Has anyone had their kitchen featured in one of those glossy house magazines?

[Peg]

The company that made my kitchen have organised a journalist to come see it and interview me with a view to having an article published in one of those 'beautiful homes' type magazines. I assume their angle will be on the handmadeness of it, and the fact that it is sited unconventionally on the top floor of the house.
I'm not entirely sure I want my house to appear in print and I am thinking of questions I'll need answers to... like do I get paid? Do they bring props for the photo shoot? Do I need to appear in shot? Will they professionally clean it first?
The journalist is coming tomorrow for an initial fact find and to get some quick shots to give an idea of how the article would be illustrated.

Has anyone in Chowland any experience of this? Can you give me any hints and tips?

[Peg]

Well, apparently the magazines want 'quirky' and 'good use of space'. I guess I qualify on both counts.. I made it clear I am not wild about the idea, so it remains to be seen if his goes anywhere.
Thanks for the input from everyone!

[Isolda]

This isn't the same thing, but it may be relevant. Last year, we went through the process required to be on a US show in which your house is shown on a television show through all the stages of restoration. It is then often featured in a magazine by the same company. We made the top three, but not the final cut, and I am still thankful a year later. I have since learned that once you are chosen, you have zero control. I won't go into the construction bits, because that's not relevant, but some of what we learned does apply to you. For the shoot, your house has to be in perfect shape.You are responsible for this. If, for example, you need a bowl of lemons to make it look good, you go out and buy the lemons, as well as the bowl, if that is needed. You are not compensated in any way. If they want the owners in a shot, you'll be in the shot. (The people we worked with were very into personality, so maybe it is different for your situation.)

After all of this, I realized that privacy is very important to me and I am so grateful that my home isn't splashed all over the pages of a magazine forever. And it will be forever if you do this, because most of this stuff is online and has a digital life over which you have no control. My sense is that this sort of thing is for people who really enjoy attention.

[bagelman01]

Peg,
My wife is a designer/builder. Last year her sister's house (which my wife designed) was in one of those magazines.
#1 you genrally do not get paid, but it is open to negotiation
#2 you may appear in it, sisterin Law, husband, kids and dogs were in shots
#3 It is expected that the area be spotless when the crew arrives, they don't expect to have top clean before shooting
#4 There will be mistakes in the copy and you have no editorial control

#5 There are DOWNSIDES.....after seeing the magazine the local tax assessor, raised the assessment on the house and taxes are up. Our town is only obligated to reassess every 10 years and all the work had been done after the last assessment, so instead of having nine years at the old rate and a reassessmment with nine year old improvements, there is a new tax bill on brand new improvements. This also caused the need for higher insurance coverage.

[Peg]

Thanks bagelman01 - I'm wondering now why people would want to be in a magazine - unless maybe they were planning on selling their house (which I am not).

In the UK (where I am) i know I can ask for my name and location to be omitted from the article in some magazines - and I can ask that a model be used to pose as the owner - so hopefully that would keep the taxman away.
The only reason I'm even considering this is because of all the lovely local people who made various parts of the kitchen (and adjoining open plan living space) and I'd like them to get national exposure.

[KaimukiMan]

that is the reason to do it. i've had a couple of my projects show up in magazines and it is nice to be able to bring a copy along when meeting with a client to show them that my work was good enough to get published. Generally if you are having a kitchen remodeling done a building permit is required because you are likely to be doing plumbing and electrical work, and that can trigger the tax issues bagelman mentioned, even without it being photographed. And if you do upgrade something in your home you probably want to be sure it is insured if it increases the property value. Some people like to be in the pictures, some don't, and the choice may not be yours, even if they take pics with you in them, they may not choose those shots. They may or may not choose to print your name, and that is often negotiable, some people are very private about such things and would not allow their name to be used.

The photographer is very likely to bring props, and likely to move your stuff around, or remove it . Bagelman is correct that they do expect things to be spotless when they arrive, and they will also leave it that way. Since it is the contractor who wants to get the work published then the contractor will usually be willing to either clean the area or hire someone to do it.

[bagelman01]

Reasons why weople want their home in a magazine

#1 ego

#2 Pride

#3 to help promote, architect, craftsmen, designer, etc

#4 to get future discounts from those mentioned in #3

#5 obligation to those mentioned in #3

My wife did not charge her sister for designing and acting as general contractor for the total house renovation/expansion. Sister felt she owed my wife the 'good press' plus sister has a huge ego and wanted all her friends and former schoolmates to know how ell she's doing financially.