A recent afternoon with a talented photographer reminded us how fresh a home can feel when seen through someone else’s lens. Local photographer Andrea Hubbell visited to shoot a series of living-space images of our house, and the results were wonderful. We’re not camera-shy when it comes to our home, and having Andrea’s eye—and her ability to stealthily capture little moments—made the whole experience a treat.
We loved the wide-angle room shots that show how spaces flow, but the photos that delighted us most were the small details Andrea noticed. She captured little vignettes and everyday textures that we barely register in day-to-day life: a pile of paint chips on the table, the way light slices across a chair, and tiny styling choices that give a room personality. Those are the kinds of images that make a house feel lived-in and interesting to viewers hunting for home decor inspiration.
Andrea’s body of work from that afternoon includes many more images than we’re showing here, and looking through them reminded us why professional home photography matters for anyone interested in interior design, home tours, or documenting renovations. Good photos not only show layout and color but highlight material details, contrast, and composition—things that help people understand how a space is put together.
In another delightful twist, we received an email from a 16-year-old reader in the Netherlands named Karlijn who recreated our home in the video game The Sims. Recreating a real house in a virtual environment is a fun exercise in spatial thinking, color choices, and furniture selection, and Karlijn’s Sims version captured our rooms in a charming, playful way. She noted the game’s limitations (she joked she would have added a burger if she could), but despite that, her digital mockups felt surprisingly true to life.
Her Sims take on our guest room, for example, included teal walls and a green headboard along with slipper chairs that closely resembled the originals. The living-room recreation even captured the narrow “alley” beside the seating, the big gray sectional, and the large paned window—those little circulation paths often get overlooked but are essential to how a room feels in real life and onscreen.
The virtual version of our windowless kitchen was predictably dark when the lights were off, which felt oddly accurate: lighting really changes perception. Karlijn’s rendition of Clara’s room also made us laugh—the highway visible through the virtual window was not a real-life view, but it was a reminder that context and exterior views can dramatically alter a room’s mood.
Beyond the fun of seeing a simulated home that mirrors our own, Karlijn’s work offered implicit decorating suggestions—things like adding a zebra rug to our bedroom or installing outdoor lighting on the patio. Those virtual nudges are useful: room-planning software and video-game recreations can inspire real-world updates, helping homeowners visualize scale, color contrast, and lighting choices before committing to a purchase or project.
We’re grateful to both Andrea and Karlijn for taking the time to capture our house in their different mediums. Whether through professional photography or a thoughtful Sims re-creation, seeing familiar spaces from another person’s perspective reveals details we miss and sparks new ideas for styling and renovation. Have you ever recreated your house in a game or room-planning tool, or had photos taken that made you notice small details you’d never seen before?
Psst — We announced this week’s giveaway winners. Check the giveaway announcement to see if you’re one of them.