On location, location, location: 'Our homes to earn their keep as film sets'

We talk to the homeowners who 'put their houses to work' as a location properties for movies and photoshoots

Sat, 08 Feb, 2025 - 18:08

Carol O’Callaghan

Making your home available to companies for photoshoots and filming might not occur to most people, even those documenting their home interior projects on social media. Handled well, and having a flexible outlook, it can be a low-effort way of helping your home earn its keep.

When interior designer Stephanie O’Sullivan built her house in Dublin on the site of an old warehouse in 2020, she had it in mind to use it as a location house.

Post-covid lockdown, Serendipity then played a part when she was contacted by a London-based photographer who was a friend of a friend looking for a location in Dublin. “When he shared the pictures afterwards on Instagram I started getting bookings and decided to sign up with an agency but there wasn’t one in Ireland,” says Stephanie, prompting her and another interior designer Sinead Wallace to set up their own location agency, So Scout.

Stephanie O'Sullivan's open-plan dining and living area with mid-century-style furniture.

That was two years ago and the company now has a growing portfolio of homes across the country of all shapes, styles and sizes. “Generally, a house has to have something about it,” says Stephanie. “It has to pique your interest. There’s no one factor. Your home might not be to everyone’s taste but it might match a brand.

Stephanie O'Sullivan's contemporary Dublin home with its stylish kitchen.

“It has to be spacious, have easy access and a nice kitchen. Don’t try to perfect it. Brands are paying for the feeling of the home. They want to take your personality, what you’ve created, and use it to match it to their brand and elevate it. That can’t be created in a studio.”

According to Go Scout, a homeowner can expect €700-€1000 for a standard content shoot of about eight hours. “That is baseline and then it can go up depending on the requirements. Typically, they are one-day shoots between 8am and 6pm," says Stephanie.

“It goes without saying the house needs to be clean. You’re expected to hand it over the way you’d expect if you were booking a place yourself. And you need to say if there’s anything in the house that can’t be moved. You have to be available when they arrive and leave and be contactable throughout the day. If you work from home we encourage homeowners to continue to do that. Not all of the house has to be available.”

The kitchen-dining area of in the home of Katy McGuinness.

Katy McGuinness decided to “put her house to work” as a location after three of her four children flew the nest. She describes her terraced Georgian house in Dublin's city centre as an old house with modern interventions. “You have to be comfortable having strangers in your home if you’re going to be a location house,” she says.

The living room of the period property owned by Katy McGuinness offers a mix of historic and contemporary styles.

“The companies who shoot here are organised and respectful and very professional. Usually, they’re here from 9am to 5pm — sometimes longer — but you know in advance.”

The bedroom in the home of Katy McGuinness.

Her preparation seems to be an easy routine for her now having had 10 shoots in 2024 which included furniture, publishing, jewellery and fashion, while she works from home in another part of the house. “You have to have everything pristine so there’s cleaning beforehand. We send our dogs to doggy daycare, declutter personal items, removing things like family photos.

"They will be moving things around during the shoot so don’t leave things out that are precious in the same way you wouldn’t if you were having a party.”

The kitchen and dining area of Martina Mahady's residence.

County Wicklow-based Martina Mahady had just finished her woodland house renovation, which she documented on Instagram and was seen by So Scout who then got in touch. “We had never heard of them but decided to take a punt and see what happens,” she says.

“We now do about a dozen shoots a year, a mixture of filming and TV ads, furniture shoots and fashion shoots.

"Some are in and out in a day, TV filming might be anything from two days to a week.”

As part of her preparations for the crew arriving for what might also include an outdoor shoot, she says: “We have a designated area for ourselves with our coffee machine set up. We eat out or I have pre-made food.

The woodland location of Martina Mahady's home also lends itself to outdoor photoshoots.

"There’s a bit of planning involved. Windows and patio have to be fresh, but the crews leave the place as they found it and you have your kitchen back by evening. It also gives you the incentive to stay on top of your home.”