The Homeworthy video shoot is over, and I survived! Now I can sit back and enjoy the fruits of my labors.

Today I am sharing my shoot experience, plus a picture tour of some of the rooms in my coastal Maine home all prepped, primped, and now ready for summer guests! Including you!

Behind the Scenes at My Homeworthy Shoot

Homeworthy came and went, and I am happy to report that I am still standing.

Don’t get me wrong, Ashley, the remote Homeworthy producer, and Tom, a locally contracted videographer, were fantastic! They were kind, supportive, and patient with this introvert’s fumbling and bumbling in front of the camera.

I am, after all, definitely more comfortable behind the camera. And more eloquent at the keyboard.

For those of you who have not watched a Homeworthy tour (and you really must!), they are basically a monologue on the part of the homeowner, as they lead you from room to room around the house.

Before the camera started rolling, Ashley would remind me what I wanted to talk about in each room or prompt me with a question.

And then sometimes my mind would go blank…

I also found it hard within this structure to work in some of the larger themes and storylines — how the original property has been transformed, the creative aspect of home design I love, and how my vision for this home has driven my design decisions.

Those things are ultimately what this blog is all about, I suppose.

I am confident, though, that in the end the Homeworthy editors will work their magic and turn all the short takes into a wonderful cohesive whole. Cutting and reworking those parts where I fumbled.

Like at the end when I said this home was a place for friends and family to “relax and rewind”. Um, rewind?? That would be a mix of “unwind” and “recharge”…

I am, of course, so very grateful for the incredible opportunity to be featured by Homeworthy. It is something I never could have even dreamed of.

And I am proud that I stepped (way) outside my comfort zone, even if I wasn’t as poised and well spoken as I would have wished.

My episode should be released in 3-4 weeks!

My Prepped and Primped Home

As you all know, I did quite a bit of work before the shoot to get the house ready.

I have had photo crews come to the house before for magazine and book shoots.

But a video shoot is different.

At a photo shoot, they concentrate on one photo of one view at a time. Outside the camera frame there can be a mess, with stuff moved out of the way.

Since a video camera sweeps through whole rooms at a time, though, the entire space must be camera-ready.

So, I prepped and primped every inch of each room that was a part of the tour.

The upside to this is that, for the moment, my home is the most tidy and put-together it has ever been. I weeded and planted my garden beds. And filled the pots on the deck with summer flowers. The front door has a coat of fresh paint. And the white trim was pressure-washed clean.

After the videographer left yesterday, I couldn’t resist the opportunity to go around and snap some pics.

Before the rooms return to their usual state of everyday life.

(Which, by the way, I happen to love too.)

So here is a post-Homeworthy photo tour of some of the shoot rooms, prepped, primped and now ready for summer guests!

The Kitchen

The kitchen was the only room where I did some real editing.

Because, do people need to see my white plastic countertop compost bin? Or the paper towel roll? Tuck and Izzie’s thyroid medications? You get the idea…

I left the dish drain, soap, and brushes, and my four crocks filled with cooking utensils. I have purposely chosen these items to be both functional and beautiful. It makes everyday life just a little more lovely!

I love our coffee maker, but, alas, it is not one of those sleek shiny Italian ones. It still stayed.

Some of my pretty dish towels got dressed up for the shoot with a good pressing. Not something I do for everyday, but they sure look good. Now I don’t want to use them!

The morning of the shoot I gathered lupine and other wildflowers from the field for very casual arrangements on the island.

And the night before I baked a rhubarb cake. A sweet treat that I am still enjoying!

I shared a link to the recipe for this easy rhubarb cake (as well as other ways to cook with this tart early summer vegetable) in my blog post Enjoying the Best of Coastal Maine Early Summer.

The Dining Area

The only thing I did in the dining area was to set a simple table.

Maddie and Cisco’s dog food container, which I keep in here, is a wonderful large antique faux wood grain tin flour bin. It doubles as a plant stand. And their food dishes are pretty blue and white porcelain numbers from Caskata. So of course they all stayed.

Yay for beautiful everyday items in your home!

In preparation for the shoot, I added my simple summer decor to the mantel — sea fans, a few starfish, and a wreath made from local mussel and clam shells.

To forestall any questions: No, that is not the Danish flag hanging over the fireplace opening. It is a nautical flag, which represents the letter X and also means “Stop carrying out your intentions and watch for my signals.”

That is an interesting message, ha!

The Living Room

All I did in the living room was to wash a few slipcovers, fluff the throw pillows, and refresh the flowers on the coffee table ottoman.

Easy!

It was hard to tell how much Maddie and Cisco were included in the video footage.

You know you can always find them here on the blog, though!

Primary Bedroom

Of course I had to tidy up all the stuff that inevitably ends up littering a bedroom.

But then I just added some peonies from a local stand to the bedside table and called it done.

The Captain’s Bedroom

The bed in the Captain’s Bedrooom is Cisco’s favorite.

To keep the white sheets and bedcover clean and fur-free, I pull the navy blue duvet, which is meant to be folded at the foot of the bed, all the way up over the pillows.

Still, sometimes I go in there and he has pulled the duvet back and is resting his sweet furry head on the white pillows.

I still love him.

Yes, I could shut the door to that bedroom, but I like to have the view out the front windows. And Cisco loves this bed so much!

For the shoot, all I did was pull the duvet back and refold it.

Done!

Back Porch/Deck

I worked hard during the weeks before Homeworthy came to plant all the pots on the deck.

Now they are ready for summer!

I also set the table on the deck in red, white, and blue. I will probably use this setting again when I have friends visit for the July 4th holiday!

Do you remember when I painted these buoys last summer?

Thanks for joining me on the tour!

This Week Into Next

Up close and personal with Cisco, pant pant…

As are many of you, we are in the midst of a heat wave here in Maine.

Inland, the temps are sweltering, in the 90’s.

Portland is baking at 88°.

But here on the coast we are a temperate 73°! I opened all the windows and a breeze is blowing cool air off the ocean, which is in the low 50’s.

I complain a lot in the spring about how the water keeps our temps 10-plus degrees colder than areas a short drive up the peninsula.

This is when we get payback, and I can sit back and enjoy my free ocean-fueled cooling system!

I hope that all of you enduring extreme heat are managing to stay cool with the real kind of air conditioning.

This week In Zoe’s Kitchen is all about zucchini. Zoë is sharing recipes for Caramelized Zucchini Pasta and Zucchini Lentil Fritters. The fritters are a family favorite!

That’s it for this week!

You can read more about Homeworthy, including some of my favorite posts in last week’s blog post.

I am off to Milwaukee and then Chicago, where I won’t be able to enjoy the benefits of my natural air conditioning…

Be well and stay cool, friends!

Molly

Highlighting coastal decor and lifestyle, Maddie and Cisco, and the way life should be...

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