Wendy Schelah

Mattituck, NY

Wendy Schelah gave up city life in Brooklyn for a cabin on the North Fork of Long Island. Her spot is serving as a bucolic pause button while she figures out what’s next. The little house is maybe 350 sq ft (about 1/3 of that is the bathroom) and layered like an 80’s casserole (or maybe like a baked zitti). Wendy’s loft bed is spread out above her bathroom, her closet is sandwiched behind the wall of her living room; there’s a saucy little secretarial nook carved out for her computer. As a prop stylist, Wendy is used to building entire worlds by 8am and breaking them down by 5pm so the fact that it’s temporary did not stop her from layering on tons amazing details. Let’s check it out!

If you had to describe your bathroom in 3 words, what would it be?
Indoor/outdoor oasis

Ok, this is a Water Closet by definition, right? Can you give me some background on all of these details?
The bathroom is my designated “animal room”. I started to collect vintage bird prints about 12 years ago at an antique shop in Bed Stuy (Brooklyn). The squirrels are from a store that one of my best friends used to have on Atlantic Ave. in Brooklyn. Someone had shown me some camera cats that they had bought and I absolutely loved them so I mentioned them to my shop-owner friend. I can’t remember exactly, but I think I first saw the squirrel version on one of the buying trips for the store and I thought they were just next level. I mean, they’re squirrels. I probably bought every one that he ever found. I really enjoy hanging out with them in there.

I don’t know much about crystals but I’m deeply interested. Should they be in the sun to work properly?
These are a mix of clear quartz and Herkimer diamonds. I have a fondness for Herkimer diamonds as my family is from upstate New York and I used to go to the mines when I was a kid, I loved it. Clear quartz is something I’ve always had around the house since i was a teenager. My mom got really into crystals when we were living in South Florida. My sister and I would make jewelry out of some of the stones. Rocks in general have always been something that I’ve been into and collect when I travel. To answer your question, putting them in the sun does charge their energy after they’ve been cleaned properly. You do need to make sure the crystal in question is not sensitive to water or light though.

What’s the first thing you do when you wake up and the last thing you do before bed?
The first thing I do in the morning is have a drink of water and a probiotic. Then I have a cup of warm water with either apple cider vinegar or lemon. Before bed I’ll read or scan the internet or buy props online for a job from my bed until I start to fall asleep.

What’s your bath product philosophy? Looks like you have some natural products and then some pretty hardcore ones too. Incidentally, this is the same story my shower would tell.
Besides being a sucker for good packaging, I’m also very aware of what ingredients I’m putting on my skin. I’m very serious about skincare and have been since my teens. When I travel I usually bring back lovely artisanal soaps and bath salts/scrubs as a souvenir. As for the more “hardcore” products like Biologique Rechercher P50 I became hooked when Tres Belle, my local skincare spa in brooklyn, was accepted to carry the line. I have very fair, sensitive skin (I have had skin cancer on my face) and have lived near the beach my entire life in Florida, Australia and New York. This stuff is the real deal. My skin is healthier and happier than ever before. We should hang out and do face masks sometime!

We make custom Sun Shower curtains for our customers but I see that you actually hacked your curtain in such a smart & easy way. Can you describe what we’re looking at here?
I decided to work from the top as opposed to the bottom so that I didn’t lose any of the color that makes the curtain so fab, and to also retain the reinforcement from the grommets across the top. I laid it out on the floor and folded the top hem over four times. I clipped the ends and along the middle to keep it in place.The I used a bodkin to punch small holes through the layers that the curtain ring would fit through. That’s it!