Several of you have already come upon a secret I’ve been keeping since June of last year. My home was featured in the March 2016 issue of Country Living.
AHHHHHH!
And, yes, lots of geeking out has taken place. Lots of high-pitched squeals and pinch-me moments and slowing down to soak it all in.
It was the most involved shoot I have ever been a part of. It was a half day of styling and two full days of shooting and a total takeover of our house!
I cleaned like a maniac and tried to finish everything that had been languishing on my home to-do list. I knew it was overboard, but I didn’t want a fluff ball or unfinished piece of trim in a picture in Country Living! I wanted to give it my best.
About a week before the shoot, the boxes started to arrive. They came in at a trickle at first and then they started filling up the porch each day. I think we got around 30 boxes of props by the time it was all said and done.
At first I was wondering where in the world they were going to put all of this stuff, but as I saw the stylist work, it became clear that it was about having lots of options and things to try. So, if you notice things in my rooms that aren’t usually there (like the lamp in the bedroom and pillows in family room), those were props.
They simply tweaked and finessed most of the rooms, but the family room was entirely rearranged for the shot that’s used for the table of contents.
The rug was moved from the middle of the room and the wing chairs were turned towards the French daybed to make a seating area. I actually loved the way it looked, but it wasn’t a functional arrangement for the room.
I would sneak in now and then and look at the shots, but there was a lot of gear and cables and some spaces were pretty tight (like when they stood in my bathtub to take pictures of the vanity!
The photographer, David A Land, had actually been to my house before. We worked together for the Women’s Day shoot in my home office back in 2012. He’s laid back and fun to work with, so that made all of the upheaval and furniture rearranging and stacks of boxes and chairs on the front lawn a bit easier to deal with. Everyone was great, in fact, and they would destroy a room to photograph one corner and would then put it back together, just as it was.
You may also notice in the spread that there are wood chairs in my dining room and Eulalie (the cow painting) is not in her usual spot above the buffet. They borrowed some chairs from my studio and swapped Eulalie out to make the dining room look a little different. That vantage point has been in several magazines and regularly on this blog, so they wanted to change things up a bit.
Never fear! Eulalie went right back in her rightful spot.
Thanks so much to Country Living for including me in such an amazing issue.
It is an honor and definitely a dream come true.
Oh, my.
Speechless.
This magazine is sitting (unopened) on my desk chair!
Ack! I’m tempted to go down there right now and get it – but it’s 1:30 in the morning and I’m supposed to be sleeping!
Can’t wait till tomorrow when I can go read the whole thing!!
CONGRATULATIONS, MARIAN!
Your self control is impressive. I hope you buried yourself in it as soon as the kids left for school.
The Other Marian
How exciting for you! I can’t wait to go out and get a copy. Your home is so beautifully decorated & cozy and was created on a budget, so the honor of being featured in such an amazing magazine is well deserved! Congratulations Marian!
I’m so excited for you! I remember this being on your goals and dreams list and how awesome it is happening. Well done lady, you totally deserve this. Big hugs, CoCo
Congratulations Marian! My Country Living arrived over the weekend, and I pulled it out yesterday to read during a snow storm here in Wisconsin…and there you were. I felt like I had recognized a friend in a crowd. Lovely!
What a gorgeous feature Marian! I received the latest edition from my MIL and noticed the spread right away. That had to have been an amazing experience and bravo to you and your family! Simply beautiful!
JoanMarie
Congratulations Marian! God is good!
Blessings, Michelle
I was so excited to see your beautiful home in my recent Country Living!!! It was wonderful!
Congratulations! How exciting to have your home featured in a magazine like Country Living! That would be a dream come true for me.
So much fun and a great learning experience for you I’m sure with those super professional folks! I have had several shoot here over the years and when Meredith sent out a team it was was so inspirational to see how they roll. Congrats!
So absolutely deserving. I hope it welcomes in a whole new group of readers that think you are just as incredible as we do! Congratulations on the achievement!
Received my monthly copy of “Country Living” magazine. As soon as I turned to the first page and saw the sofa, I thought that it looked like your style. As I paged through the magazine I found the article with your family’s picture.
Congratulations on the article…you’re sneaky…thought I missed one of your blog entries.
So funny when I opened my magazine and started to see the pictures and not knowing it was your home, I thought wow someone has copied Marion’s style to the tee. That is until I turned the page and saw you LOL
PHEW!!! So glad your Eulali is back where she belongs! Again, Congratulations and sorry for misspelling your name! By the way great photo of you and your family!
I’m going to pick up a copy this week!
How thrilling for you! Now even more people will know about MMS and discover what some of us have seen and loved for years.
I heard rumors that you were featured. I’ll have to sneak to the store and pick one up. And thanks so much for posting the “during” pictures. I always make a huge mess when I’m shooting merchandise pictures, so that helped me realize, it’s the nature of the beast, if there’s stuff all over, even when the pros do it.
Congrats! Super, crazy exciting!
The Other Marian
Pretty cool! Your house is so pretty.
I remember when CL came to my town to do a spread on 3 historic houses. Since there was no online shopping in the early 80s, they would scope out the local antique stores and gift shops to supplement what they brought with them. At the time, my aunt owned a great antiques shop and CL borrowed a lot of her inventory for the shoot! It was a kick to see her things in the magazine and look at the houses to figure out what belonged to the homeowners and what came from her shop!
Love this Marian! Cannot wait to read it! Well-deserved.
I need to subscribe to this magazine. If they picked you, it must be a great magazine!
Got my issue yesterday. Great article and beautiful pictures.
Marian,
Congrats on the feature…CL is one of my favorites. Looking forward to seeing the feature in print.
Blessings,
Linda
So exciting! One of my all time magazines!! Can’t wait to see the spread!
Oops! forgot the word Favorite! 🙂
Congratulations!!! Excited to read your feature!
Well, that explains that! Talk about stress – all that crap they bring in! (I am almost certain you looked at some of it and thought, “Oh, huh uh, not in my house, please” for styling). They did a great job, but I still like Eulalie better than C&I. She’s a Marian signature icon now! Again, huge congrats!
How exciting!! I’m a long time follower of yours and this is so well deserved! I haven’t gotten mine in the mail yet, can’t wait to see it!
It was such a wonderful article and your home looked gorgeous! Of course, it always looks wonderful on your blog – so warm and inviting! Just received my issue in the mail yesterday and tried to wait till after dinner and Fixer Upper but couldn’t wait to read when I saw the feature on your home!
Oh how wonderfully exciting! I looove that magazine so to see your shoot will make it extra special. Yay!
WooHoo! I love it when dreams come true! Now… I’m off to get my issue and savor every photo. [hugs]
YAY! Thrilled for ya 🙂
I got my Country Living magazine a couple of days ago and saw your feature. That is so amazingly exciting! I thought things looked a little different, but the overall feeling was the same. How fun it must have been to watch them at work. I’m sure you got some good ideas from them. Congrats!
Wow that’s amazing. I can hardly wait until my issue arrives.
Congratulations Marion, all of your hard work is paying off.
Congrats on the feature! By the way, I would have gone nuts with all that “mess” in my house and all those people stomping around. 🙂
Wow! I think my husband would have a canary to see our house turned upside down like that. I, on the other hand, would relish in it! Congrats Marian. You deserve it!
Thanks so much for this post. I LOVE behind-the-scenes things. 🙂
I learned years ago from your blog how to make my own stain from watered down crafty paints 😉 This is one of my favorite posts yo have shared! The Lord has given you a gift and an outlet to share it 🙂
Be Blessed
JK in FLorida
Congratulations! My issue of Country Living arrived last week but I didn’t start to read it till last night. I opened the cover and just new the picture featured in the table of contents was from your house. I wondered why you didn’t share it with your readers and now I know. I fell asleep before reading the article on you and your home but look forward to reading it tonight.
Many blessings to you. All of your hard work has paid off!
I realized it was your home right off the bat when I openened the cover! So happy for you! I’ve been following your blog for years.
Congratulations! It’s well deserved. I love your style.
Congratulations Marion on your success and the spread in Country Living magazine!
Love everything you do from your family life to work/professional endeavors!
You go girl!!
Congratulations Marian! So awesome for you! I wonder if I can get this magazine in New Zealand?
Congratulations! That’s awesome! Can’t wait to go out & pick up an issue. Something definitely to be proud of!
Marian,
That is incredible! I know you are favoring each and everyone of these moments!!
Best to many more,
Dionne
Just got my copy yesterday, and was so excited to see you in there! Yippee! I noticed the changes, and glad that you clarified what they had done. I like your original style better, but it was fun seeing it changed up a bit. It’s been fun to see how far you have come. Congratulations.
Congrats Marian-what a blessing and huge payoff for all your hard work!
Alicia
Eeeeee! So exciting! Seriously!
The way you described all the mess and how they worked, it is like I was there and trying to be out of the way and not to step on any cables. 😀
Greatly written, huge congrats on your feature and – wow – they are some serious photographers and stylers. 🙂
Marian, I am SO impressed that you got in Country Living!! To me that is major. And then finding out what they do on a shoot–ha! Not what I expected. Fascinating!!
I did look at Country Living and when I saw your pages I thought something is familiar but not quite right. Then I saw your family photo. Wow, that is Miss Mustard Seed’s home,yikes. I have to giggle when I see all of the boxes of props. I think you have so many of your own “props” and actually think your decorating is better than theirs.But, still…….kudos to you for making the pages of one of my most beloved magazines I have been reading since it’s beginning when Martha Stewart’s home was the featured home. When are you going to have your own show on HGTV? It needs a good decorating program!
Beautiful! My former home in Rhode Island was featured in a big magazine. One of my neighbors tipped me off. Talk about taking liberties! The guy featured was a renter and acted like he was
The king of the castle.
Congratulations!!
It must have been such fun! And you should feel really proud of the way your house looks. I would have a hear attack if anyone wanted to photograph the inside of my house! God forbid. How nice to add this magazine feature to your list of credentials.
I was so excited when my Country Living mag arrived last week and there you were! Honestly, I even felt proud to “know” you! Great accomplishment, Marian!
I opened my copy last night and recognized your house before I even got to the article. It must have been so much fun for you all to see it in print!
What a fun adventure for you! Now I am off to read my copy of Country Living. I would have opened it sooner had I known you were in it. Congrats, Marian!
I was so exited to see your beautiful home when I opened my March issue last night. Congratulations!
I have subscribed to country living for many years, congratulations on being part of it. It’s to bad Eulglie isn’t part of it she belongs there, but again congratulations beautiful article
Sorry I spelt her name wrong, Eulalie
Congratulations Marian! My copy came a couple of days ago and I haven’t opened it yet. I know what I’m doing when the kids go to bed tonight!
How awesome! I need to go get a copy of the magazine.
Congrats Marian!
I think you have it backwards, Marian, if I may be so bold. You shouldn’t be as beholden to them as they should be to you. I don’t know many people who were loyal Country Living enthusiasts (as I was) in the past, who are still. CL should be honored that Miss Mustard Seed had time to accomodate them! 😉 That given, I think you will set them back on the right path. I think I’ll go buy that March edition and see if they are really worthy. Good get!
Got my issue today and was so excited for you!!
Totally fun!!!!
Oh MMS, I recognized your space the minute I turned the page of my issue! How wonderful for you! I have been tweaking my home bit by bit ever since I discovered your blog. You have no idea how much of an influence and inspiration you have been. Over the last 4? years I have transformed my home with painted trim, painted kitchen cabinets, slip covered furniture ( awesome tutorials) , painted and refurbished furniture & lighting “finds” and even hacked off my peninsula style countertop to rebuild it as an island! Best bonus, All these changes helped speed up the acquisition of long desired carbonized bamboo flooring too! Sounds fast in print, but has been a slow budget conscious progression. So happy with results, so happy to have found your blog to spark all the changes. Just loving my little home more now! Much thanks & gratitude for all you do!!! Smiles, Kathleen
My March issue of CL came on Monday and I knew right away it was your house when I saw the contents page. It was interesting reading your post to how a magazine shoot works. The biggest surprise is hearing they would need to bring in 30 boxes of props in a house as beautiful as yours!
I wonder was it difficult for you seeing things get replaced or shuffled around without having any input? ( I would have lost it when I saw them replacing my beautiful dining chairs with the wooden ones.) Also, just wondering what your neighbors thought when they saw blackout sheets on your front windows? ha
How fun for you, but I know how nerve wracking it is. My house was in a magazine many years ago, I was exhausted when they left. Can’t wait to open my magazine.
i like magazines but i hate that they move things or add things to the rooms.
I was excited too when I saw your lovely, and somewhat familiar home in my CL mag. I’m so happy for you!
I would be so interested in how this will effect your business. If you see an increase in visitors, sales, opportunities, etc. Just out of curiosity. Can’t wait to pick up the issue and see what’s different. It is always interesting to see how they change a home even the color of paint on chairs or walls. How do they decide on the houses they will feature, do you have any of that inside info?
I can’t wait to see the pages since I subscribe. I had no idea just how much they stage the homes for their issue. Absolutely awesome for you to be a part of this magazine! WTG
Congrats Marian….As soon as I opened the CL issue, I was so pleasantly surprised….A most beautiful feature and loved the pic of your family!!!….
My Country Living arrived on Monday, and as I glanced through my attention was caught by the “wallpaper” in the bedroom, and I realized I had seen it before. I gasped, and quickly turned to the beginning of the article, and I was right! It was your home! So fun to realize! Congratulations!!
I just received my Country Living and saw the article! What fun!! You are really going places Marian 🙂
Well Blessed Be!!! Good on ya girlfriend ?. Picking up a copy today to see. What fun, you are living many a gals dream. So Inspiring?
How exciting for you Marian! Thank you for sharing! Will HAVE to go get a copy! God is so GOOD!
Way to go Marian!!! God is SO GOOD!
I like the comment SueSchneid22 posted…I agree 1000%!!!
So do you get to keep any of the props they used? Did you like anything they used or where you happy to get your home back just the way you had it??? I personally think your home is PERFECT as is!!!
Marian, the minute I opened the front cover and saw your house, I got so excited! I recognized it immediately (in spite of the rearranged furniture!). I noticed a couple of typos which is a shame, but it was such a treat to see your beautiful home and handiwork given so much coverage- loved it! So happy for you!!!
Congratulations Marian!!!
I am sure this is a Dream Come True! I know it would be for me.
Always interesting to see the behind the scenes and additions of the stylist…….Don’t think your home needed any tweeking though….Just Sayin’.
Love everything You do………Love everything They do….A match made in Heaven!
Can’t wait for my issue to arrive.
As soon as I saw the family room pic in the table of contents, I thought, “That really looks like Marian’s house?!” What a nice surprise 😉 .
Pleasant surprise to see a familiar place in the new issue! I recognized your home right away. How exciting for you! I just have to say though, that I actually think it’s a shame they had to rearrange and add/subtract things. We weren’t seeing the “real” you. I mean, if they liked your home enough to feature it, why bring in all this stuff that’s not yours, and then rearrange everything? And to take out Eulalie???? I’m sorry, but that’s just a travesty, esp to your fans who’ve been following you for a long time.
I was so excited to see you and your fasmily and beautifil home in Country Living this month. I really enjoyed ready the article and looking at the pictures. You are so talented! I can only imagine how wonderful that must make you feel. I must admit that I was a bit disappointed that they moved Eulalie from her normal spot. She should have made the pages of Country Living. Makes me happy to know that you returned her back to her home! BTW, please come visit TN. You know the Country Living Fair is coming back to Lebanon TN.
Sooo exciting Marian!! Big congratulations!!
It’s great to read about the behind the scenes! I WAS wondering about some of those changes. So happy for you…you deserve it!!
A big congratulations to you I have watched your
Growth since 2010 and have enjoyed watching how may I ask did the shoot come about does one submut pictures and contact them or did they contact you I hope that is not too personal to ask I would love to have our farmhouse photographed someday!! Love the quote you posted in Instagram!!!
I knew it was your house instantly when I saw the contents page – I squealed too! How fantastic and how proud you and your family must be – congrats!!
It was super fun to get my issue and see your home! It was beautiful. You deserve the recognition! Very exciting!!
Wow congratulations!!! That’s awesome 🙂 Such a cool experience
Lauren | Lovely Decor
xx
Got my Country Living in the mail this weekend, and said to myself, ” I know that house!” Though, I have never officially been to your home ;). Your home looks even prettier in full color, glossy print!
Congratulations and hope you frame these pages…in wonderful chippy colored frames!
Congratulations on your home being featured in Country Living, Marian! It was a lovely article and photo spread and it inspired me to check out your website, which is also wonderful. The really enjoyable part is that your home is so “real” and cozy, and reflects your individual vision and spirit. I knew home magazine pieces are somewhat staged, but it was very interesting to see how the editors introduced the staging changes–thanks for those photos on your site! I also prefer your cows and your dining room chairs. Catchiest idea: The Varsity Valance in the boys’ room. Now that’s what I call vision! Thank you for sharing.