#129: When It Feels Like Everything’s Going Wrong: a

House projects do not consistently go smoothly. We have all been there (heck, we are there right now with the duplex renovation) so we are sharing some new strategies that we have been relying on to keep our spirits up whenever a renovation feels overwhelming, gets delayed, or hits some other unexpected snag. We are also discussing some upcoming bathroom trends (one of them shook Sherry to her quite core). Plus we are officially starting our no TV challenge.

You can also find this episode on your go-to podcast listening app, like Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, TuneIn Radio, Stitcher, and Spotify.

What is New

If you missed the first few mentions of our fridge delivery drama, you can hear the initial story in Episode #126 and the discovery of the dented door in Episode #127.
Below is the photo of the “scrape” the second delivery guy discovered on the other fridge during our most recent trip (do not mind the compact water droplets on the door, Sherry was in the midst of desperately trying to wipe the whole issue away). See how convincing/terrifying it was? Especially because it was lined up with the handle screw, totally validating the delivery guy’s theory that a drill had scraped the finish off.

And below you can see a sneak peek of the counters that we (at last) got installed. They are the same Silestone quartz in Pearl Jasmine that we used on the island in our beach house. Cannot wait to share wider shots of each kitchen when we get them a little more settled (aka: journal post coming soon).

Silestone Pearl Jasmine Quartz counters with wood cabinets and brick chimney

We went into more detail in last week’s email newsletter about why we chose these counters (3 times, no less!) so be sure to subscribe here if you want to receive updates and sneak peeks like this in the future. It is in short a bonus journal post that goes right to your inbox each week.
Also, if you missed last week’s episode with the passing mention of our no TV challenge, you can hear it during our interview with Joshua Becker.

2019 Bathroom Trend Quiz

House And Home Bathroom Trends 2019 Examples — *source*

Here is the full list of House & Home’s 10 Bathroom Trends You will See Everywhere In 2019. And here is the 2018 & 2017 list.
Above are their examples of “buttery brass” finishes and the “off-kilter tub” that was not as bad as it sounded to Sherry.
Below is the “tile statement wall” that I mentioned we did a couple of years ago in our beach house’s hall bathroom:

Blue Accent Tile In Shower Of Hall Bathroom With Wood Door

…and here is the one we did way back in 2014 in the bathroom of our showhouse:

Aqua Glass Accent Shower Tile In Large Master Bathroom

And in the shower at the beach house, we have an example of an “invisible” shower wall, since the glass pane we used does not have any metal framing (and the consistent floor helps the shower blend in with the rest of the room).

Frameless Glass Shower Panel In Subway Tile Bathroom

Lastly, we talked about the “statement mirrors” we picked up to use in some bathrooms at the duplex (the powder rooms, to be precise). They are out of stock right now, but they are large and truly pleasant looking. Hope they are back soon.

Listener Question

If you want to hear more suggestions for fighting project fatigue, lifting your spirits, or celebrating renovation milestones – you can hear more on the subject in Episode #90.

We are Digging

If you want to shop HomeGoods online, you in fact have to go to the “Home” section of the TJMaxx website here.
And here are some of the things you can find there (which is especially helpful when you are looking for two of the same thing, and cannot track down multiples in the store). 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 13 / 14 / 15 / 16 / 17 / 18 / 19

And here’s the outdoor smart plug ($29) I picked up for the patio lights on our back porch. It was straightforward to set-up and even has two separate plugs that you can control separately.
I should’ve mentioned in the episode that if you are going to plug that in outdoors, you likely want to install a weatherproof “in-use” cover to your outlet like I did (this one works well). It will protect your outlet while allowing you to keep the smart plug plugged in 24/7.
And here are some posts where you can read more about our go-to smart tech and how we use it, plus the dusk to dawn timers and sensors we use (you know, now that I have clarified my enjoy of smart tech AND timers).

If you are looking for something we have dug in a past episode, but do not remember which show notes to click into, here is a master list of everything we have been digging from all of our past episodes. You can also see all the books we have recommended on our Book Club page.

And lastly, a big thank you to Grove Collaborative for sponsoring this episode. Sign up at Grove.co/YHL to receive their FREE gift: a trio of Mrs. Meyers cleaners, a set of walnut scrubber sponges AND a tin cleaning caddy. Yup, all of that is FREE!