Behind the Scenes of Better Homes & Gardens

I’ve been practically bursting at the seams with excitement, and so ready to share my experience at the Better Homes and Gardens headquarters a couple of weeks ago. I mentioned a while back, that I was going to be working with Better Homes and Garden products at Walmart over the next several months, and sharing styling ideas and tips right here with you. At the time I didn’t know who the other bloggers were, but when I found out…I was floored! I’m in a group of 25 influential home decor, DIY, craft, and nesting bloggers, with some of the top names in the business {Tatertots and Jello, Centsational Girl, I Heart Naptime, etc}. I could just pinch my self to make sure it’s real!

We were brought out to Des Moines where the headquarters is located, and spent a full day on site learning about the product line, attending styling workshops with BHG editors, and seeing the behind-the-scenes action that brings magic to the printed pages each month. The day goes down as one of the top experiences of my lifetime. I’ve been reading BHG since I was a little girl, and always thought what a cool job it must be to work for a magazine like that. To see how it all happens was just so surreal!

Here’s a look at our incredible day. All the products and displays are from the BHG at Walmart line. I think you’ll be impressed. I’ll also take you inside the photo warehouse, the prop “closet”, the test garden, and more.

• We began the morning with a styling workshop and introduction to the product line. This was a sneak peek at all the newest items that aren’t even in the stores yet {but they will be soon!}. There was a dining room display, a living/family room, and a bedroom. Everything in the photos is from the BHG line at Walmart. VERY chic and trendy, right! And since they’re at Walmart, the prices are affordable, making it easy to change things around from season to season.
• I love the mix-n-match dishes with ‘beaded’ rims in the dining room, and the horse-print pillows and throw in the living room – LOVE!

• Next, we went to the demo kitchen with food and entertaining editor, Nancy. She showed us the holiday dishes coming out, and other kitchen items. She demonstrated several centerpiece ideas, and some quick and easy ideas for last minute entertaining.
• Nancy was a hoot. Lively and witty, and the kind of gal you want to have as one of your best girlfriends. I would have loved the chance to sit down and pick her brain!

• We had a workshop with Eddie Ross too. Wish I had a photo but the room was dark so I couldn’t get a good one {although I have one on IG here}. He showed us how to dress up everyday items from the product line, like faux silk curtains, lamp shades, and picture frames, using simple craft supplies {trims, glue gun, mod-podge, upholstery tacks, etc}. Eddie is such a rock star in the styling world, and yet such a gracious person.
• Above is a basic frame that he turned into “tortoise shell” using wrapping paper and mod-podge. Doesn’t it look incredibly high end! The inside matte is covered in metallic tape.

• One of my favorite parts of the facility tour was seeing the photo studio. It’s a huge, warehouse-style area with about a dozen 3-sided “rooms” that can be turned in to anything they dream up. They have a full carpentry area where they build shelving, floors, wall panels, and more. The floors and walls are painted over and over again, and in one of the spaces the floor had been painted so many times over the past decades, it was actually an inch or two higher than the regular floor.
• There were two bedrooms set up for us to view the products, and I think they will be used in some online marketing. I love the headboards and bedding shown here, and the hanging lantern lights are fantastic!
• For a more ‘glam’ look, the neutral bedding is soft and pretty with textured detail.

• I loved all the organization they had in the “pantry” and “laundry room” displays.
• They also demonstrated how you can use the same storage bins as gift baskets to hold gift items.

• Although I don’t have a green thumb, I LOVED seeing the BHG private test garden. It’s gorgeous, and they use it to study how well different plants grow in certain environments, best care tactics, etc. I found it interesting that any story they create now will not be in print until a year from now. It’s pretty obvious because of the seasons, but interesting nonetheless.
• They also use the garden for photo shoots when they need an outdoor space.

• I think we ALL drooled when we saw the prop rooms! Towers and rows of dishes and glasses, walls of chairs and tables, rooms with faux doors and walls. It was AMAZING.
• Our prop guide told us they keep things for a long time, but as soon as it starts to look dated they have to get rid of it. That way they always look current and fresh, and on trend.

• We were fortunate to see a food styling shoot in progress. That was quite a treat to see! This is in the photo warehouse space, and they have several small working kitchens dispersed among the 3-sided rooms so they can shoot food stories.
• The actual test kitchen is near the pretty demo kitchen {above with Nancy} and we were able to see them making and testing real recipes that will make it into the magazine. One lady was working on a savory dish on one side, while another gal was decorating Christmas cookies so she could test the icing. And if that wasn’t cool enough, we watched the food editor taste a new recipe and give feedback and recommendations.

• Finally, the library where they keep all the cookbooks of the past, published by Meredith. We all loved how they wrapped the books with vellum so they look uniform on the shelves. You’re still able to see the interesting covers and read the titles, but the vellum adds a clean, modern look to the grouping.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this tour as much as I did. I’m so excited to be working with BHG and the Better Homes and Gardens products at Walmart. I’ll be sharing my first styling project next month!

Let me know what you think of all these stylish items, and the behind-the-scenes look, too!

 

This post is sponsored, as I am partnering with BHG at Walmart to create ideas for stylish entertaining. All opinions are my own.

 

 

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