I will be the first to admit that I’m a perfectionist and that my Instagram feed is curated and planned. The photos you see on my blog and feed are not daily life my friends! My interior design photo shoots are ALWAYS partially staged. I want to create beautiful and livable interiors, but “photo shoot” days are often aspirational. Not many of us have fresh flowers in the house all the time, or perfectly ironed tea towels. Professional photography makes any room look 50% better alone.

I am also the first to admit that I LIVE for and love the photo shoot days. Seeing the interiors I design or style come to life is so much FUN! But perfectly styled rooms don’t last long in the real world, and with my first baby nearing 4 months old (even with all my organizing) there is still stuff ALL over my house!

When Kyla from House of Hipsters told me she was getting some blogger pals together for a No Makeup Home Tour, I jumped at the chance to participate. I love when people on social media try to keep it real. The idea behind these tours is to strip away some of that Instagram lifestyle perfection and give you a real look at our homes.

So full disclosure…I took our “real” non photo shoot photos after cleaning the house (cause I don’t want you to see my dust bunnies!) and on my iphone, because I want you to see the difference between a staged/professional photo and just daily life. I will also add that we are both sort of neat freaks in general (meaning I do not like clutter, period) and with a baby who is not yet crawling, we have not had to baby proof, although that is coming very shortly I think!

I thought it would be fun to pair a photo shoot photo, along side my daily life photo. Here’s a little look into our REAL daily life. Don’t miss the other awesome bloggers participating in this No Makeup Home Tour, everyone is linked at the end of the post. Some of my very favorite bloggers are showing you their dirty laundry too. Just remember, no one’s home is perfect. At the end of the post, you’ll see our never before shown on the internet (ha!) first floor bathroom. This is the one room left in the house to renovate (our backyard needs help too) and we will likely wait another year to tackle both the bathroom and yard – because even designers get tired of renovating their own house! : )

THE NO MAKEUP HOME TOUR    ——————————————————————————————————

Exhibit A: Bedroom Nightstand

Photo Shoot Day: Nothing on nightstand except fresh flowers, outlet hidden by books and lamp cord is in the drawer. We do have a hole drilled into top of nightstand to help with cord management.

Daily Life: Cord management has gone by the wayside! Baby monitor, computer, hot pad, lamp, cell phone – too many cords! #nomoreflowers

Exhibit B: Living Room

Photo Shoot Day: Clean, bright and uncluttered – more flowers! Professional photography working all the angles.

Daily Life: The house is clean, but it does not look nearly as bright or shiny as the professional pictures. This is a north facing room, and I’m always wanting more natural light. We’ve got baby stuff out all the time and usually crap on the coffee table too. 

Exhibit C: Kitchen Sink

Photo Shoot Day: Produce casually hanging out on the cutting board, while fresh flowers and an un-touched soap holder look perfectly pretty.

Daily Life: There are always dishes out. Oh yea, people have sponges! You’ll never see a sponge on a kitchen shoot!

Exhibit D – The Mudroom

Photo Shoot Day: More flowers! Perfectly un-cluttered. I only own one jacket and one hat (ha!)

Daily Life: This is pretty clean…usually there are A LOT more shoes, but I think Luke had just moved them all since we swept up. The diaper bag and carseat live here too – I should have shoved them into the picture, but I think they are behind where I’m shooting. Anyway, you get the idea!

Exhibit E: Our NEVER before seen bathroom!

Honestly, it’s funny how silly it is to be embarrassed by these less than perfect areas in the house. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve felt the need to tell guests that this bathroom still “needs work.” I do think it will be a fun space to makeover when the the time is right. While it doesn’t look too bad in these photos, it’s got a lot of cracking tiles, the grout is beyond dirty and cabinetry is starting to fall apart. 

Do not miss all these other fabulous NO MAKEUP HOME TOURS (all linked below!), and thanks to Kyla for including me and encouraging us all to KEEP IT REAL!

Anita Yokota

Anne Sage

Bigger Than The Three Of Us

brittanyMakes

Centered by Design

copycatchic

Erica Reitman

Francois et Moi

House Of Brinson

House Of Hipsters

The Makerista

Making It Lovely

Megan Pflug Designs

Oleander + Palm

Room For Tuesday

Yellow Brick Home

XO – CLAIRE