Is it odd that John glanced at my headline and turned it into a bit of stand-up? His “room-crisping” ideas included: 1) Flambé it. 2) Scatter crunchy noodles on the floor. 3) Starch it. Funny guy. But seriously, here are seven inexpensive, easy ways to refresh any room. These tips are simple, but the right … Read more

When a “before” photo landed in our inbox recently, we did a double-take — it wasn’t our photo at all but a beautiful dresser redo by Desiree, on the same piece we refinished for Clara’s nursery a few months ago. Small world. Here’s Desiree’s note about her project: Technically this isn’t a Reader Redesign since … Read more

Back in April we announced three winners in our Behr paint giveaway, and now one of those winners has returned with photos of her painted room transformation. It’s always a pleasure to see how winners put their prizes to use. Below is an excerpt from Kim’s blog post about her laundry room and entry hall … Read more

Let’s talk about grout. With our penny rounds finally all installed, grouting was the next step. It’s the stage that turns a project from “in progress” to “completely finished,” and the difference is dramatic. Here’s how we did it. First, a quick materials list and photo: Bucket of clean water Putty knife and a separate … Read more

Every time we share a photo featuring the framed letter collage above our living room console table like this… …or this… …or this… …we get lots of messages asking where we bought the large “P” print that sits front and center. The truth is it’s not a store-bought monogram at all but a simple DIY: … Read more

There’s a joke I have with my running buddies that somehow our conversations always circle back to sheds. We’ll admire the ones we pass on our runs, complain about needing more storage, or plot ways to convince our spouses that a shed should come before the next home update. Clearly we lead very exciting lives. … Read more

***This giveaway is no longer accepting entries*** You may have seen me install this faucet earlier today; as promised, we’re back to give you a chance to win one of your own. The Delta Pilar kitchen faucet with Touch2O technology is a great fit for DIY enthusiasts and home cooks alike. As the video demonstrated, … Read more

When we saw the transformation Mindy achieved on an old dresser, we had to share the eye candy. Here’s her note: I love your website and eagerly look forward to reading it every day. My husband and I needed a dresser but didn’t want to spend much. We prefer pieces that are solid and well-made, … Read more

We’re in the middle of several projects around the house (office, dining room, living room), but we did manage to finish one small task: rearranging Clara’s nursery. She was seven months old and mostly stationary when we first set the room up; now at fifteen months she’s walking, reaching, and testing boundaries, so we moved … Read more

This week we dug into the challenge of choosing light fixtures that feel connected without being too matchy-matchy (the discussion starts around the 20-minute mark of this week’s podcast) and I said I’d share some lighting combinations in the show notes. Then I fell down a mood-board rabbit hole, came up with too many options, … Read more