We’ve been on a bit of a rollercoaster hunting down diamond-paned doors for our duplex renovation. What started as a frustrating low turned into a surprising high, so we wanted to share the whole saga with you. Also, we’ve been hearing from readers about frustrating experiences with home-improvement pros — missed calls, missed appointments, and straight-up ghosting — so we asked a contractor why this happens and what homeowners can do to improve the experience. On top of that, we explored some odd new “smart” gadgets, highlighted a trendy paint company, and told a story about John getting duped by a sponsored post.
You can download this episode from Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn Radio, and Spotify — or listen to it below. Use this page to check out any links, notes, or photos we reference. Note: If you’re reading in a feed reader, you may need to click through to the post to see the player.
What’s New
- The first diamond door we secured came from Amy, who drove it down from Pennsylvania while taking her daughter to a soccer tournament. You can hear the full story and an interview with Amy in Episode #100.
- Next is a look at the second diamond door, which I picked up in North Carolina from Rebekah. You can see the metal plates added to each corner to hold the door together.
- And the happy ending: this dutch door came from Cathy in Northern Virginia (with help from her mom, who was passing through Richmond). Huzzah!
- For context, here’s the backyard view where these doors will be installed — including the first one we hung last week. This is the backside of the same door from the first picture; it had been painted a dark green. Our plan? Paint it mint.
- We’re also adding a tin awning over the door and can’t wait to share photos once it’s installed.
- We learned about Clare Paint from a Fast Company article that explained their approach to paint and color selection.
Clare’s Color Genius quiz and their playful paint names caught our attention. A few of our favorites are sprinkled throughout our notes and were fun to explore as we planned paint choices for the renovation.
What’s Not
- Business Insider compiled a list of 17 ridiculous “smart” gadgets that actually exist — some are amusing, others are baffling.
- Products we discussed on the show include:
- Quirky Egg Minder (now reduced in price, though reviews are mixed)
- Hidrate Spark smart water bottle
- Onvi Prophix smart toothbrush
- HapiFork smart fork
- Oombrella smart umbrella
- Belty Good Vibes vibrating belt (we couldn’t find an active link for that exact model, but Belty Power is a related product that also charges your phone)
- We also shared 10 ways we use smart home devices to make life easier and more efficient around the house.
Listener Questions
- If you missed earlier discussions that prompted some of these listener questions:
- Episode #63: Sherry shared top tips for negotiating with contractors.
- Episode #68: We talked in detail about how to find a reliable contractor or handyman — a topic listeners still ask about frequently.
- Episode #104: We interviewed our contractor Sean to learn how homeowners can be better clients so renovations run more smoothly and potentially cost less.
- Episode #103 covered the saga of getting our vintage pink stove repaired and the hiccups we ran into along the way.
We’re Digging
- Above is the MagnetMount phone holder I bought. I like it, though I regret falling for some of the marketing tactics used in the product photos. The accompanying staged shots (complete with scattered hundred-dollar bills) are a bit much.
- I found a very similar magnetic mount on Amazon for about half the price and with twice as many mounts — it’s well reviewed and would have been my pick in hindsight.
- Sherry’s recent favorite is DropStop. The package comes with two of them, they blend well with our black seats, and they’ve proven to be a great $20 purchase.
If you’re trying to find something we mentioned in a past episode but can’t remember which show notes to check, we maintain a master list of everything we’ve been digging from past episodes. You can also browse all the books we’ve recommended on our Book Club page.
Finally, thanks to Annie Selke for sponsoring this episode. They ran a promotional sale and also shared their new fall collection. We appreciate their support.
Thanks for listening, everyone!
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