A friend asked me the other day, “Why would someone want to get published?”
To be honest, the question kind of befuddled me for a moment. Isn’t the answer obvious?
But then I realised that if you don’t work in the publishing or design world, there’s probably a fair bit of mystery around why someone might want their real-life home photographed, styled and printed in the pages of a magazine, or featured online.
The truth is, when an individual, couple or family commits to building or renovating a home, they’re often going to extraordinary lengths to create the home they’ve envisaged. There’s a lot of time, energy and expense involved — and, more often than not, a fair amount of blood, sweat and tears along the way as they make calls, weigh up the pros and cons, consider their budget, manage trades... The list goes on.
So, it’s understandable that, once the dust has settled (literally), there might be a little desire to see all that hard work recognised.
As the cogs in my mind ticked through this thought process (something I suppose I’d always understood intuitively), I blurted out an answer to my friend along the lines of: to see all the hard work, energy, money and time that’s gone into creating a home recognised by the wider styling and design community.
I was pretty pleased with my answer.
But as I walked away from the conversation, I kept thinking about the question. Because, actually, I think there’s more to it than recognition. There’s something really lovely about knowing that the decisions you’ve made — both big and small — might go on to inspire someone else who is building or renovating their own home.
The design and building community is wonderfully diverse, creative and, perhaps more importantly, accessible. Never before have we had such easy access to ideas and inspiration. We can scroll, save, bookmark and dream our way through an almost endless stream of beautiful spaces.
So, when we’re able to help a worthy project find its way into a publication, and then help style the home so it translates beautifully through the lens and onto the page or screen, there’s a real sense of satisfaction in knowing we’ve played a small part in that chain of inspiration.
We love seeing homes we’ve styled appear in the pages of Australian magazines that have become household names, including publications like Country Style, Home Beautiful and Belle magazine.
Seeing work we’ve done — in print — never really gets old.
So, how do you actually get your home published?
This is something many people don’t realise, and one of the reasons I wanted to write this journal article: that when we’re engaged to style a shoot, pitching the project to relevant publications is a complimentary part of what we do.
After years of working with magazines and online publications, we’ve built a lovely network of editors, journalists, photographers and other people across the industry. Sometimes, a publication will come to us looking for a particular kind of home or project. Other times, we’ll reach out to an editor with a home we think would be a great fit for their readership.
There’s no secret formula, and being published isn’t simply a matter of having an expensive kitchen or a beautifully renovated bathroom. Editors are looking for homes with a point of view — spaces that feel interesting and inspiring, and that have a story to tell. Oftentimes, it’s the homes that feel the most genuinely lived-in and personal that make the most compelling stories.
So, if you’ve ever thought, “I’d love to have my home published,” or perhaps you know of a home that you think should be, come and talk to us. Send us an enquiry or book a consultation. We’d genuinely love to hear from you — and to discover a few more of the wonderful, character-filled Australian homes out there.
Styling by Wholehearted Studio, Shoot Photography by Mindi Cooke.
