designer and stylist can be seen in leading magazines. With not much at all, Fehrentz creates harmonious arrangements. He combines aesthetics with lighting technology and time and again demonstrates his great love of craftsmanship.
