***This giveaway is no longer accepting entries – see who won below!*** Thanks to random.org’s very arbitrary matchmaking skills, our winner is… Lawren (whose favorite wedding moment was when her cousin’s pocketed dress stored tissues to hand the groom when he teared up during the vows). Congrats! We hope everyone had a wonderful Fourth of … Read more

We’re excited to welcome Ana from Ana-White.com, who’s sharing an excellent DIY project for anyone who’s wanted to build floating shelves. Knock-Off Wood is a fantastic resource for designer-inspired furniture plans that can save you hundreds or even thousands of dollars if you’re willing to do the work yourself. Ana also reminds us that woodworking … Read more

Knock knock. Who’s there? Moose. Moose who? Moose lamp! I should admit up front that one of the photos here was lightly photoshopped — but I’ll explain why it was worth it. This whole story started when I spotted a moose lamp at a moving sale in West Virginia while we were there to update … Read more

When it comes to hanging curtains, we always encourage hanging them high and wide to visually enlarge the window, add height, and bring drama to a room. Like paint on the walls, full-length curtains make a space feel finished. Below is a straightforward, reliable method for hanging curtains that works well for most rooms — … Read more

Believe it or not, the mattress we just bought for our guest bedroom was the first one either of us had ever really shopped for in person. Until now, our beds were either handed down from family or purchased secondhand from thrift stores — including two daybed mattresses we picked up from Goodwill back when … Read more

The duplex kitchens are starting to feel like real, finished kitchens, and installing the cabinet hardware this past weekend made a huge difference. Drilling into new cabinet doors and drawer fronts can be nerve-wracking because there’s very little room for error. If you’re not eager to replace a door or drawer front, you need to … Read more

We’d been excited to try wallpaper in our duplex, and last week we finally installed two peel-and-stick wall murals. The whole process was much easier than we expected, and the results exceeded our hopes. We considered several options before finding removable wall murals on Society6. These are essentially peel-and-stick murals sold in wide non-repeating panels … Read more

***This giveaway is no longer accepting entries – scroll down to see who won!*** We love silhouettes for their bold, graphic take on the classic framed family photo. This week’s prize fits that aesthetic perfectly: a custom 8×10 silhouette portrait from Nella Designs. Nella Designs offers a variety of playful items in her Etsy shop, … Read more

For a long time we’ve happily fixed other people’s design problems while quietly cringing at our own. This corner of the house never made it into our before-and-after gallery — in fact, we usually avoid photographing it. But here it is in all its awkward glory: the other side of our master bedroom (which looks … Read more

If you’ve been curious about the financial side of selling three houses and downsizing into a single, smaller home, this post answers the most common questions we’ve received. We also share the unexpected renovation setbacks that delayed our move-in date (including a string of bizarre toilet-related issues we never anticipated), our surprise at the reaction … Read more