We recently realized we don’t need nearly as much space as we have. How did we end up in a house that feels too big? What made this become so obvious now? And what size would feel just right? In this episode we answer those questions, including the exact moment we can pinpoint when our house-hunting choices went off the rails. We also take you behind the scenes of a charity makeover we did for three incredible kids, and share why life at the beach house has been feeling better than ever. Plus, Sherry is on the hunt for the perfect Mother’s Day gift, and John shows off an exterior gadget that left us all speechless. It’s truly mesmerizing to watch.
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What’s New
- Those three photos are sneak peeks of the rooms we designed for three kids as part of the ASK Childhood Cancer charity program. Designing for real kids — rather than imaginary kids — was a rewarding change, and we’ll have a full blog post with photos and details soon.
- This project was part of the annual Richmond Homearama event — the same show where we designed an entire house back in 2014. If you want to see every room in person, the Homearama runs Wednesday through Sunday for the next two weekends.
- If you’d like to learn more about the ASK Childhood Cancer Foundation and ways to volunteer or donate, please check out their site. They do meaningful work for deserving families.
- We also squeezed in a quick trip to Cape Charles a couple weekends ago — the same visit where we mostly finished the beach house laundry room. The first two photos below are from a huge estate featured on Historic Garden Week on the Eastern Shore.
- The gardens date back to the 1800s and the house itself has roots in the late 1600s.
- One of the town photos shows a house with a beautiful curved wraparound porch a few blocks from the pink house and the duplex. Interior photos weren’t allowed on the tour, but the porch was a standout.
- At the youth garden we attended a lighthearted “Blessing of the Worms” event where kids planted little cups of blessed soil containing a worm into raised garden beds. It was a lively, well-attended children’s event.
- We also had a nearly-80-degree day that allowed for a quick beach visit, and we finished the trip with a stop at a new candy store in town. The beach house had even made a cameo on an HGTV episode before we bought it — a fun little connection to the community.
Email Newsletter
- We launched an email newsletter last week that shares updates, tips, and quick recaps of anything you might have missed. If you haven’t signed up yet, you can join the list for fresh weekly content and previews of upcoming projects.
Our Too-Big House
- The picture above shows the bonus room in our current house. After finishing that previously unfinished space — which added officially to our square footage — we realized it’s one of several rooms we could easily live without. There are a couple of other rooms like that, and one that’s just much larger than we actually need.
- Below are photos comparing our first, second, and current houses. The second house looks deceiving in photos; it has nearly the same square footage as our current home but with a large addition off the back that you couldn’t see from the street.
- We’re curious how you feel about your own home: do you ever feel like you have more space than you need? Or did you equate more square footage with more value when you bought? Share your thoughts — we’d love to hear whether we’re alone in this.
We’re Digging
- One product that surprised us is the Pocket Hose — a lightweight, expandable hose that impressed as a beach-house watering solution. It stores compactly when empty and is easy to handle. While it’s worked well for us so far, reviews are mixed online, with leaks being the most common complaint. We’ll keep an eye on ours and report back.
- Sherry ordered a necklace for her mom for Mother’s Day to represent four grandchildren; it’s a simple, sentimental piece that we liked for this occasion. There’s also a version with two larger birds that represents two parents or grandparents.
If you want to revisit past episodes to find items we’ve recommended, we maintain a master list of everything we’ve been digging from previous shows. Finally, thanks to West Elm LOCAL Experiences for sponsoring this episode — they’re running a giveaway and promoting local makers, which is a great initiative for DIY lovers. Thanks for listening!
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