Instagram iconInstagram icon
Facebook iconFacebook icon
pinterest iconpinterest icon
YouTube iconYouTube icon
Tiktok iconTiktok icon
LTK iconLTK icon

At Night

At the end of this post, we were called out last week by Julia – one of our go-to text-ing ladies for home advice – when she said, evening shots on home blogs – a rarity. It feels so elusive and mysterious. Ah, touché, Julia.

This made us realize – well, she’s right! We’ve never shared snaps of our home at night. When sharing photos here, we’re all about the natural light – sometimes putting off photographing a finished project until the next day (or the day after) when the light is just right.  Chasing the light; that’s a big part of every finished post you’ve seen here.

But it’s funny, because it’s those moments at the end of the day, sans daylight – with Scott and the kids – that we feel the most relaxed and cozy in this home we’ve (so lovingly) tweaked. It’s at night when the lights are dim, when we catch up over dinner – and let’s face it, when there’s a big glass of wine involved, that we feel so at home. Over the last 5 years, we’ve upgraded almost every light fixture to a dimmer switch, and as the hours pass into the evening – as silly as this may seem – we’ve perfected the mood-light level in our home. At night, there are no harsh lights, colors seem to fade, and we focus on relaxing, re-charging.

Julia was right – we rarely get to see our favorite homes in the evening. So, we want to know. How do yours look? (Admittedly, it was a bit of a photographic challenge, too. But who needs daylight when you’ve got a tripod?)

And PS… don’t be fooled by the light from the window in the first photo. We have street lights directly outside; I suppose that comes with the territory in a second floor home, right?

Add a comment...

Your email is never published or shared. Required fields are marked *

  • Hannah K3.28.13 - 7:37 AM

    That first shot looks just. so. cozy.

    I live on a corner, so we’ve got street lights outside, too, and a parking lot with lights across the street. We have acombo dining & living room – with an overhead (with dimmer!) in the dining room and two low-light lamps in the living room. Yep – we love mood lighting, too!ReplyCancel

  • Shannon3.28.13 - 8:36 AM

    Seriously, your kids are the cutest. I love them!ReplyCancel

  • Julia [Chris Loves Julia]3.28.13 - 8:42 AM

    Aw, yay! I feel like this is going to catch on. ;) Cozy. Cozy.ReplyCancel

  • Shannon3.28.13 - 8:53 AM

    P.s. How is your Loring sofa holding up? It doesn’t look to be becoming frumpy at all, but just wanted to check as were in the market for another sofa! :)

    ShannonReplyCancel

  • Carrie @DreamGreenDIY3.28.13 - 9:15 AM

    VERY COOL! Such a different perspective…

    Question…How DID you achieve such nice photos at night? Just a tripod and slow shutter? We have a basement room that has no windows but needs a photo shoot – I keep putting it off because I don’t know HOW to shoot it…Any suggestions would be appreciated!ReplyCancel

    • Kim3.28.13 - 9:42 AM

      Shannon, we are obsessed with our Loring sofa. It has some very light sagging in the middle of the cushions, but it’s only because Jack “licked” our cushions to the point of no return when we first adopted him – like, he literally licked the fabric so much, it separated from the cushion. It’s not that noticeable, and if we smooth our cushions at night, the wrinkly/sagging look goes away. In any case, we love the shape, and we like to think that if we ever have a home where we need a different sofa (bigger, for example), we’ll still keep this one! We’d ever upholster it again one day if we needed to. (Don’t you think it would be so pretty in blue?)

      Carrie, thanks! I took a few photos on the tripod from all the angles you see here, and for some of them, I had to shoot 2 photos from the same perspective – one long exposure for the foreground, and one (with a much faster shutter speed) for the light source. Then I merged the 2 in Photoshop and tweaked the levels until it was as true to life as possible! Not gonna lie, it’s not the easiest to shoot at night, but I kept at it until I was able to present the most accurate representation.ReplyCancel

  • Rebelwerewolf3.28.13 - 9:42 AM

    The majority of our pictures are taken in the evening, because that’s when I’m home. That’s why they always have glowing red eyes, because Badger especially is impossible to see in pictures with dim lighting. I’m with Carrie – how did you get your pictures to turn out so nicely?ReplyCancel

  • Kim3.28.13 - 9:56 AM

    Rebelwerewolf, in addition to what I told Carrie (above), a lot of patience! I played with the images in Photoshop so it was as true to life as possible – and blending exposures.ReplyCancel

  • Meg @ Radical Possibility3.28.13 - 10:26 AM

    These are gorgeous! All of my evening pictures are not nearly as serene :)

    We are also second-story dwellers with a street light right outside, and its become a nightlight of sorts for us. I think I’ll miss it if we ever move!ReplyCancel

  • Melissa3.28.13 - 10:30 AM

    These photos are beautiful. They feel so “real” and cozy, like a true peek into your lives. People should try this more often!ReplyCancel

    • Kim3.28.13 - 10:44 AM

      Thanks, guys! The kiddos are really the stars of the show though. Show-offs.

      Meg, I know what you mean. There’s something very reassuring about having our own night light!ReplyCancel

  • Emma3.28.13 - 1:44 PM

    Love the fluffies (my word for pets)!ReplyCancel

  • Julia @cuckoo4design3.28.13 - 3:58 PM

    Another Julia here ;)
    Sounds like my kind of evening too.
    I love evenings, when the children are in bed and the cats creep out from under beds to snuggle on the couch with us, the candles are lit and a big glass of wine in hand.

    Your photos are very pretty and you guys obviously know what you are doing, because mine stink whenever I try to take them at night to capture the mood. ALways love all your photos.ReplyCancel

    • Kim3.29.13 - 8:41 AM

      Thank you for the kind words, ladies!ReplyCancel

  • Helen3.29.13 - 1:05 AM

    Having pets really cozy up a home! I can’t imagine a home without animals. Love your evening photos.ReplyCancel

  • Gabrielle3.29.13 - 7:46 AM

    The evening edition of your pad looks soooo relaxed and cozy. Julia was right to call the blog world out.ReplyCancel

  • Carrie @DreamGreenDIY3.29.13 - 7:46 AM

    Thanks for the photography tips!!ReplyCancel

  • I absolutely LOVE these night-time shots! I definitely need to work on my nighttime photography!ReplyCancel

Let's be Pen Pals

Our Pen Pals have direct access to first looks, a peek behind-the-scenes, and exclusive interviews showcasing members of the #YBHDIY community. We can’t wait to connect with you!

Kim and Scott

We’re Kim + Scott, Chicago based content creators behind the Home + Lifestyle brand Yellow Brick Home.

Join us as we renovate and nurture vintage homes across Chicago + SW Michigan!

Instagram iconInstagram icon
Facebook iconFacebook icon
pinterest iconpinterest icon
YouTube iconYouTube icon
Tiktok iconTiktok icon
LTK iconLTK icon

LEt's be Pen Pals

Subscribe for first looks, behind-the-scenes, and exclusive community content

/* footer flodesk form */

This site uses affiliate links. We will always disclose sponsored posts in the text and by using the ‘sponsored' tag.

© 2024 Yellow Brick Home. | All Rights Reserved. | PRIVACY POLICY