Update: Aaaand less than 12 hours later we’re back with an update at the bottom of the post for you. Smooth, right?
Hey there — long time no see.
The break has been wonderful. It felt a little strange at first, but mostly it was refreshing and revitalizing. We’re incredibly grateful for your support, kind comments, and for helping us put words to feelings we’d been carrying for a while. Though a month away didn’t answer every question about what’s next (when does life ever make everything crystal clear?), it did make one thing obvious: after seven amazing years of sharing our home and our life, it’s time to begin a new adventure.
This blog has been part of our lives for more than 80 months, accompanying us through almost our entire marriage and every moment of our parenting journey so far. We expected to come back from the break with a renewed urge to overshare — after all, that’s been our rhythm for years. Instead, something shifted. Maybe we’re getting older, the kids are getting bigger, or our priorities are changing, but the pause felt right. Taking this time gave us clarity — and the courage — to move on and pursue better balance in life, something we’ve been talking about for a long time.
We’re not saying this is the definitive end of Young House Love or that we’ll never blog again. Perhaps someday, when the kids are older or circumstances change, the urge to write and share will return — maybe here, maybe in another format. We don’t have all the answers. What we do know is that the best things in our lives have come from stepping well outside our comfort zone — yes, it sounds like an inspirational poster line, but it rings true for us.
We plan to keep the blog archives available as long as possible and will be freezing comments soon. We’re not disappearing completely: you may still see completed product designs with Liberty Hardware and Shades of Light, and our second book is scheduled for release on September 22, 2015. Those partners have been incredibly supportive of our choice, and we’re deeply thankful.
Words can’t fully express our gratitude for being able to share our little world with you all for so long. We have nothing but appreciation and love for this experience and for every one of you. (*This might be where we should fade in that Dirty Dancing song…*)
But let’s not say “goodbye.” Let’s say “see you another time.”
Peace, love, and ceramic animals,
John & Sherry
PS: During the break we took a few fresh photos for the House Tour page to update some outdated rooms. Feel free to give the dining room’s blue trim the side eye (it’s still there!).
Update: The same questions kept appearing in comments (we just can’t quit you). About new jobs: we’ve mentioned in past posts that we left the door open to our previous fields — advertising, copywriting, and consulting — which we can often do as freelancers from home while alternating stay-at-home parenting duties. The book and the products are influenced by the blog, so they’re part of the picture, but not the sole source of income. Sorry if that sounded mysterious!
On social media: we’d love to pop up on Facebook or Instagram occasionally to say hi. And we hope the archives remain available for a long time — we use them as references for paint colors and project details, so we wouldn’t want to lose them.
We’re also sorry if this feels abrupt. We’ve tried to find balance publicly before — when we moved to this house and after Teddy’s birth — but those attempts clashed with our all-in personalities. It wasn’t until this most recent break, another effort to recalibrate, that we felt closer to our goal. We considered many alternatives — fewer posts, shorter posts, closing comments — but none felt like the version of Young House Love we wanted to keep alive. We aimed to keep this post light and grateful; despite how hard the decision was, this moment feels full of appreciation.
Graceful exit? Not exactly. We’re awkward at goodbyes, and we’ll miss you terribly.