As John mentioned this morning, Do It Yourself Magazine’s 48-hour photoshoot of our home was both eye-opening and exhilarating. Immersing ourselves in the process—from handling equipment to picking up on the styling vocabulary—was an invaluable crash course. We took note of countless techniques that will help us style our home more confidently and give you ideas for decorating your own spaces. Below are a few snapshots I grabbed over the photographer’s shoulder and some behind-the-scenes observations from our two-day DIY magazine shoot.
So-That’s-How-It-Works Fact #1: Almost every national magazine alters the house before shooting. Sometimes a prop stylist arrives days ahead to stage rooms; other times, fresh items are brought in right before the shoot. Small additions like flowers, vases, table runners or even rugs are frequently used to add visual interest and punch on camera.
For example, in our den they rearranged a few objects and added fresh flowers plus a green ceramic tray on the ottoman to introduce color and charm. Many of the purchased items are returned after the shoot, so those styling pieces aren’t always permanent—but now we know where to find similar accents if we want them long term.
So-That’s-How-It-Works Fact #2: Magazines don’t just sell style; they sell a lifestyle. To evoke a lived-in, welcoming scene, stylists add little cues: a bowl of fruit, a pitcher of iced tea by the pool, or an open book on a bedside table. For our sunroom they placed a bowl of red grapes, two opened bottles of pink lemonade and some purple hydrangeas to create that relaxed, approachable mood.
So-That’s-How-It-Works Fact #3: Flowers are everywhere. From tiny vases to pitchers overflowing with blooms, florals are a stylist’s favorite quick fix. The team even had a florist ship flowers on ice to ensure everything looked fresh. We also learned some fun shoot lingo: if a bloom faces the camera head-on someone might jokingly call out, “Hey, that flower’s lookin’ at me,” and adjust it so it reads more natural in the shot. Stylists sometimes anthropomorphize objects—“she wants to go here” or “he’s too dominant there”—which adds a playful tone to the process.
So-That’s-How-It-Works Fact #4: Food is just as important as flowers. Stylists stocked the house with visually appealing edibles—loaves of bread, cupcakes, cheeses and playful treats like gummy bears in jars—to add texture and color. Food props not only look good; they help sell the lifestyle and make scenes feel abundant and inviting.
So-That’s-How-It-Works Fact #5: Props are seasonal. Because our living and dining rooms were shot for a spring feature, the stylists transformed our neutral space into a bright, spring-forward room full of cheerful colors and accents. Swapping a few key pieces and introducing seasonal florals instantly read as a specific time of year on camera.
Highlights of that transformation include rearranged items on floating shelves to avoid visual conflicts with pendants and centerpieces, and a rug swap that lightened the room. The original brown rug moved to the guest room, while a brighter patterned rug took center stage in the living area to lift the palette and add personality.
So-That’s-How-It-Works Fact #6: What looks balanced in a photo is often slightly “cheated” in real life. To make compositions read perfectly through the lens, furniture and accessories are nudged and angled in ways that may look odd off-camera. The camera’s perspective determines placement more than everyday function, so pieces that appear centered in the image can actually be blocking walkways in reality.
So-That’s-How-It-Works Fact #7: Borrowing and repurposing props from room to room happens all the time. At one point the team temporarily borrowed a jute rug from a bedroom to warm up the kitchen’s hardwood floor, then returned it for the bedroom shot. Skilled stylists strive to make each room feel unique, but duplicating small items across spaces is a practical staging trick.
Our kitchen was styled to look particularly appetizing: artisanal cheeses, arranged artichokes, and even tiny roses tucked into a glass-fronted cabinet. One small succulent—the burro tail—was moved to a windowsill where we liked it so much we decided to keep it there permanently.
Those two days were delightful: cupcakes, fragrant blooms, and abundant little details that made our home feel simultaneously aspirational and approachable. Many thanks to Beth, Cat, Erik and Piper for their hard work and creativity staging our home. We’re excited to see the finished photographs when the magazine publishes the feature.