Tile Shop Photo Shoot – Behind the Scenes

A few weeks ago I was so thrilled to welcome Megan and Brian from The Tile Shop into my home for my kitchen’s first photo shoot!

Before my DIY tile backsplash was even finished I received an email from Megan saying they wanted to use pictures of my upgraded kitchen for their national advertising!

WHA?!!

I said, “Heck yeah, sign me up!” faster than you can smooth a caulk line, and a few weeks later I was pulling all-nighters scrubbing my cabinets and polishing my granite to get my kitchen ready for its close-up!

Once Megan and Brian arrived, our first order of business was shopping.  We hit up Pottery Barn, Williams-Sonoma, and Target in search of accessories that would give my kitchen some pops of color.  Adding color (huh?) and accessories (who?) to my typically bare kitchen is a totally foreign concept to me, but luckily Megan and Brian are pros at this sort of thing.  They can tear up a Target aisle quicker than a two-year-old, and before you know it you’ve got a cart full of coordinated and interesting accessories!  I was in awe.  I seriously need to take notes next time.

 

One of the things I loved about the Tile Shop photo shoot is that it wasn’t 100% up to me to style my kitchen.  In fact, I’d say the split was more like 5% me, 95% Megan and Brian.  Thank goodness for no pressure!  I got to weigh-in with my opinions (and change or add whatever I wanted) but for the most part I could just sit back and watch them work their magic.  What a relief!

 

 

How gorgeous is that styling?!

At first I was all, “Holy crap, my kitchen looks good enough to be in a magazine!”

And then I was all, “Oh yeah, that’s right.  It will be!!”

Want to know how it all came together?  Here’s the breakdown:

• The two vases by the sink are both from Target (I picked out the white one and Megan picked out the red one).  Brian and Megan chose the flowers, and Megan styled them.  I love the red tulips they chose – they were so beautiful!
• The place-settings were styled by me with placemats, chargers, and dishes I already had, and new napkins from Pottery Barn.
• The burlap wine bag on the island was found by Brian at Pottery Barn and it’s another one of my favorite items!  It says “Cheers” down the side and ties at the top with twine.  (Such a great find, Brian!)
• I picked out the red pitcher at Target (its kind of hiding at this angle) and added a wooden spoon to it at the last minute for a pop of the tan color in that corner of the set-up.
• The glass hinge-topped water holder (best seen in the picture above) was another Target find, and I think Brian was the one who spotted this one, too!
• The large white bowl, chosen by Megan, is absolutely stunning.  It’s lined inside with gray and I love it so much that it now lives on our island and acts as our new fruit bowl!  Speaking of fruit, Brian and Megan snagged the apples and pomegranates – the perfect addition to our red accessories theme.
• Last but not least, at the front of the island vignette is a plate of my family’s favorite homemade granola bars, freshly baked by yours truly the night before the shoot.  I made them for Megan and Brian in case they got hungry while they were here, and as we put the finishing touches on our set-up I thought we needed a little something down in front that was lower and tied in some of the browns.  The plate of granola bars turned out to be just the right touch!  (They had cranberries in them too, which I thought was kind of funny because it also worked with our red theme chosen than morning.)
• Last but not least – the red kitchen towels hanging from the stove (barely seen from this angle, but they’re there) are from Williams-Sonoma and match the napkins perfectly!

With the kitchen all set-up, it was time to focus on lighting.  I was in awe watching Megan and Brian work their magic as they moved around big black umbrella-looking things and lighting units, taking my kitchen to a whole new level!

More of our mess, the overall set-up, and a pic of Brian – isn’t he such a cutie? I swear these two should have jobs in FRONT of the camera instead of behind it!

 

After all that, it was time for Megan to start snapping away!

 

I had SO MUCH FUN sipping on my Starbucks and watching my kitchen being photographed!

Once they wanted me in the shot, however…well, let’s just say “Professional Model” is NOT in the cards for me.

At all.

Yikes, I was so nervous!

I even busted into the bottle of red that was holding up that adorable burlap “Cheers” wine bag on the island, but even that didn’t calm my nerves!

I should have started drinking at breakfast.

I should’ve known better by now!

Nerves aside, overall, it was a fabulous day!  It was such a pleasure meeting Megan and Brian and to welcome them into my home, and I’m thrilled beyond belief that they’re featuring my kitchen’s DIY tile project in their national advertising.  It is such an honor!

I hope you enjoyed this little behind-the-scenes look at my house’s first photo shoot!

But wait – my Tile Shop adventures aren’t over yet!  Later this week I’ll be sharing some of Megan’s pictures from the shoot!  Andplusalso – have you heard?  I’m this month’s featured blogger at TileShop.com!  Check it out to see some “after” pictures before they even hit my blog, along with my project write-up and DIY tile tips!