Dianne and Brianna Johnson have long used the phrase “Welcome Home” as part of their business mission and slogan. The mother daughter team from Village Properties Realtors is passionate about helping their clients find the perfect sanctuary to call home.

During the current covid-19 pandemic, they brainstormed to come up with a special gift that would bring a smile to the faces of their clients.

“We wanted to give our clients something to look back on to remember this time in their lives,” explained Brianna, “Since we worked so closely with them to find their homes, and now they’ve been under the Stay at Home order for over a month, home is feeling pretty important these days.”

Dianne and Brianna decided to partner with local photographer Mallory Carlson to help document this unique time period. They were inspired by the Front Porch Project on Instagram, in which photographers are documenting families across the country on their front porches.

The Johnsons invited their clients to step out onto their own front porches for a family photo shoot. They arranged appointments last Friday afternoon, and dubbed it “Front Porch Friday.”

Dianne, Brianna, and Mallory drove – in separate cars – from the West end of Goleta, to San Antonio Creek in the Foothills, to the top of Mission Canyon, through Samarkand and over to the Mesa to visit all the families. They practiced social distancing protocol throughout the day, wearing masks and staying at least six feet apart. Keeping the distance turned out to be the hardest part of the day. As Dianne shared, “It was such a challenge not to run up and give them all hugs!”

The Johnsons encouraged the families to include their pets, and to get creative with props that would help the photographs provide a fitting memento of this unique time period for years to come. 

When asked about the highlight of their experience, Brianna shared, “Everyone was in good spirits and enjoyed a reason to get out of sweatpants and take a trip to the front porch. The best part was getting to see our clients and connect from afar.”

If you’d like to join the Front Porch Friday fun, take a photo of yourself on your front porch and post it using the hashtag #frontporchfriday and tag Dianne and Brianna at @welcomehomesb on Instagram to see how far the fun can go.

Reach Brianna at 805.450.6078 or Dianne 805.455.6570 or email johnson@villagesite.com or visit their website: WelcomeHomeSB.com. Visit Mallory’s website at MalloryCarlsonPhoto.com.

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