As some of you have already discovered, our house was photographed for a recent issue of HGTV Magazine. This was our previous home — we’re not ready to have the new place photographed yet — and since many of you asked for a behind-the-scenes look, here it is.
The day was a whirlwind and at first we weren’t sure we’d captured any behind-the-scenes shots, but a quick search through our photos turned up a few. This is Clara, the editor of our household on duty, telling us how to adjust the scene for the photo (“you need to see more of my toys”).
The HGTV Magazine team spent two days in our home. Their crew included a photographer, an assistant, a stylist, and an editor from the magazine. They were fun and gracious guests, even when our dining room turned into their base of operations for 48 hours.
Sometimes rooms needed to be edited for the camera — you’ll notice only four chairs instead of six at the table. That was a deliberate choice to make the space feel more open and to highlight the pedestal. Seeing your home through someone else’s eye is fascinating.
On occasion, a room had to be nearly emptied to capture the ideal angle. This setup was used to photograph us in the office for the opening spread.
We’re used to the chaos of full-house photo shoots — nothing quite beats the intensity of three weeks of book shoots — and the kids adjusted quickly too.
Rachael, the photo stylist, was exceptional with flower arrangements, pillow fluffing, and calming Clara. They developed a simple secret handshake to help her feel comfortable around the crew — it turned out to be just a thumb press, but it made a big difference.
Rachael and Jen (the editor) brought props that made the scenes pop. You might have seen an Instagram snapshot of our kitchen loaded with pretty food and accessories — it was both eye candy and literal candy.
We think the styled kitchen shots are some of the prettiest photos ever taken of that space. The crew struck a nice balance: the styling enhanced our kitchen without masking its character. It also gave us ideas for small changes we might make ourselves.
Not every photo made it into the magazine, which was a slight disappointment. We knew they took more pictures than could be used, but we had our fingers crossed for a few favorites, like the one of our recently completed fireplace.
That image introduced a new household expression: “an aggressive sandwich.” At one point the prop sandwich was deemed too large and “aggressive” for the frame, so they toned it down by removing a tomato slice. We still laugh about that, and Sherry signs emails to our HGTV friends “xoxo, Aggressive Sandwich.”
Here are some shots that didn’t make the final spread but that we enjoyed during the process.
The frame wall looked great styled with fresh flowers. This over-the-shoulder hallway shot is one of our favorites from the day.
Photographers invest a lot of time setting up each image — it must be tough when a carefully composed shot doesn’t get used — but it’s all part of the editorial process. For the fireplace shot we even took down a basket light in the kitchen because it created unwanted shadows.
At least we enjoyed the flowers while they were around, even if the photos didn’t all make the cut.
One shot of the two of us prepping food in the kitchen also didn’t appear in the magazine. We were relieved — cameras aimed directly at us tend to make us awkward. Ironically, what we expected to be a two- or three-page spread turned into ten pages — far more than we imagined.
The team brought many flowers, including a box sent from the New York flower market. Our sunroom became a temporary florist shop and the house smelled wonderful for days. Sherry was ecstatic; I found it a little eerie once the scent faded away.
Sherry kept whispering around the house, “If only they would last foreverrrrrrr.” We’re glad we have photos to remember them by.
One practical tip we picked up from watching the stylist: layering more pillows on the sectional can change the room’s feel. Rachael added a bunch of pillows and Sherry was thrilled. Some of those pillows even made their way home with her — a few were purchased from HomeGoods after the shoot.
Small adjustments mattered: a side table was raised with scrap wood, our usual desk and mirror were moved so the chalkboard could take center stage, and wardrobe choices were tweaked — one of Sherry’s shirts was clipped to avoid a “maternity” silhouette and later swapped out for a different top.
When they photographed Clara in her big-girl room, I hid behind a closet wall so an adult was nearby while they worked. The trickiest part was keeping her from dashing into the closet to join me.
Shooting the exterior proved challenging because late March in Richmond wasn’t very spring-like, and some outdoor projects weren’t completed yet. That’s why exterior photos in the feature are smaller or limited to close-ups. They did brighten things up by moving our red Adirondack chairs to add a pop of color.
The article mentions our moving plans, but we hadn’t told the magazine about them until we announced them publicly at the end of April. We only shared the news with HGTV after our alarm system was installed and we were ready to go public. It felt meaningful to have our house documented by the magazine before we moved — a nice last hurrah for that chapter of our lives.
We’re incredibly grateful the magazine chose our home. Thanks to everyone who left kind messages on social media, blog comments, and email — we appreciated each one. (Okay, we’re kidding about carrier pigeons — ravens only, please.)