For the past few weeks we’ve been living and breathing showhouse work. We knew it would be intense, but we underplayed how much time, effort, and shopping it would take to turn a roughly 3,500 square-foot blank slate into a home that feels lived-in—all in about two weeks. As you can imagine, we’ve practically camped out there or made endless runs, loading the car, unloading, arranging, and repeating.
After choosing fixtures and finishes over the last few months we thought the hard part was behind us, but we didn’t realize how many surfaces needed attention. Since January we’ve been collecting furniture, art, curtains, bedding, and accessories, so after furniture-unloading day we assumed the house would look mostly finished. Instead, many rooms felt sparse—tabletops, vanities, counters, porches, beds, and desks all screamed for styling. It was a minor freak-out moment.
Our builder and the Homearama team reassured us: the solution was straightforward—shop. A lot. Thankfully we upgraded to a bigger car, because it’s been full almost constantly. We estimate nearly 20 full-car runs to local boutiques, thrift shops, and larger retailers for pillows, rugs, planters, tabletop accessories, bedding, books, and more.
We spent multiple frantic trips filling carts at HomeGoods, Target, and World Market to stock up on frames, pillows, dishware, and towels. At checkout we apologized profusely each time—watching cashiers’ surprised faces was a new kind of entertainment.
We even made grocery-store runs to style the kitchen. The cashier probably chalked our unusual purchases up to pregnancy cravings—yes, including nine bags of powdered donuts. Note: if you set donuts out too early, everyone working on the house will happily help themselves. On the bright side, donuts are an unexpectedly effective morale booster for a hardworking crew.
By yesterday the house was about 85% complete, including the breakfast nook shelves. There are still tweaks to make—Sherry is especially detail-oriented and gets twitchy when things aren’t perfect—but the progress is dramatic compared to a few weeks ago. A crew came through on Friday to shoot photos and video for the show’s promotions, and the builder hosted an event there today, which created tight deadlines even though the homes don’t officially open to the public until May 1st. Added to that, we have our own deadline: a baby arriving in nine days, so things have been moving fast.
One last-minute decision was painting the back of the breakfast nook shelves the same gray as the kitchen cabinets to tie the spaces together. We held up swatches and settled on a close match (Timber Wolf Gray by Benjamin Moore). The shelves were painted just yesterday afternoon by Parker, who also hung wallpaper in the laundry room for us. We made another last-minute change in the laundry room—a chunky white floating shelf suggested on the spot—then the carpenter built, hung, and painted it within 24 hours. Hooray for last-hour updates that actually work.
The foyer now sports a big white driftwood mirror we found at HomeGoods. Our decorating process has been far from linear—we hang art, step back, and sometimes swap it for something that fits better. Trial and error guides much of our decision-making. In the living room there’s a large painting of our dog Burger, commissioned by a friend. The real homeowner may choose to mount a TV in that spot instead, but for the show we opted for something playful that nods to our pet and adds personality.
Many readers have asked what happens to donated, borrowed, or purchased items after the show. After the event the homeowner can choose to buy certain pieces, but most donated items are returned to vendors or given to organizations like the Habitat ReStore. Items purchased from the builder’s decorating budget may be reused in future model homes. The goal is to outfit the house for a real family rather than the fictional one we imagined while staging.
One challenging room to style was the upstairs playroom/reading room. We wanted built-in bookshelves with a window bench so the room could work as a kid’s play space or a quiet reading nook. We decorated it to sit in the middle—games and books together—so families can picture either use. A local bookstore saved the day with boxes of advance paperback samples that were otherwise headed for recycling, which helped fill the shelves quickly.
The playroom’s spun-glass chandelier looks great against the Dragonfly-colored walls, though photographing it against the window is tricky—our staging team is still fine-tuning lighting and angles for photos.
Much of our shopping focused on bedding and pillows for the four staged bedrooms—shams, duvets, quilts, sheets, and bedskirts all added up. We received a patterned bedding donation for the master that pairs nicely with a painting loaned for the show.
With most of the big tasks nearly done, we’re excited to finish the remaining details, shoot each room properly, and share complete source lists and behind-the-scenes explanations. We plan to publish detailed room-by-room posts with all sources and alternate angles once the final photos are ready.
One final highlight: we hired a local artist to create a chalk-pen mural on the butler’s pantry chalkboard wall to serve as a coffee and wine station. The mural is durable and can be removed later if the homeowner prefers. She’ll return tomorrow to finish the piece, and then we’ll capture wide shots to show how the small hallway between the kitchen and dining room evolved.
These showhomes aren’t designed to appeal to everyone; they’re meant to be bold and unique, offering variety across the event. Many showhomes still resonate with buyers and often sell quickly despite some unconventional choices. We’re powering through the final intense week, and once things settle we’ll share all the after photos and complete sources. For now, we’ll keep styling, finishing, and squeezing in a few normal moments before baby Barnacle arrives.