“We just couldn’t figure out why you weren’t tearing out the kitchen.” That’s what one of our contractor’s guys said when we moved in last year. I get his confusion. We replaced floors, moved doors, vaulted ceilings, and more — yet we left the small original kitchen largely intact, mauve laminate countertops and all. You … Read more

***This giveaway is no longer accepting entries*** We recently visited LaDifférence to select an item for a giveaway, and we had so much fun exploring their showroom. For anyone who hasn’t been, LaDifférence is a sprawling 45,000-square-foot space filled with modern and contemporary home furnishings. It’s a great place to browse for inspiration and design … Read more

***This giveaway is no longer accepting entries*** We’re keeping this short and sweet: a $200 Home Depot gift card is the prize for this giveaway. This week’s prize is provided by Home Depot as part of their “What’s Your Pro Project” campaign. Home Depot isn’t just asking about your projects — they’re helping you complete … Read more

Hello Pinterest friends. I hope you enjoyed some baking, crafting, painting, organizing, sewing, building, or knitting lately — because it’s time to participate in this season’s unofficial Pinterest Challenge (a fun idea from Katie to stop pinning and start doing). The only rule is simple: pick a pinned project you’ve wanted to try and actually … Read more

Nothing like a little weekend chaos. Guess what we did this weekend? Here’s a hint: And another hint: And another hint: And one last hint: Yep — all that weekend activity was for this: Specifically, we painted Clara’s closet. While standing on a chair to hang the little ribbon chandelier I made last week, I … Read more

As is our tradition each year, we grabbed a video camera and walked the exterior of the house to document what’s been finished and what still needs work (spoiler: there’s plenty left at our new place). You can see last year’s tour here and the 2011 tour here. When I say “we take a video … Read more

You may have seen the before-and-after bench photos in our recent column for R. Home magazine. Here’s a clear, step-by-step look at how we transformed a cheap, wobbly thrift-store bench into a fresh, polished piece using paint, fabric and a little elbow grease. We found this bench at Love of Jesus Thrift for just $7. … Read more

***This giveaway is no longer accepting entries*** We’re thrilled by the outpouring of congratulations, kindness, and generosity we’ve received since Clara’s arrival. We can’t thank everyone enough. As a small way to give back, we’re hosting this giveaway to share some of the generosity we’ve experienced with our readers. Originally we hadn’t planned formal birth … Read more

I owe you fair warning: this story might give you the willies. It’s a firsthand account from my renter days that I’m sharing in hopes it helps anyone facing something similar. After graduating, I moved to New York City in June 2004 and rented a two-bedroom apartment in Astoria, Queens with a college roommate. The … Read more

Our $35 secondhand chairs – the ones we found here – aren’t quite finished yet (picture me tapping my foot and impatiently waiting for paint to dry), but we thought we’d share the makeover progress in real time. First, a quick rundown of all the colors John and I considered for the office chairs: emerald … Read more