When we last visited the nursery, we had painted the closet door green, but a few practical things were still missing: a washable changing pad cover, a hamper, a liner for dirty diapers, and a plan for the wall behind the crib. Update #1. We had considered using a lively arrow wallpaper on that wall … Read more

I had to share a small new addition to our desk. While flipping through a Real Simple magazine, I was stopped by one of their inspirational quotes — so moved that I actually tore the page out. I then dug into our “decor store” (a kitchen cabinet where we keep vases, frames, candles and other … Read more

It’s time for our monthly thank-you post highlighting the sponsors who make our content possible. Below are a few blue and green picks that caught our eye this month, plus a handy list of sponsor discounts at the end of the post. The cool Mykonos stencil in blue and green tones from Royal Design Studio. … Read more

Having spent an unusually long time wrestling with our own chair upholstery project (I mostly watched while my wife took on the heavy lifting), we’re even more impressed with Erin’s transformation of her great aunt’s loveseat. Here’s her note about the project: Several months ago I decided to reupholster my great aunt’s old loveseat. At … Read more

How does $500 toward new lighting — usable anywhere in the world — sound? We’ve added four new pieces to our Young House Love collection at Shades of Light, and to celebrate we’re giving one lucky reader $500 to spend at Shades of Light. When we launched our first collection with them about a year … Read more

We love a DIY wall molding as much as the next blogger, but our new favorite is the thick framed trim we added to the bathroom. It almost didn’t happen, and yet it ended up being one of the lower-cost items among many other updates (always satisfying when that happens). We still have finishing touches … Read more

You may have noticed the recent design mantra that “every room should have something old in it.” It seems to be everywhere these days, along with variations like “every room should have something black.” While most of my home isn’t actually black (aside from my wardrobe), I’m officially on board with the “something old” idea. … Read more

Halloween is just a few weeks away, so we dug out our old creepy raven and other spooky props from last year. Besides picking up candy for neighborhood trick-or-treaters (and some candy corn for ourselves) we spent almost nothing. We also grabbed a few $4 carnations to paint for a gloomy touch. Here’s the console … Read more

It’s time for our annual goal-setting ritual — nothing motivates like a public declaration. Let’s get into it. Goal #1: Find balance. We mentioned the need for more balance in a previous resolutions post. We don’t want to invest all of our time, money, and energy into the house at the cost of life, savings, … Read more

Since our last update on the sunroom, Sherry and I have crossed off four more tasks: installing two ceiling fans, deep-cleaning the concrete floor, leveling low spots with self-leveling compound, and cutting and dry-fitting tile to plan the final pattern. We were hoping to share a fan-installation tutorial, but we’re too excited about the tiling … Read more