Decorating is deeply personal—what excites one person can make another feel uncomfortable, uneasy, or just plain annoyed. In this episode we talk about the design choices we avoid at home: certain furniture arrangements, a particular color combination, and other little neuroses. We also share several suggestions for finding original art at a variety of price points, a personal update about our beloved chihuahua Burger, our new go-to tool for catching typos, and the (finally concluded) saga of which computer bag John chose. Bonus: a peek into the charming chaos of Drunk House Love.
You can download this episode from Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, and TuneIn Radio, or listen using the player below. Use this page to follow any links, notes, or photos we mentioned. 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 painting above was one we picked up at Homearama, the showhouse event—similar to the one we participated in back in 2014. It’s by Rita Driscoll from Yellow Door Art RVA.
- We also found a few small art pieces that Sherry is thrilled about—priced around $4 each—perfect for filling walls without breaking the bank.
- Sherry quickly framed a couple of tear-outs from the July issue of Real Simple for a fast, inexpensive display.
- We’ve talked before about affordable options for filling walls—see Episode #17 for ideas and a mood board of inexpensive wall-fillers we liked.
- We rounded up more art resources in a post about a commissioned portrait from a talented neighbor and linked a selection of galleries and shops we especially like.
- We also included a photo of Burger before his surgery. You can see the eye mass that had to be removed; once he’s feeling better we’ll post an updated recovery photo.
Updates
- After reading tons of recommendations from you all, I chose the eBag Professional Slim Laptop Bag in Heathered Grey (it has a fun orange interior—an ode to my old Jansport). I’ll try to share a photo of it in action once we’re traveling for business.
- Timbuk2 was another frequently recommended brand with many tempting options.
- And while I joked about my old Jansport, they now make sleeker, laptop-friendly backpacks worth considering.
What’s Not
- We mentioned the casting page for Be on HGTV, and admitted we were behind on realizing the DIY show Love Yurts is already airing—so we’ve got some catching up to do.
- We daydreamed about Modpools and included a short video introducing these heated, container-based pools for anyone else curious about them.
Design Neuroses
- Sherry has a strong preference for aligning books and frames with the edge of a surface rather than angling them—a quirk you can see reflected in our showhouse living room photo. The heavily angled picture there is deliciously ironic.
- We shared a recent shot of the breakfast nook at our beach house and noted how a pendant placed in the doorway could look awkward if centered; small placement choices matter.
- We also showed a kitchen shot to illustrate the decision to keep the fridge and dishwasher out of direct sight from the front door—a layout choice we’re glad we made.
- We linked our favorite LED light bulb that provides a soft white glow that’s easy on the eyes.
We’re Digging
- If you liked our past book club pick The Kind Worth Killing, Sherry recommends several titles by Liane Moriarty—especially What Alice Forgot and The Husband’s Secret. She also plans to read Truly Madly Guilty and The Last Anniversary next.
- For polishing writing, we now recommend Grammarly for desktop or as a browser extension. It’s helpful for catching typos and tightening prose before publishing or sending.
If you want to revisit recommendations from past episodes, we linked a master list of everything we’ve been digging across all shows.
Finally, thanks to Thomas Avenue Ceramics for sponsoring this episode. They offer beautiful tile delivered to your door, and we shared Sherry’s top ten picks from their collections. There’s also a promo code for first-time customers.
Thanks for listening, everyone!
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