I have had the incredible honor of having rooms in my home photographed for magazines twice already this year (they haven’t been published, yet) and now on Friday, I have the chance to go through that process again.  Let me tell you that I have been a shelter magazine junkie for a long time and have always dreamed of seeing my home on a glossy page.  The first time I received an e-mail asking to feature my blog in a magazine, I cried.  When I finally (over two years after starting my blog) got the e-mail asking to photograph a room in my home, I cried again.  And laughed and jumped up and down.  I still feel that way.  It seemed like such an unattainable dream that I hardly wanted to whisper it to anyone or put it on the goal list.  I was certain that was only for people on the “inside” or big time interior designers.  Well, the blog world has changed all of that and editors are looking at YOUR blogs and MY blog to find homes to photograph.  It doesn’t matter if your blog is big or little or how often you post or how many followers you have.  If your home or room is what they’re looking for, you may get that e-mail.

Once you’ve enjoyed the thrill of the idea of having your home in a magazine, the reality sinks in.  The “oh crap” moment hits.  Well, at least it does for me.  I can disguise things that aren’t finished and only photograph what I want when I’m doing the photoshoot.  When a crew is here and they want to get lots of great detail shots, I have to get my act together.

See, I have this bad habit of not painting things I don’t have to look at often.  If I can close it, I don’t paint it.

The raw plywood is not going to photograph well, so I’ve been painting the insides of all of the cabinetry in our home office.  It’s a boring project, but that’s a part of having a room photographed.  It also means I need to get a little more organized.  I’m the kind of person who’s “organized enough.”  I like things to have a place, but I don’t care if they’re perfectly placed and labeled and alphabetized.

But this doesn’t work when your home is being photographed.   So, I’ve painted and decluttered and I’m working on organization…

…and I know I’ll be really glad I did.  The photo shoot is good motivation to get things done that I should’ve done anyway.  It’s also motivation to get projects done that have been bumped down the list for a while.  I finally painted this yard sale desk chair…   (in my milk paint, of course!)

And I’ve moved some furniture around…

I still need to clean up the parts of the house that you can see from the home office, which is the kitchen and dining room (and they currently don’t look pretty.)

And I’m making sure I do some detail cleaning of light fixtures, fans, etc. that might be visible in the shots.

I also have to go shopping for some shirts tomorrow, some colorful throw pillows and I need a haircut (long overdue), since I’ll be photographed as well!  It’s going to be a busy couple of days, but it’s all a part of doing something I dreamed about, but never thought would happen.

Maybe I need to start preparing a little better when I start dreaming about something (and you should, too!)