Behind the Scenes: What Really Happens Way Backstage

Ahhh! Our book baby is officially out in the world. It still feels a little unreal — like a joyful game of make-believe — despite all the awesome photos you’ve been sharing (anything with a dog, a baby, or a funny face = instant winner).

Ever since the early days of putting this labor of love together, we’ve been itching to share some behind-the-scenes peeks. These 27 photos and notes have been burning a hole in our pockets for nearly a year, so here’s the long-awaited, finally-we-can-share-this scoop. Below you’ll find details from many pages of the book and the backstories that go with them. If you don’t have a book to flip through, some of this might not line up perfectly — but the photos and stories still stand on their own. #warningitslong

The inside flap picture – The photo of John and me mugging for the camera was one of the cover options. We campaigned against a giant smiling-face cover, so the designer went more text-heavy and used smaller photos of us instead. We styled that corner ourselves and love how it feels like a bunch of projects randomly gathered together.

Page 25 – We papered only the visible backs of the bookcase for this shot. If you zoom out, the shelves above still showed their original blue and the rest of the room was a mess.

Page 30 – A number of furniture makeovers were fresh in the book, and to save time we tackled them simultaneously. It looked like a neighborhood furniture graveyard for a while — neighbors probably thought we’d lost our minds.

Page 32 – We snuck a family photo from one of our visits to the Bowers into this image. That paint color is still on our playroom wall to this day — someday we’ll repaint.
Page 35 – We made only one curtain panel for this project, so it wasn’t very functional and later became our headboard. The nail holes from the frames are still in our living room wall; we’ll caulk them someday.

Page 37 – There are several illustrations sprinkled through the book to show ideas that photos couldn’t fully capture. We sent samples of illustration styles we liked, and the publisher brought on the illustrator we admired — Emma Kelly — who was fantastic.
Page 38 – This was actually the first shot we took for the book. A miscommunication meant the photographer didn’t have the right gear for “before” shots, so we jumped ahead to a few finished afters. The red berries came from a bush out back because we hadn’t planned flowers that day.
Page 39 – We originally shot this without Burger, then he jumped up and instantly made the photo better. So we reshot it with him and called it a wrap.
Page 46 – We borrowed a sofa for the day so we could photograph a cleaner setup than our giant sectional. We only had it a few hours and rushed, adding props that later got cropped out of the final images.

Page 47 – Some photos in the book come from friends’ homes to illustrate projects we couldn’t show in our one-story ranch, like stairs or other layouts. We got permission to use those images to round out concepts we couldn’t demonstrate ourselves.
Page 55 – This project nearly got scrapped. My first attempt at splatter-painting a lantern went way too far, so we used a backup paper lantern and switched to a more subtle watercolor approach that ended up in the book.

Page 56 – We temporarily hung wallpaper with tape, not glue, on a section of the entryway to get the shot and removed it immediately so the wall could be used for other photos.
Page 57 – Tulips became the unofficial flower of the book. Every time we needed life in a shot, we grabbed tulips at the grocery store. By the end it was automatic: “grab the healthiest tulips!”
Page 59 – We bought a lot of old postcards online and loved them so much we didn’t want to take them down. We had to remove them so they wouldn’t sneak into photos or house tours before the book released.
Page 61 – We loved a painted door for months, but it made shooting around it difficult, so we eventually painted it white again. I’d happily paint it again someday.

Page 62 – We painted different sections of the playroom in many colors to create varied backgrounds for projects and photos. The reading glasses that appear in one shot belonged to the photo assistant — we used anything we could for styling.
Page 66 – For a ceiling tip, we wallpapered a spare piece of foam core and taped it up temporarily. Everything had to go up and come down quickly so it didn’t accidentally show up in another shot.

Page 75 – Our kitchen has limited natural light, so many kitchen shots were taken after sundown using artificial lighting.

Page 78 – The wire basket is a thrift-store find that Clara uses as her shopping basket for wooden play food — it works for real food too.
Page 88 – We had to reshoot a macaroni setup after spotting stray rice at the bottom of a vase in the original frames.
Page 89 – John got me yellow flowers for Valentine’s Day and I loved them so much I snuck them into the book more than once.
Page 103 – We bought glass votive holders and discovered the candles we picked were a tad too wide. Back to the store for thinner ones. Also, I insisted we burn each candle wick for photos because brand-new, unburned candles look oddly pristine to me.
Page 105 – We photoshopped some childhood memorabilia out of a photograph for copyright reasons.
Page 107 – My nails are dark in many photos because they were stained from constant projects; painting them helped hide glue and paint under the nails.

Page 108 – We moved our guest bed into the corner of the living room for better light. It lived there for a few days — Burger approved.

Page 115 – We tucked meaningful items into shots when we could, like Clara’s gold giraffe necklace and my favorite quatrefoil earrings.
Page 119 – The guest room bed got around. We staged it against the fireplace in the living room for a different backdrop and endured crawling over it while it stayed there for a few days. Clara’s stuffed animal “Gee” makes his book debut as a bed prop.

Page 120 – The photographer loved Burger, so dog photos were a fun break. We shot him on a white background so he could be isolated and placed into layouts across pages. Lots of treats were involved.
Page 121 – Another playroom color — Moroccan Spice — provided a bright background for select shots. We used an “N” on a shelf as a nod to my mom, whom Clara calls Nonna.

Page 125 – A contributor’s shelf originally included toys that we had to remove for copyright reasons; she kindly reshot without them that same day.
Page 131 – One of our favorite Burger moments is him parked snugly in a basket. We still laugh every time.
Page 130 – An original illustration included a chandelier over a tub, but since that’s not to code in many places the illustrator removed it.
Page 139 – None of our bathrooms were large enough, so we staged this shot in the playroom and cropped carefully to make it look authentic.

Page 148 – We made canvas initials for John’s parents, Tom and Kathy, and later gifted them as thanks for helping with Clara during shoots.
Page 156 – Everything written on the calendar had some meaning — appointments, birthdays, and little in-jokes. We also styled the mail holder extensively only to find it cropped out of the final layout. Oops.
Page 158 – We labeled a box “secrets” because it made us smile every time we saw it.
Page 159 – A small family photo in a bowl on this page is another subtle nod to friends and family.
Page 174 – We invited our niece Olivia and nephew Jake to contribute original art. Their practice sheets and final works made the book and we loved including them.

Page 180 – I originally painted a project red and John hated it; he said it looked like a crime scene, so I repainted it green after it dried.

Page 182 – We reused fabric from one canvas for another project a month later. If I could tweak the styling, I’d shift a lamp and art slightly to better balance the composition — a tiny lesson in keeping it real.

Page 186 – After hanging butterflies made from book pages, we discovered an inappropriate word in the page the photographer focused on. We replaced it immediately with a more PG option.
Page 190 – One tip changed in practice: we planned to paint a chippy corbel, but loved its aged finish so much we left it unpainted and adjusted the tip accordingly.
Page 196 – John’s original sketch of me looked like a caricature, so he went more abstract on the redraw. I love how the final sketch emphasized big colorful earrings.
Page 214 – A black-and-white photo in this layout is an old family picture of my dad and his sister. The postage stamps for a project came from a local shop and made a great gift for my stamp-loving dad.
Page 218 – We were missing several frames while shooting because they were used as props. One spot in a frame wall photo was filled in later with Photoshop to complete the look.

Page 231 – I scribbled a quick, silly note in a notebook used in a shot so it wouldn’t look empty: “just writing words so this notebook isn’t naked. Words, words, words. This is weird.”
Page 232 – A bland setup came to life after I gathered colorful hardcover books around the house and stacked them casually with a glass of water on top. Instantly more lived-in.
Page 243 – We had a wardrobe mishap in progress shots, so I changed into something with a higher neckline. The fabric used was one of Clara’s backgrounds, but we used the muted reverse side for the photo.
Page 248 – A gilded glass lamp looked streaky at first, but after several coats it turned out beautifully. We forgot to photograph a final close-up after, but it still appears in a white-background shot used for an alternate cover idea.

Page 252 – To save time, sometimes we finished one project and half-started another so we could shoot both an “in progress” and an “after” quickly without making the photographer wait. In one case we drew on a full pillow and started a second as the progress shot.

Page 263 – Of course Sue the Napkin made it into the book. We also hid a stack of those napkins in the bar cart photo earlier in the book. A painted “B” on a rock was a subtle nod to Burger.
Page 270 – A few shots were taken on our little balcony (later removed to build a deck), which made for some odd but charming locations.
Page 273 – The cupcakes on the cake plate are a local favorite we used for this shot — small, meaningful touches like that make the book feel personal.
Page 281 – We painted the ceiling in a bathroom nook for a photo and it took more than five months to repaint it white. We kept accidentally sharing it on the blog before it was back to normal and had to edit photos, so finally repainting felt like a relief.
Page 283 – We stenciled a roughly 9′ x 6′ rectangle on one playroom wall — just enough for a shot — and it’s still there. I forget about it until I open the door and see the floating stencil rectangle.

Page 286 – That woven painters-tape pattern was John’s idea. He cut tape into strips and created the design. It took longer than expected, but it was worth it. Go hubby.

Page 289 – I first tried using a seafan as a stencil and it didn’t work — too thin for clean spray coverage. I flipped the piece and retried with leaf shapes and it worked much better.
Page 291 – A chair and table in a photo were propped on paint cans to sit higher and look better by the window; the cans were later cropped out so everything appears naturally placed.
Page 295 – We didn’t want to simply reuse site photos for this book, so we repainted a corner of our kitchen briefly for a fresh shot and then repainted it back less than 24 hours later while we were still blogging the remodel.

Page 300 – For a before-and-after, we marked each item’s spot on the floor with painter’s tape so we could place everything back exactly after painting the wall. The only thing that changed in the after was the wall color — no Photoshop.
Page 302 – We used a sunroom brick wall as a backdrop for variety. Shooting revealed crooked floor tile lines we never noticed until we saw the photo.
Page 304 – We loved a thrift-store dresser so much we bought it with our own money rather than the small project budget because we wanted to keep it. Most other furniture items were auctioned for charity or returned to donors, but this one stays with us.
Page 311 – An after photo looked plain until we stuck our feet in the frame. Leopard shoes fixed everything. That playful setup also inspired the cover photo the publisher used, with a few additional edits.

Page 312 – We carried a birdbath around the yard to find the least brown winter background we could; February yards aren’t exactly lush.
Page 317 – Finding a wood planter in January was surprisingly difficult; we had one shipped cross-country to get the right piece.
Page 321 – The address shown in a prop was actually from our first house — a little homage that confused neighbors until we covered it until a confirmed shot was backed up. It was an inexpensive decal and easy to remove.
Pages 323–336 – To keep the book affordable, we had to cap pages at 336. When the manuscript ran long, the designer and publisher condensed elements like the source list to a smaller typeface and made other layout choices to hit the target without raising the price. Whew.

If you asked what it felt like to see the physical book for the first time, we actually videotaped that moment. We were both in shock — still are, really. The editor also suggested a small photoshop tweak to a sleeve in one photo to make the profile read more clearly, and they were absolutely right; sometimes those tiny details matter more than you notice at first.

Thanks for coming along on this crazy DIY journey with us. You, our readers, made this possible. We said it in the thank-you page, and we’ll say it again here: you brighten our days and make all of this worthwhile. We love you, for real.