The other day I flipped on the kitchen lights and noticed one of the two pendants over the table wasn’t working. No big deal — the previous owners had left a spare bulb (these pendants use a small, unusual type), so I swapped it in and… nothing. My quick fix didn’t work. I’m no electrician, … Read more

Earlier this month we took the whole family (dog included) up to Brooklyn for a few days to put the space together that we’ve been designing for this year’s Real Simple Idea House over the last several months. There’s a lot to explain—if you missed our podcast episode or Instagram stories, we’ll catch you up … Read more

Compared to the slow, steady progress of the past nine months, work on our beach house has suddenly accelerated. This update is a roundup of recent progress—think of it as a tasty smorgasbord of renovations. The foyer photo below captures the kind of “good” mess that comes with progress. Any of that feels like progress … Read more

It’s her party, and we decided to DIY the invitations. We made our wedding invites ourselves, so it felt right to design our daughter’s first birthday invite at home too. We considered accepting help from a talented friend, but ultimately wanted to try it ourselves — with the help of a cute baby and a … Read more

One challenge when building the floating shelves in our duplex kitchens was drilling through the tile backsplash. After investing time and money installing beautiful tile, we didn’t want to damage it. It was a little nerve-wracking, but entirely doable. Here’s how we approached it. wood cabinets | white cabinets | tile | counters | fridge … Read more

I’ve always believed curtains are the unsung heroes of room makeovers. People often rave about how paint transforms a space (and it really does), but curtains can deliver that same “wow” in different ways. A well-chosen curtain can: make a small window appear wider draw the eye upward and make ceilings feel taller introduce color, … Read more

Since one-year-olds aren’t quite ready for pumpkin carving, we wanted to find a safe, fun way to include Clara in our pumpkin decorating this year. She deserved an upgrade from last year’s role as hand model: We finally landed on a plan that would let Clara help without any knives. First, some introductions: we referred … Read more

As of last week my parents officially live in Richmond. This is great news for several reasons (chief among them: free babysitting), so we’re thrilled to have them just 15 minutes away — close enough to help out often. You’ll likely see glimpses of their new place as they settle in and as we assist … Read more

It’s almost a year late — I can’t believe I’ll be the mother of a one-year-old in just a few weeks. The delay in writing this is simple: thinking, typing, or talking about the day Clara was born still frightens me. Even after eleven-plus months, the memory of her dramatic entrance is intense. The day … Read more

Almost every vintage runner we own was purchased online without ever seeing it in person. Generally we’ve had good luck, but buying rugs sight unseen is always a little bit of a gamble. Photos can’t always convey true color, wear, or how a rug will look under your home’s lighting and on your monitor. A … Read more