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Behind the Scenes at Southern Living

Oct 28, 2016 · 10 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links, please see my privacy policy for details.

The word beautiful barely does justice to describe the Southern Living “Idea House” and test kitchens I had the pleasure visiting in Birmingham, AL. Today I’m going to be sharing behind the scenes at the Southern Living + Delta Faucet event which I attended earlier this week.

Behind the scenes Southern Living Magazine & Delta Faucet

If you follow me on instagram (@philiakelnhofer) or snapchat (username: sweetphi) you would have seen lots and lots of behind the scenes of my day spent at the Southern Living + delta Faucet event. The event was held at the Southern Living headquarters in Birmingham, Alabama and consisted of a tour of the Southern Living “Idea House” and a tour of the test kitchens (insanely cool to see how a magazine does recipe testing + photography before it ever reaches the pages). The “Idea House” and the test kitchens have beautiful Delta Faucets installed throughout…they’re the faucets that you touch and they turn on (more on the faucet specifics in the next few weeks).

Southern Living 2016 idea house. Southern Living Magazine house tour

Ok, first up is the “Idea House” – you might be asking yourself “what in the world is an idea house?” Well, I had that same question. I learned that every year, Southern Living builds a Southern inspired house in different communities.

Southern Living idea house

Different designers, architects, builders, etc. all collaborate to build the “Idea House” and then the public can buy the plans to the house, and, they put the actual, physical, built “Idea House” on the market. Oh, and they offer tours of the Idea House to the public.

Hunter green kitchen. Green kitchen design

While every  aspect, detail and fixture of the house looked like something from a magazine (coincidence? I think not lol) I was drawn to the kitchen, obviously. It was a deep hunter green. Green in a kitchen? I’ve never seen that before, it was very cool.

Touch Delta Faucet

The kitchen had two beautiful sinks, each with a Delta Faucet. I had never actually used a touch-faucet, it was so cool!

Time Inc food studios

After the idea house, we went to tour the Southern Living test kitchens. Actually, it is the Time, Inc Food Studios. Time, Inc owns Southern Living magazine along with many many more, and all the recipe development, recipe testing, photography, etc. happens here.

Southern Living magazine behind the scenes

We got to walk around and see the different test kitchens, the different photography bays, see style boards, and take a peek inside their insane prop room. If you need me, I’ve moved into the Idea House and am making frequent trips to the headquarter offices and the prop room.

Southern living magazine prop closet

Thank you to Southern Living Magazine & Delta Faucet for showing me behind the scenes at the Idea House and at the Food Studios. As always, all thoughts and opinions are mine alone. Thank you for reading about the brands and partnerships that make the SweetPhi blog possible.

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Did you make this recipe? Hashtag with us! Be sure to follow/tag @PhiliaKelnhofer and hashtag #sweetphiblog – we love to see what you’re cooking up!”

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Rony Jahid says

    October 30, 2016 at 1:03 pm

    Wow this house looks beautiful, also your things are just awesome. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
    • Sweetphi says

      October 30, 2016 at 4:49 pm

      Thank you so much

      Reply
      • Rony Jahid says

        October 31, 2016 at 11:32 am

        You are welcome & continue your best articles.

        Reply
  2. MaryKay Lawrence says

    October 29, 2016 at 4:34 pm

    What fun……thank you for sharing it with us!
    MK

    Reply
    • Sweetphi says

      October 30, 2016 at 5:00 pm

      You’re so welcome, thank you for following along 🙂

      Reply
  3. Jess says

    October 29, 2016 at 5:11 am

    Beautiful- what an amazing day! Yes, you get to do the coolest things!

    Reply
    • Sweetphi says

      October 30, 2016 at 5:01 pm

      Aw, thank you so much! The day was definitely amazing!

      Reply
  4. Karen @ Seasonal Cravings says

    October 28, 2016 at 1:13 pm

    Oh my gosh, I am so jealous of that prop room! Look at all those butcher blocks. The house is gorgeous. Thanks for sharing Phi!

    Reply
    • Sweetphi says

      October 30, 2016 at 5:01 pm

      Isn’t that prop room insane? I totally want to move in lol

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Healthy Slow Cooker Lentil and Vegetable Soup - Sweetphi says:
    January 10, 2017 at 6:06 am

    […] talking about comforting meals and dishes, I always think of the South. Last year I got to tour behind the scenes at Southern Living Magazine, an event that was cosponsored by Delta Faucet. It just so happened to be a coincidence that the […]

    Reply

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Welcome to the SweetPhi blog, I’m Phi! I live in Milwaukee, WI. I’m a busy working mom (and cookbook author x2) to boy-girl twins and a toddler.

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