As some of you guys have already discovered, we had the great pleasure of having our house photographed for the latest issue of HGTV Magazine. Well, our last house (we’d probably bat someone away with a stick if they tried to snap pictures of our new place just yet). And since a bunch of you have been asking for the behind the scenes scoop, here it is.
That day was such a blur that we weren’t even sure that we had any behind the scenes photos to share, but when we looked back in iPhoto, it turns out we remembered to snap a few photos. This is Clara the editor. She’s telling us what we need to fix for the shot to work better (“you need to see more of my toys”).
The HGTV Magazine crew (which included a photographer, his assistant, a stylist, and an editor from the mag) spent two days in our house. They were lots of fun and very gracious guests… even as our dining room became a makeshift office for 48 hours.
Well, except for when it had to be tidied up and photographed. Notice how there are only 4 chairs instead of 6? It was their trick to make it feel open and show off the pedestal a bit more. All part of the fun of seeing your house through someone else’s eyes.
And of course there were moments when the room had to be almost entirely cleared to get the perfect angle. This was the set up they used to photograph us in our office for the opening spread.
Sherry and I are quite comfortable with the chaos that comes along with a whole-house photo session (nothing can compare to the three straight weeks of book shoots). And by now I’d say our kids are getting pretty cool with it too.
Rachael, the photo stylist, was awesome with flower arrangements, pillow fluffing, and Clara. They even developed a secret handshake to help her feel at ease with all of the strangers around. Although I fear this photo gives away the whole secret (it was just pressing their thumbs together). Simple or not, we love Rachel for thinking of that.
We also love that she and Jen (the editor) brought some fun props with them. You may have caught this Instagram shot of our kitchen doused with pretty food and accessories. It was eye candy and literal candy all at once.
You can see some of those styling props hard at work in this picture of our kitchen, which we think is just about the prettiest shot of it ever taken. But even as photo-styling goes, we loved the balance the HGTV Magazine crew struck. In our opinion, it wasn’t too over-styled (it still looked like our kitchen) but it was fluffed enough to make it look interesting on the page and to give us some new ideas about what we might want to tweak ourselves (more on that later).
Perhaps the only bummer about the feature was that some of our favorite shots didn’t make the cut. We knew they were taking more pictures than they’d have room for, but we saw some along the way that we had our fingers crossed for – like this one of the recently-completed fireplace.
That shot also featured our new favorite term: “an aggressive sandwich.” Someone deemed the prop sandwich too big at one point, dubbing it too “aggressive” for the shot. I think they eventually tamed it by removing a tomato slice. We all had a good laugh about what goes into these shoots, and Sherry still trades emails with our new HGTV friends by signing them with “xoxo, Aggressive Sandwich”
Here’s a peek at what could’ve been, had these shots ended up in the spread.
The frame wall never looked better. Here’s one of our over-their-shoulder shots of the hallway styled up with some pretty flowers by Rachael.
I wonder if the photographer feels a little sad when certain shots don’t make it. He took a ton of time setting each one up, but he’s probably used to it. Oh and you’ll notice that we had to take down the basket light in the kitchen because it was casting weird shadows during the fireplace shot, so down it came.
Fortunately, we got to enjoy the fresh flowers, even if the photos didn’t make the final cut.
Oh, and they also cut a shot of the two of us prepping food in the kitchen (when we took this Instagram picture). But we’re 100% sure that we looked far from natural in it, so we’re forever grateful (us + cameras aimed at us = especially awkward). The funny thing is that we thought this might be a 2-3 page spread and it ended up being 10 pages long! Completely mind-blowing, and way more than we expected.
Speaking of abundance, there were lots of flowers. Which of course means that Sherry was in some state of flower-induced euphoria the whole time. They had a box shipped directly from the flower market in New York City and, thanks to our cooler, the sunroom became a makeshift florist shop for the two days they spent with us. Seriously, the room smelled like one giant flower for like two weeks afterwards. Sherry loved it. I thought it was kind of spooky once the flowers were gone (“where is that smell coming from?!”).
You should have seen Sherry creeping around the house whispering “If only they would last foreverrrrrrr.”
At least we have pictures to remember them by.
Besides tempting us to blow our life savings on fresh flowers (don’t worry, I’ll rein Sherry back in), one tip that we picked up and were inspired to put into action by watching the pros involved the pillows on our sectional. Rachel loaded it up with a bunch more pillows than we’d ever used… and Sherry was in heaven. Picture her doing one of Oprah’s over-the-top “a-ha moment” faces. You can’t really see them in the final magazine shot, since they used a picture of the living room with us in it, but Sherry may or may not have bought some of the pillows directly from Rachel when they were done (they were $20 from HomeGoods) to fill out her already robust pillow collection. Just picture me rolling my eyes in the background.
Oh, and you can’t tell from our picture above, but this little table was deemed too short for their shot so they borrowed some scrap wood from the basement to give it a lift. Also note how our usual desk and mirror got the boot so that our chalkboard could take its spot (see the picture above).
Wardrobe tricks were also employed – namely for one of Sherry’s loose shirts that was deemed “too maternity looking” for the way it draped in the shot of us in the office. She ultimately swapped this outfit out for something less breezy (which is why she’s in a different shirt in the other shots) but lo and behold, the original test photo with the pre-clipped shirt ended up in the magazine on the first page of the spread.
As for some literal “behind” the scenes dirt, when they took the picture of Clara playing in her big girl room, I hid behind the wall in the closet so that one of us was nearby while they snapped away. The toughest challenge was getting her not to run in there with me.
Perhaps the biggest obstacle for them was shooting the outside of our house, since late March in Richmond wasn’t looking as spring-y this year as it usually does. Not to mention we had yet to begin lots of our recent improvements out there…
So now you know why the pictures of our outside are pretty small or just limited to close-ups of us on the porch. Although they did a great job of cheering things up by moving our red adirondack chairs (swiped from the patio) to bring in some semblance of color.
Oh and although the article mentions our moving plans, we actually didn’t share them with HGTV until we shared them with you guys on April 30th (via an email that Sherry most likely signed “Aggressive Sandwich”) – so they added that right at the end before the issue shipped. It really was locked deep in our brains until our alarm system was in and we were ready to tell the world at large, so I think only our parents, siblings, best friends, and the realtor knew before that. It was especially fun to finally tell the HGTV crew though, because we were able to explain how meaningful it was to us to see our house captured in such a major way before we said goodbye. It was a nice last hurrah, and they were psyched to have been the ones to document it all.
So we’re incredibly grateful that they thought our home was worthy of their magazine, and we’ll end this little behind the scenes spiel by sending out a big thanks to all of you who have stumbled upon it and said such kind things via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, blog comments, email, and carrier pigeon. Just kidding about the carrier pigeon – you guys know we only accept ravens.
Chaney says
This is such a fun behind-the-scenes post! I love hearing y’all’s take on it. Congrats on the feature!!
Jessaca says
Looks good! I’ll have to pick up a copy. I was surprised at how shy Clara is because I’m so used to you guys describing her when she’s at home with just you two. Glad to know that it’s not just my little guy who’s shy too.
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, around new people she definitely has to warm up to them.
xo
s
Andrea says
Cool post! Love the behinds-the-scenes details. Thanks for sharing, and congrats on the feature! =]
Andrea says
Btw you can find photos online from the feature here:
http://www.hgtv.com/decorating-basics/how-home-improvement-bloggers-live/pictures/index.html
YoungHouseLove says
Cool! Looks like some photos but not the full article!
xo
s
Melanie A. says
I bought this issue specifically for your article and had a fun time pointing out geekily to my husband “it’s my favorite bloggers! I KNOW them!” Hahaha…it’s a beautifully done spread; congrats!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Melanie! You guys are all so sweet.
xo
s
michelle p says
Love this behind the scenes stuff! Go figure..I let my subscription lapse and just renewed it so I missed your issue! Congrats!
Jess S. says
When I opened my mag last night I had an uncontrollable Buddy the Elf “I know them!” moment. It’s the little things, ya know? :)
YoungHouseLove says
Hilarious. I love that mental picture.
xo
s
Kim @ Yellow Brick Home says
Aw, such a great way to capture this home as you begin your newest adventure! Congrats, you two!
Katherine says
Congratulations! it looks like it was fun.
John – you do realize that flowers for Sherry need to be brought home more often – right? I have always said it’s not the dozen roses that I need, just a bouquet of sunshine {cheap and cheerful}.
YoungHouseLove says
Noted! I got her some surprise tulips when we moved into our new house, which seemed to score me some HPs (husband points).
-John
Alison says
Why so much makeup? No offense meant, but I like you much better all naturelle.
YoungHouseLove says
I think they upped the colors in the photos (sometimes they do that to make things pop) so it amps up makeup too. I didn’t have any lipstick or foundation on or anything, so it was just what I wore throughout the tour and for other magazine things (chap stick, eyeliner, powder, and mascara).
xo
s
Alison says
That explains it. Sneaky trick.
Erica says
My love of flowers is why I grow my own! I don’t have a ton (still working on that!), but I LOVE to go cut my own flowers from my yard and bring them in the house. It’s the best feeling ever!
I loved seeing your house in HGTV magazine! What a fun surprise for me, and a great way to remember your old home! I am very anxious to see what you have done to your new home so far- I can’t wait for the one month post next week!
Whitney Dupuis says
Awesome! It really is wonderful that you have such beautiful pictures to remember this house by. I love the behind-the-scenes look too. Sometimes it helps to remember that magazine shots are definitely staged and not necessarily everyday life!
feep says
I’ve had this magazine for a bit now and I still haven’t gotten to read the article. I got to it this morning, but my wife needed help with our son. Either way, it was a fun discovery when I got the magazine. Wahoowa!
mandy Grimes says
Buying a copy of that magazine tonight!
Looks great guys!
-Mandy
Danielle Ferretti in Miami says
I must confess I squealed so loud when I opened my HGTV mag my husband came running over to see what was going on… I was SO excited for you guys !
But as a firm believer in Karma – all I can say is “good things come to good people” ! You guys deserve (and have earned!) every single moment of glory. A paint brush and a spackle at a time…
Love all the behind the scenes photos – makes me feel like I was there with you… (ok maybe that’s just in my Petersik obsessed mind…)
What a sweet keepsake of your “old ” house… <3
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Danielle, you’re so sweet.
xo
s
holly says
I call clara’s secret handshake a “thumb kiss.” a little girl in my classroom loved to give hugs and kisses to her classmates and pretty much anyone else she came in contact with, so we tried to rein her in with the thumb kiss and it worked perfectly. she could still be loving to others without it being a big deal.
YoungHouseLove says
So cute!
xo
s
mandybird says
Hey, guys, they have a photo gallery on the HGTV site: http://www.hgtv.com/decorating-basics/how-home-improvement-bloggers-live/pictures/index.html. So nice — congratulations!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yeah John just found that this morning trolling around! I think the only place to find the full article and all of the photos/sidebars/etc is in the magazine itself, but that has some of the goods for sure!
xo
s
Candice says
I am behind in my reading and I haven’t opened my latest issue of HGTV Magazine. I am definitely taking it to work today to read during my lunch break. Thanks for the sneak peak!
Shannon {Our Home Notebook} says
How exciting! What a nice way to remember your last house.
Tandy says
The sunroom and your master bedroom of the old house read really brown, and Clara’s big girl room reads more yellow… some of the colors are just wonky. Would you say those are more true-to-life, or the photos you were sharing all along? Maybe HGTV over-saturated them a bit? The chalk paint on the back of the chairs reads pink. It’s just a bit odd to look at! :)
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, I think the issue with photo editing when it’s done at a magazine is that the person editing the photos has usually never even been to the shoot, so they don’t know what corrections to make or what way to go with colors since they’ve never actually been in the house. The photos that we share of our bedroom and sunroom are more true to life (they’re a lot less edited/adjusted) and we also have made videos that I think capture things well too :)
xo
s
Cassandra says
Saw the article on my trip down to Tennessee and was so proud, was really fun seeing one of my daily reads in one of my monthly reads!! May have stole a style idea or two to implement into our house!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Cassandra!
xo
s
kelsey says
Loved getting this mag in the mail last week! Random question – what did you use to hang the picture above the stove (on the penny tile)? I want to do something similar on our penny tile and was thinking one of those command hooks?
YoungHouseLove says
Yes, those 3M command velcro strips!
xo
s
Shelley @ Green Eggs and Hamlet says
What a great spread, thanks for the behind the scenes info – I always find that stuff interesting.
Honestly, though, my favorite part is, “[…]you guys know we only accept ravens.”
Anja says
It’s so interesting to see all this behind-the-scenes stuff – it always looks so simple in the magazines so you tend to not see all the work that goes into one single photo.
You were lucky to have your old place photographed like that! I am completely mad that I forgot to take pics of our old apartment before we moved – it really sucks! :-)
Megan @ Rappsody in Rooms says
So fun to see all the behind the scenes! I will have to go pick up a mag to read all about it. Yet, I think the behind the scenes stuff is more fun sometimes!
Jane B. says
Great to read the inside scoop on the shoot.
I was at a friend’s house and and saw the magazine. As I was flipping I gave a big cry “oh my God, I know this house!”. And my friend “have you been to this house, do you know them”? Of course! I ‘go’ there every day!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, I love it.
xo
s
Nina says
Congratulations! I have the issue but have yet to crack it open. That will be this afternoon’s entertainment on a very rainy day, with a cup of tea.
Like someone up above said, you guys were mentioned several times in a discussion over on Apartment Therapy about how real “reality” TV is (specifically, on HGTV). Opinion seemed to be evenly split between how great it would be if you had your own show and how bad it would be because, well, there is no “real” there. And aside from your great taste, clever ideas and genuine skills, what I think keeps so many readers coming back every day is how very real you are. The thought of John and Sherry un-real-ified on TV? Shudder.
May your fear of TV never leave you. And I mean that in the nicest possible way!
YoungHouseLove says
Hahahaha, thanks Nina! I’m just glad you’re not mad at us. Sometimes people are so disappointed when we say we don’t want a show. It’s funny how what might be an absolute dream for one person might be the stuff of nightmares (and perennially sweaty palms) for someone else!
xo
s
janice says
Congrats on the press!!! And thanks for sharing it with us! AWESOME!
Anne says
Look, what I just found – the online version of your spread! Loving the pictures, your old house looks great! http://www.hgtv.com/decorating-basics/how-home-improvement-bloggers-live/pictures/index.html
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, John came across that gallery too – it definitely has some goodies! Although the whole article (with the copy, sidebars, and extra pics) is only available in the mag I think :)
xo
s
Francine says
It was a fun surprise to see you guys in such a huge spread in the magazine. Thanks for the behind the scenes post. I always like to see what goes in to getting that perfect shot!
Nicole Y says
Do you guys ever get offended/embarrassed when the professionals come in and make changes? Even to your wardrobe?
Another question: do you guys tell your neighbors about the blog when you move in? You guys are really good about not sharing pictures of their home or any of their information, but I’m just curious if you ever find yourself having to warn your neighbors about your job.
YoungHouseLove says
I think if we didn’t have a past life in advertising we might be offended or at least a little self-conscious when it happens, but thanks to our past career, we know it’s honestly all just about what reads well on camera. It’s about “the shot.” So outfits and styling changes are made for the benefit of the two-dimensional image they’re trying to capture, but we don’t take it as an insult about our bodies/house/taste when it happens because real life and one 2D photo are completely different ballgames. As for our neighbors, we like to get to know them when we move somewhere and they usually tell us what they do and we tell them what we do. They all seem really interested (and sometimes they know of our blog already) but we like to assure them that we keep things contained to our house, and that if we have a crew over they’ll all park on our lot/be in our yard. We’d never want to annoy anyone else. They seem to think it’s fun though (sending us Facebook messages about how exciting it was to see the equipment outside) so we’re grateful for that!
xo
s
Karen F says
Congrats! The HGTV photos really captured house #2 SO beautifully.
And I love the part in this post about the secret handshake – that is SO sweet and thoughtful!
Wyndi says
Love the kitchen shot with all the props! So much eye candy!!!
christina @ homemade ocean says
I need to get in good with a florist….or maybe…possibly….just turn my home into a flower shop!!!!
YoungHouseLove says
Solid plan. I’m with you on that.
xo
s
Briel K. says
I love behind the scenes looks! My mom texted me to say she has the magazine and is saving it for me since she knows I love you guys. :] Can’t wait to see it!
Nellie says
Didn’t you leave Katie Bower off the list of who already knew about the new house?
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes! How could I forget her?! Just added bffs to the list. KB is like a sister though. I think when you go on a few vacations with someone and you’re prego with them (and share every embarrassing symptom the entire time) they reach sister status. Haha!
xo
s
KathyG says
And I’m thinking they’ve been there this week…
YoungHouseLove says
I wish! Check out FB and Instagram (we’re at home, doing some deer watching).
xo
s
Elisa Clark says
Thank you for sharing the behind the scenes! The copy of HGTV magazine you’re in is the first one I’ve ever bought. Fun magazine and an amazing spread of your house. I guess they’ll have to go to your new house a year or two from now and catch the awesome-ness there. :)
Stevie says
I haven’t even finished reading the post yet, I just had to scroll to the bottom to tell you how much I love the visual of Sherry swinging a stick at photographers from the porch of your new digs. That’s all.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha! Don’t make me do it!
xo
s
Rosie says
It’s awesome to have this to document your second house. So cool. As close as we’ll ever get to this is the professional photos when we sell our house, but then those have all sorts of wonky wide-angle shots that aren’t true to life. I’m wondering if the magazine shares all the shots with you so even if we don’t get to see them in the spread, you still have them for your personal (if not blog) use.
YoungHouseLove says
We never get to see any photos after they’re shot, so it’s a surprise when the magazine comes out! It’s kind of thrilling that way though :)
xo
s
Jennifer says
Hey guys,
I left a response on someone elses comment, but the entire article is right on your website if anyone wants to see it in full! If you go to the “About Us” tab, and scroll down to Our Press, the HGTV mag is right there in the 2nd row – when you click it, you can zoom and read the entire article! It seems like there were a lot of people asking – maybe you could link that to this post? :)
YoungHouseLove says
Great tip Jennifer! That’s just one big scanned in PDF so it still probably looks the coolest in person in the mag (which is free to flip through at B&N) but the online scan is a good alternative ;)
xo
s
Hera says
I saw your feature in HGTV Magazine and I was curious. Your sunroom looks tan in the magazine. Didn’t you paint your sunroom gray? The color looked really different in the magazine I picked up. Just wondering. Nice job! So cool!
YoungHouseLove says
Yes it’s more gray in real life (like our pics and videos) but the color adjuster at the mag had never been to our house so they didn’t know :)
xo,
s
Matt says
Congrats on the HGTV press! Love seeing all the behind the scene set up shots (it’s like photography pron for photo nerds)! I was wondering, since they were shooting in your home, do they give you a copy of the pictures or does it become their property?
YoungHouseLove says
They’re all theirs, so these photos are just the ones we took over their shoulders or the ones that ran in the mag :)
xo
s
Barbara says
My mom subscribes and saves all her magazines for me. I love that mag anyway. As I’m flipping through, there you are. I called my mom and said “I know these people!! I’ve followed their blog since before Clara was born!”
Of course my mom is all “who’s Clara” and “do I know them?” It’s really weird to feel you know someone you’ve never met! Great spread, congratulations. You have an official record of your second house!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha!
xo
s
Dusa says
“And by now I’d say our kids are getting pretty cool with it too.”
*arches an eyebrow at you*
YoungHouseLove says
Burger’s a kid too! Haha!
xo,
s
Kari says
My family rolled their eyes as I squealed out loud when I saw your spread!! Love you guys! You make my day!!
YoungHouseLove says
Atta girl, Kari. Love you for that.
xo
s
Shelly says
Absolutely stunning photos!I am going to run out and buy a copy today. I will be sure to store it along with your book on our end table-it might just have to be called the YHL table now. I think you two should have your own HGTV Show with your new house renovations-now that would be awesome! Thanks for being so inspiring and sharing your creative talents. So excited to see all of your transformations in your new home!
Sharon says
I have a subscription to the magazine and I was so delighted to see you guys in it. It was quite a spread! My kids’ first question though was, “Where’s Burger?”. We’re kind of missing seeing him in some of your posts. How has he adjusted to the move? Our dog Bocce wants to know. :)
YoungHouseLove says
Yes, we couldn’t believe Burger didn’t make it in there. He did do a fair amount of sleeping, when he wasn’t begging for food, haha! As for the move, Burger seems to love the new house (lots of new things to sniff, new sun spots to sprawl out in, etc). So glad!
xo
s
Celia Rodriguez says
You guys are such an inspiration! I am so proud of you and I don’t even know you guys, ha! I’ve been reading your archives and you guys have such an amazing story, its amazing!
Keep it up!
Celia
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks so much Celia!
xo
s
Karen Q. says
So happy and excited for you guys! Congratulations! I can’t wait to get out of work and go buy the mag! Everything looks gorgeous and really captured the love you put into the house. :)
Rishia says
Wow! What a time! What a spectacular shoot! Despite clothes adjustment..hehehe. You THREE , I consider the little bean a full fledged part of this team’s efforts! It is nostalgic to try and look back, while anticipating the future. Those HGTV mags will be flying off the shelves. I will have to subscribe and only under the condition I get a frame worthy copy of this FAB issue, the best ever! Everything look so great! Flowers are addictive!
In the shots of the pictures that didn’t make it,.. may I ask what ‘writing’ was framed in that shot. Looks interesting, must be, you chose to put it there{:.
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Rishia! That’s a poem that a friend of ours wrote out in calligraphy and gave to us as a housewarming gift! He was actually the handyman who did the inspection fixes on our first house when we sold it – such a cool (and multi-talented!) guy!
xo
s
Cherrisse says
Guys! I just love you!:) Thanks for sharing so much with us and putting yourselves in such a vulnerable place. :)
Do you have any favorite suggestions for apartments to liven the place up when the walls can’t be painted and not putting lots of holes in the walls? I put three holes (average)for every photograph and I am using a level measuring tape and pencils! If there is a blog post please share! :)
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Cherrisse! I would definitely look into 3M commang picture hanging strips! They’re like really strong velcro but they remove without damaging the walls, so they’re great for a rental! I wouldn’t use them for big heavy mirrors or frames, but for smaller Ikea frames and stuff, they’re perfect! And you can restick them until they’re level/straight so no more multiple-holes!
xo
s