We finally put things on the wall in the baby’s room — not earth-shattering, but a pretty big step for us since we hadn’t hung a single item anywhere in the new house until now (aside from a Christmas wreath on the fireplace). For the past month we were, quite literally, picture-hanging novices. That changed … Read more

We’ve just returned from spending Christmas in West Virginia, and right on schedule we’re sharing the third and final installment of our “Places We Used to Live” video series. This episode covers a new city—Richmond, VA—and marks our first experience living together. It was an exciting and slightly nerve-wracking step: cohabitation, finally. Our first apartment … Read more

Installing Ikea cabinets in all three of our beach house kitchens naturally raises the question: why didn’t we use them in our Richmond kitchen? This week we dig into that decision—what gave us pause at the time, how Ikea might have changed the final result, and which cabinet option we’d pick today if we were … Read more

This is off the hook — forgive me for getting a little playful. That’s just my personality coming through. Anyhow, we’ve been slowly revamping John’s sister Emily’s nursery on a tight budget, and here’s another update. Previously we showed how we painted modern vertical stripes, added large mirrors to make the room feel bigger, crafted … Read more

We were both surprised by what happened when we went completely without television for a week—Sherry even more so than I was. Today we’re sharing what we learned, what felt difficult, and a few side effects that surprised us. We’ll also talk about how the experiment might change our viewing habits going forward. On top … Read more

Every year I post photos from our friend Justine’s wildly over-the-top Fourth of July party on Instagram Stories, and every year readers ask for a full post with photos and recipes. So here it is: a full look at one of the most festive backyard celebrations I know. Justine and her husband John throw this … Read more

Let’s talk about bringing holiday cheer to different surfaces around the house. Sherdog had some fun with the mantel—as she often does—and, true to form, she shared the step-by-step of her surface swaps for the season. So buckle up: things got festive fast. Spoiler: the console table and built-ins got a makeover too. The mantel … Read more

When you invest significant time or money into a project, you’ll go to surprising — sometimes gross — lengths to protect it. In this episode we share the full story, including why renovating a house that’s more than two hours away can get complicated. We also gathered practical advice for building a new home from … Read more

Hold on to your jaws, because they might hit the floor in a few moments. Jordan and her husband completely transformed their kitchen for just over a thousand dollars, and the result is stunning. Here’s Jordan’s note: I’ve been obsessed with your blog for a while now. I check it every day! My husband and … Read more

This time last year we had just finished our first book tour stop in Cincinnati, where it was a delight to finally meet in person some of the names we’d known from comments and the blog community. Today we’re excited to share a room makeover for one of those people — Sarah — and her … Read more