Here’s the final installment of our recent gift-sleuthing spree (see part one here and part two here). This time we explored Urban Outfitters, a spot full of cute, quirky, and often budget-friendly gift ideas. Here are the highlights we found: These sparkly throw pillows look luxe but don’t carry the hefty price tag of similar … Read more

Here’s how we built a super simple window plant shelf in under an hour with minimal tools. Using a scrap piece of wood we already had kept the cost to about $2. The shelf gave our window instant character and provided space for many more plants—everyone’s thriving in that sunlight! We added this shallow floating … Read more

At first I started typing the original “I like to move it, move it” lyrics, but I quickly realized I don’t enjoy moving at all. So it felt like an unpleasant déjà vu unloading furniture into the Homearama showhouse on Monday. The optimistic take: we finally get to furnish the house! (For anyone wondering what … Read more

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