If you study the black rooms shown, it's not the room or even the furnishings which stand out in the photo. It's the oversized floral arrangements in giant vases. Stuff like that is brought in by the stagers the day of photography. Without it, it's just a black room.
I spent decades in the design trade working for someone whose work was frequently published.
Did you know that many of the magazines like Elle Decor, Interior Design, Dwell, etc seldom seek out and photograph projects themselves - they rely on designers to send them publication-ready photography.
The better known designers spend staggering amounts to photograph everything with the intent of submitting it all for publication. They employ PR firms whose sole job is to keep the designer's name in the media - not just in hopes of getting new clients (that too) but to develop mass market name recognition for their various tie-ins (light fixtures, wall covering, floor tile at Home Depot, dishes, sheets and rugs at Target, etc.)
The top design magazines require exclusives, meaning if AD publishes it, ED won't touch it. There is a pecking order among the better design mags, so you start at the top and keep submitting your projects until one of them bites.
Invariably a month or two after a celebrity's home appears in Architectural Digest, the home is put on the market leveraging the exposure. In those cases, the realtor is expected to cover some or all of the cost of professional photography.
Some designers (like Oprah's old favorite) don't necessarily select products which are best for their client but use products which provide the designer with a "promotional consideration". Or they only use products from manufacturers with whom they have a licensing arrangement - "The (insert designers name here) Collection at Lazy Boy". If you study their published projects, especially if it's their own home, almost everything shown potentially produces a revenue stream for the designer.
If you ever walked into a home after its been published you might not recognize it. Usually all the accessories (anything sitting on a table), table lamps, art, throw pillows, area rugs, etc are brought in just for the photography session. The "beautiful sunlight" streaming through the windows which give the room its glow may not be natural. Sometimes the trees shown outside the window are not there in real life but brought in to block the view of the house next door.
The same holds true for those HGTV-type shows. How they really renovated the home versus what was done strictly for filming are two different things.
Many wealthy clients insist that "the good art" be removed before they allow photographs to be taken. We then have to go to galleries and to get more pedestrian "loaner art" (in exchange for giving the gallery credit in the sourcing details). They also remove all personal photos, monogramed towels, etc and will limit exterior photography to conceal the home's location.
