We're on TV! The house's moment of fame

We're on TV! The house's moment of fame

• 2.09.2024

I have some very exciting news that I haven't put up here on the blog yet, and it's time. Last summer a film crew came and shot at our house over two and a half days, showing all the projects, pretty vignettes, and family moments in our home. We're now in an episode of Diary of an Old Home, a charming series on Magnolia Network!

Our Diary of an Old Home Episode

The production company that makes the show is based out of Portland and found me through Instagram. They wanted to know if I was about done with renovations on the house (I am) and asked for some more photos and info. They ran it by their team and their client at Magnolia, and I passed the test!

We scheduled filming for a weekend in late June, which gave me time to finish a couple little projects and get things cleaned up. They didn't pay me, but they gave me a small stipend which I used to pay for some landscape cleanup.

The sunny weekend in June approached and we coordinated schedules--it was mostly outside my work hours but I'd have the kids around, and they would be in some of the shots but we also needed lots of time at the house without them there.

The first day, only the directory and videographer came to scope things out. They took some test shots and I gave them the tour, and they confirmed which areas they wanted to show the most.

The next two days the full crew was there, complete with a huge van full of equipment and even "craft services" (film lingo for snacks).

They had some serious equipment for capturing steady shots through the house, and used artificial lighting to make it extra light. They even changed out some bulbs to the right temperature for the look. See the difference in these two pics below--the bottom one is with a light on a stand also shining into the room!

It was really cool to watch them work and hear them talk about what they liked about each shot. Made me feel really special to have my home be the subject of all this attention. :)

Another room where I enjoyed the extra light. This office is north-facing and always so dark.

The little screen below shows what the cameraman is seeing. It was so exciting to see my bedroom on the screen shot with professional equipment! And candles lit and the slow pan. Had the Magnolia network vibe already.

They shot some footage of me and the kids including outside that is really charming. I am so grateful for this backyard space in the summer. And my sweet friend helped me make it extra welcoming for the show by bringing and potting a lot of those planters.

The interview portion was the second day and they filmed me for about two hours talking about the home and answering questions back. The entire episode is only about 15 minutes so they didn't use all of this, but we covered a lot of topics so they could choose what worked with the footage. I talked about the history of the house (built in 1937 for a man named Robert Busch who owned a car repair shop a few blocks away, Tudor revival style which has characteristic features such as the steeply pitched roof and leaded glass windows, we bought it from a family who had owned it for 30 years and started work on it when Otto was a newborn, etc.....). I also talked about my decor style and some favorite projects.

Then I put it out of my mind for months cause it didn't air till December and I couldn't share about the network, etc. prior! Now I've seen it several times and it is so, so cool to see my home looking its best and getting so much respect and a moment in the spotlight. It's also very personal cause it shows me and the kids in our home and makes me feel really grateful.

Here's more info on how to watch--I have Discovery+ so I watch it there, but you can also find it on TV, HBO Max, or Amazon.

My friend Ciara's home was on episode 10! and I recognize a couple of the other homes from bloggers/influencers, too. It's really fun to see the different styles of older homes and how people live in them now. (Plus, each episode is short so you can watch them even when you're short on downtime like I always am.) Highly recommend Diary of an Old Home!