If you thought we’d already exhausted this topic on the podcast—think again. The universe recently put Sherry’s dollhouse obsession to the test, and whether she passed depends on who you ask. We also reveal the strange item Ikea was selling in bulk in the U.S. (the reveal had us laughing), and share listener stories about how room makeovers can change behavior in surprising ways. Plus: a listener who challenged themself to wear only one color shares eye-opening takeaways, and we dive into the always emotional debate over textured walls. Buckle up.
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What’s New
- Below is a “before” shot of the dollhouse a friend recently passed along to us, despite the fact that we’d already collected a fair share of dollhouses over the holidays. If you want the backstory, we talked about some of them in Episode #124, and the little “Sweet Shop” (which practically counts as half a dollhouse) in Episode #130.
- Does it look familiar? Maybe especially now that our brick exterior is painted white.
- Sherry and our daughter have already had a blast fixing it up. She’ll likely post photos and a full rundown of the tiny furnishings soon. In the meantime, you can read about how they refreshed our son’s dollhouse for a sense of their approach.
Updates
- We first mentioned Wheel of Goon / Goon of Fortune in Episode #133 when discussing design norms from around the world. If you want to see the game played, search online for videos of “Goon of Fortune.”
- Listener Jo shared a couple of interesting Ikea reads: one about how Ikea adapts designs for different countries (including a funny vase anecdote) and another about how many of Ikea’s catalog images are now computer-generated. Both pieces are eye-opening about how global design gets tailored to local tastes.
- We originally discussed the book Joyful in Episode #130. Sherry’s minimal, mostly-black wardrobe and closet tour were shared in a dedicated closet tour post and on Episode #115. We also touched on her simple skincare ritual in a separate post if you want more detail.
- We’ve experimented with deliberate parameters before: Episode #97 covers lessons from our “No Spend Month,” and Episode #131 outlines what we learned after setting rules around TV watching. The shoes-on-or-off debate lives in Episode #132; below we summarized nearly 10,000 listener responses into charts that show clear regional differences.
- Key takeaways: a strict habit of removing everyone’s shoes is much more common outside the U.S. (62% for non-Americans vs. 21% for Americans), and Americans are far more likely to say they “don’t really care” about shoes indoors.
Can We Just Talk About Textured Walls?
- The photo above, from our bonus room, illustrates the smooth walls we’ve consistently preferred in every home we’ve owned — we’ve never had textured walls or ceilings.
- By contrast, rooms with texture on both walls and ceilings tend to be regional and tied to certain building eras; it’s not just a matter of personal taste.
- And now, the poll — we asked listeners for their take on textured walls. We embedded the form so folks could weigh in directly.
We’re Digging
- One book you all recommended that I loved: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. It was far more compelling than I expected. If you want a sense of the book’s tone, there’s a trailer for the HBO movie adaptation embedded below.
- We’ve been playing the standard Ticket to Ride (the adult American version) lately. There are many other versions for different ages and regions, including Ticket to Ride: First Journey for kids, Ticket to Ride Europe, Ticket to Ride New York, and country-specific editions.
- Other family favorites we’ve been enjoying with our kids (ages 4 and 8) include:
- Happy Salmon
- Clue Jr.
- The Game of Life Jr.
- Tenzi
If you’re trying to recall a recommendation from a past episode but can’t remember which show notes to open, we keep a master list of everything we’ve dug into across past episodes, as well as a Book Club page with all the books we’ve recommended.
Finally, thanks to Rothy’s for sponsoring this episode. Use code YHL at checkout for free shipping.
Thanks for listening!
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