We seem to have a sore spot with tubs, and the duplex renovation has been no exception. Today we’re sharing how a strategic cost-saving decision cut about 30% from a major renovation line item — but also sent us into a tub-related stress spiral. We’ve got updates on painting our brick house white, a rather gross backyard experiment to keep deer from eating our plants, and whether Sherry is still being called “Laura” in Cape Charles. We also cover the pros and cons of laundry room placement and explain when to choose multiple wall colors versus a single whole-house color.
You can download this episode from Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn Radio, and Spotify — or listen to it below. Use this page to check any links, notes, or photos we referenced. Note: If you’re reading in a feed reader, you may have to click through to the post to see the player.
What’s New
- That photo shows one of our tubs installed. Despite the planning-induced stress, the tubs and the rest of the plumbing went in relatively smoothly.
- Below is a photo Sherry took when they retrieved our second tub from the very top shelf at Home Depot. I’m impressed she spotted it up there!
- We chose the Delta Classic 400 tub because it has a relatively straight front (not too curvy) and was a good price.
- And of course, the victory photo of having successfully procured both tubs. It cracks me up that Sherry had Sean take this photo.
Updates
- If you missed our earlier discussion about painting our brick house white, you can catch it in Episode #101. Below are some of the renderings we received that helped sway the polls on Instagram.
- The paint we plan to use is Rombio BioDomus II Mineral Paint. The warranty and the differences from conventional paint are compelling to us. We’ll share more details as the project progresses.
- If you missed the story about our backyard experiment to protect new landscaping from deer, listen to Episode #99.
- We’re now in our third week of using Liquid Fence and haven’t seen any deer browsing. The manufacturer recommends weekly application for the first two weeks, then monthly. We applied it weekly for three weeks and the big jug still has product left.
- The story of Sherry being called Laura is in Episode #59 — a personal favorite of ours.
Listener Questions
- Pictured above is our upstairs laundry room in Richmond and the downstairs laundry area in the beach house mudroom.
- As promised for Debbie, we ran a poll asking which laundry location people prefer (not necessarily which they have). There are many other setups too — garage or basement locations often rank lower in popularity.
(POLL HAS ENDED)
- Sherry also asked a variant of that question focused on the beach house scenario, where sandy feet and towels are more common. That context shifted preferences for many respondents.
(POLL HAS ENDED)
- As Lauren noted, our beach house is painted a single color (Sherwin Williams White Heron), while our Richmond home uses a variety of neutrals. Here’s a sampling of those differences.
- Part of the decision was practical. We painted and repainted our Richmond house ourselves over the years, while the beach house was painted by contractors during a renovation. If we redid Richmond now, we’d likely use fewer colors, but we don’t regret the variety — it helped us land on several favorite neutrals.
- We often use Benjamin Moore’s Edgecomb Gray in spaces with good natural light, including our bedroom, office, dining room, and foyer.
- For rooms on the back of the house that receive less light, a slightly lighter, cooler neutral like Behr’s Irish Mist works better — for example, our bonus room and kitchen.
- The other colors in our palette are one-off choices: Benjamin Moore’s Going To The Chapel in our son’s room and laundry, Simply White in our living room, Revere Pewter in our closet, and Sparrow as a dark accent in our guest bedroom.
We’re Digging
- This is the inflatable stand-up paddleboard I got for Father’s Day. We’ve been using it a lot this summer. My favorite moments are when we slip away to the beach around sunset and take the wonderfully clichéd photos like the one above.
- Our SUP is 11 feet long; there’s a slightly less expensive 10.5-foot version, but we trusted the 11-footer because we tried it first-hand on Father’s Day. Since the bay is shallow and calm, I often have extra passengers aboard.
- I strongly recommend getting the electric pump. It plugs into a 12V car outlet and automatically shuts off when the desired PSI is reached — a true lifesaver. Maybe we’ll post a short video of inflating and deflating soon.
- On a related note, Sherry discovered a new mascara thanks to a helpful store employee, and she’s been wearing it in our selfies. Below is one of those photos.
If you’re looking for something we’ve covered in a past episode but don’t remember which show notes to click into, here’s a master list of everything we’ve been digging from past episodes.
Finally, a big thank you to Grove Collaborative for sponsoring this episode. When you sign up at Grove.co/YHL and spend your first $20, you get a free Mrs. Meyers cleaning set and a 2-month VIP membership.
Thanks for listening, and we’ll see you next time!
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