To everyone who told us to “go rest” or reminded us it’s okay to catch our breath after this showhouse marathon and before the baby arrives — thank you. We truly appreciate the encouragement. We’re still at the showhouse every day, photographing each remaining room for after shots and source lists, and we’re hoping to record a video tour for you. We do plan to take a proper break and sit down for a minute as soon as we finish documenting everything.
Amid the last hectic week of showhouse updates, another surreal moment happened that we couldn’t wait to share. Seeing our new line of hooks and rails in the real world — on Target shelves, in your hands, on your walls, and next to your dogs and babies — has been unbelievable.
We’d been in our own little bubble with this project for so long that spotting Instagrams, tweets, and Facebook photos from readers felt amazing. So we couldn’t let another day pass without saying: THANK YOU for being part of this latest adventure with us. We’re genuinely grateful.
Everything began rolling out to Target stores last week (it will be stocked in most U.S. stores for about 14 weeks). We’ve been following the photos you’ve shared — in fact, many of you found the end cap long before we did. Seeing our products displayed in person for the first time was an incredible moment.
The home improvement section also picked up a few other new DIY items like paint and removable wallpaper, and Target is carrying our book in stores for the first time as an exclusive paperback edition.
While we were taking a moment to say thank you, we also wanted to share a behind-the-scenes detail that surprised us during the process: packaging design. We had been so focused on the products themselves that when Liberty asked for our input on packaging, we were a little caught off guard — but it turned out to be a fun collaboration.
The graphic designers at Liberty led the effort, drawing inspiration from the colors and motifs that frequently appear on our blog. Together we made small adjustments, like removing a patterned blog backdrop (the tiny gray hearts) in favor of a cleaner, solid gray behind the products. We also loved their idea to add a wood-grain detail to the sides of the packaging for added texture.
Interestingly, that wood grain was originally slated to be a generic texture from a stock image library. During product photography last November, someone suggested shooting our actual kitchen table and using that photo instead. The table had already become the go-to backdrop for our photos, so it made sense to use the real thing — which means the wood-grain detail on the box is our real kitchen table.
We were also involved in selecting the visuals for the back of the packaging and writing the product copy. That gave us a chance to highlight personal inspirations for each item — like an octopus painting made by Clara, paired with a ceramic octopus Sherry received as a gift years ago, or Burger, our four-legged muse.
The copy we wrote for the packaging also appears in the “Overview” section of each item on the Target website, if you’re curious to read it there.
Now that we can use the hooks without worrying about spoiling the surprise, we’ve installed them in several showhouse rooms (it’s the place getting most of our attention lately). For example, we mounted a wood hook rail in the girl’s bedroom, painted the rail Blue Lake by Benjamin Moore, and added mix-and-match oil-rubbed bronze hooks. This version includes the ledge, which provides extra storage.
In the boy’s room we used the same rail without the ledge and added a diagonal sweep of yellow (Citron by Benjamin Moore) along the bottom, masking off the angle with painter’s tape and leaving the top raw wood for contrast.
We also installed a trio of doorknob hooks in the master bedroom closet — two larger beaded knobs flanking a smaller hex knob — and we’ll be photographing that room soon. We’re aiming to get more after photos documented today so we can share them tomorrow if everything goes smoothly.
We’re still a little stunned that these products are out in the world after nearly three years of development, and we’re incredibly thankful for your support. In other news, if all goes as planned and our son arrives on Wednesday the 16th (Sherry’s scheduled date), this will be the last Wednesday when we’re parents of just one child (two if you count Burger), which is mind-blowing in its own way. Happy Wednesday, everyone!
Update – We often receive questions about blogging — how we started, how we grew our audience, and how we turned it into a full-time job — so we shared the full details about how we began blogging, increased traffic, and made it our career.