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The Day Better Homes & Gardens Came to My House

I’ve been waiting and waiting and waiting to share these images with you all.  Guess what?!? Now, I can and I’m so excited.  You may remember back in January I told you Better Homes & Gardens was coming to my house.

000 BetterHomesandGardens Apr2014
Used with permission from Better Homes and Gardens® magazine. ©2014 Meredith Corporation. All rights reserved.

I had dreamed of this since I started the blog, actually before that.  Can you imagine being in a magazine you read each month?!?  Well, I never, ever in a million years thought this dream would come true.

I had to read the email from Kit Selzer, Senior Editor at BHG, several times.  Even now I can’t really believe it is us in the magazine.  Kit had emailed me because she thought the Antibes Green Chalk Board Table would be a perfect addition to their upcoming color issue.  I’m not sure if you remember that project, I did it a while back (in 2012) when we were still in the other house.  Conor actually helped paint $5 yard sale find.  It fit perfectly in the boys’ playroom.

Anyway, I had pictured a sunny, warm January day for them to come and shoot.  In my head I pictured laughing over warm muffins and coffee.

This was the reality:

blizzardScituate was having a blizzard on January 22nd!  Of course!  That is Luke, my lovely hubby, out there shoveling at 6am just in case BHG was still coming.  He wouldn’t let me shovel because I’d had my hair blown out straight the day before.

Luckily, through wind and snow and horrible conditions they came anyway!  Kristine Kennedy, the stylist for the shoot, had to deal with frozen pipes that morning.  The photographer, David Land, and his assistant, Matthew, drove up from New York City the day before and it took them 10 hours to get to Boston.  Yikes!

When a crew comes to your house it gets filled up and changed around pretty quickly.  Can you guess what room they used for the shoot?!?

Our bedroom!

Everything had to be moved out:

removing_furniture

Our bed went into Conor’s room along with the monitor for the camera:

conor_room

Here David is hanging out the window trying to clean off the snow and put up a screen.  When you see the photo in the magazine and at the end of the post, you’ll never in a million years believe it was snowing.  Ah, the magic of photoshop!

prepping_window

The camera was set up in the hallway and pointed into our room.  It was so amazing to me just how much goes into one shot.

camera

The guest room was strewn with clothes.  We had so many options just in case.  This is Kristine Kennedy sitting on the floor of our guest room sending emails back and forth to BHG headquarters.

Kris_computer

While everything was being set up Conor and John busily drew on the table….

boys_drawing

And drew some more:

drawing

Here are Kris and Matthew looking on.  I think John was telling a joke or chatting away about MineCraft.

Kris_matthew_bedroom

Conor wouldn’t wear the dino shirt they wanted him to, but it was okay.  He was also super busy drawing in one section that wasn’t even in camera shot.  He kept saying he had to finish the Harry Potter picture.  Kris and David were making us laugh while they were taking the photos.  I had to smile and contort my body into weird seated positions while leaning against the table.  I kept hearing the kids being silly behind me, hoping they’d get a good shot of all of us.

Everyone was so great with the kids.  They played a bit with their legos and watched what they were doing on the tablets.  Conor absolutely loved when David did this!  He squealed with delight:

david_conor

Once, they got “the shot” after several hours, we headed down to the kitchen and enjoyed lunch of California chili and an orzo pesto salad.  So nice to have warm dishes on such a cold, snowy day.

david_land

Here I am with Matthew and David.  Everyone enjoyed lunch!

After lunch they packed everything up and I helped Kris roll up the rug.  It had to be shipped back to Target.  Once David and Matthew left, Kris stayed and we chatted about the project and painted furniture and design over tea.  She wanted to ask a few questions for the magazine.  Luke snapped this right before she left:

Kris_Kennedy

Such an amazing day!  Thank you so much to Kit, Kris, Matthew, David and all at BHG for making my dream come true!  I am so happy that my little boys got to be such a big part of this too!

You may have already seen the image in the magazine, but in case you haven’t here we are on the very last page:

190 BH0414 IDidIt
Photography by David Land. Used with permission from
Better Homes and Gardens® magazine. ©2014 Meredith Corporation. All rights reserved.

 

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jessica @fourgenerationsoneroof

So awesome!!! Congrats 🙂

Bre @ roomsFORrent
10 years ago

I have happy tears for you!!! That is just so awesome 🙂 I laugh because I totally think the same thing, the ideal situation/weather for a magazine shoot, not in new england 🙂 ha ha. Just excited for you, Congrats!!

Alice W.
10 years ago

I am so happy for you Danielle! Can’t wait to see the issue in person. I have a subscription but haven’t gotten it yet…maybe it’s still stuck in my post office box 🙂 It is amazing how much work went into this! And how funny now to see the outside and know it was a snow storm! Great work to you and them for making it turn out so awesome.

Virginia
10 years ago

Congratulations! That is so exciting!

Joan B.
10 years ago

So Awesome! Lucky You!

Nancy
10 years ago

So great! Glad you finally got to share. Love the picture of you and the boys and how great the green table looks with the rug!

Rebecca
Rebecca
10 years ago

SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Cool! And well deserved/completely earned! And you look gorgeous to boot! Congrats!

Robin@RPKInteriors
Robin@RPKInteriors
10 years ago

That is way cool! What an amazing experience for you!
Robin

fiona
10 years ago

I’ve been wondering when you’d be allowed to show it. Congratulations, it’s a great shot and how lovely to be featured, something to keep forever.

Lisa
Lisa
10 years ago

Congratulations Danielle! I was reading BH&G last night and when I came to the last page and saw you, your adorable boys, and the chalkboard table, I went right to your website and was captivated for hours! Well deserved recognition and keep up the excellent work!

Sarah
10 years ago

Say what?! Holy cow, Danielle!!! Amazing!! Congratulations!!! This is so deserved:) How cool, I’m so thrilled for you. Even better that you are in there with your boys:) Too funny that Conor didn’t want to wear their dino shirt. And of course there was a snow storm:( That’s just how this winter was. Figures. Its so cute that Luke wouldn’t let you shovel because of your hair!!! He’s a keeper;) You look so good in the pic! Crazy how much work goes on behind the scenes to set this up…I mean, clearing out your into bedroom?! Thanks for letting us… Read more »

Jessica @ Dear Emmeline

Just saw the article and immediately hopped on to send a big congrats your way! So fun!

Nana Diana
10 years ago

A HUGE congratulations to you! I am so happy for you- what an honor! xo Diana

Robyn @ simply fresh dinners

Wow, Danielle, what a fantastic experience for you all! You and your boys look adorable in the final pic! It’s amazing to see all the work that goes into one shot. And what a snowstorm that day – and what a wonderful hubby you have! Congrats, my friend, so well deserved. xo
PS…when you’re super famous can I say I knew you ‘way back when’? lol

beth
beth
10 years ago

Congrats! what an honor…

Lauren
10 years ago

Great news, Danielle – so lovely to see you in such a gorgeous magazine! Is it available here in the UK?

Shame you didn’t get to keep the Target rug.

Glad the boys enjoyed the day as much as you seemed to – it was nice of the staff at the magazine to be so lovely with the kids.

x

Shelly Andrade
10 years ago

Danielle, this is so cool!!! How exciting!!! I’m so happy for you, what an experience yeah???

elyse
10 years ago

oh danielle!

you know how excited i am for you! warmest congrats on this dream come true! i love that you shared each step of the fun but very long day.

once my home was photographed and i think because of all the pre-during-post shoot nervousness, i was walloped with a terrible stay-in-bed cold the minute the crew left.

gosh, what a moment for you! and you look beautiful and your boys are adorable! and of course, your table is fabulous!

happy dance!

xo
elyse

Cynthia
10 years ago

I am so very happy for you and I can’t wait to read this, I just received my issue a few days ago. Now I can say I know who this is and she is super talented. The kids look as if t hey had a good time. Snow, figures for this winter we have had, LOL!!! Just realized that wasn’t funny.

Cynthia

alyhas
alyhas
10 years ago

Congrats, excited with you! Thanks for sharing the behind the scenes, you allowed us to somewhat do a ‘job shadow’ of such positions, fun, fun! Imagine the number of followers you will gain from this, and all the people you will inspire! Even your shoes and earring selection in this shoot inspired me! As always, thank you! 🙂

Martha
10 years ago

Oh how exciting! Congratulations Danielle and family!

kelly arent {copper roof interiors}

I bet this was like a dream after they all left your home!!! How exciting to have done and show off all your hard work!! Great job…congrats!

Jennifer@The Chronicles of Home

Oh, I have such a smile on my face reading this! It looks like such a great day and I really thought Kris and David were the greatest. And the photo is so gorgeous.

Suzanne of Simply Suzannes at Home

Suzanne of Simply Suzannes at Home

CONGRATULATIONS! I am so excited for you you (and your family!). Wow! That is so awesome :0)
I loved that you shared the behind-the-scenes stuff. Isn’t it amazing what goes into “the perfect shot!?”
Congrats, again!!
Have a great weekend,
Suzanne

Kristin @ bliss-athome.com

I was so excited when I opened up my BHG and saw you in there! congrats Danielle!!! xo Kristin

Deb
Deb
10 years ago

Cute idea for an old table! (Cute kiddos too!) It was fun to see the photos from the shoot on your blog. You have a lovely home! Do you happen to know where the orange cat pillow is from? I have two orange cats that I’m crazy about, and would love to have this pillow!

Victoria
10 years ago

Dani! Ahhh sooo beautiful! Congratulations!!!

Melanie
10 years ago

Fantastic picture! Thank you for sharing the “behind the scenes” with us. It is a dream come true 🙂

Rachel
10 years ago

OH gosh I know I’ve already told you, but CONGRATS! Seriously. You’ve made it big time! And you are SO pretty and I want your green earings! So funny about the funny body contortions bit, that is similar to what Jen said, wasn’t it? But you can’t even tell! Your position looks totally natural in the pic! I love everything. I’m obsessed.

Ellen
Ellen
10 years ago

Hello! Congrats on the feature, so cheerful! Been looking for just the right blue to paint our kitchen….what is the paint color there in your master?

thanks!

Sheryl
Sheryl
10 years ago

Love the green table in BHG. Wonderful idea! Makes me look at furniture differently.

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