We recently passed the one-year anniversary of moving furniture into our beach house, so this week we’re looking back at how we stayed sane while furnishing and decorating an entire house all at once. That experience made us reconsider our usual slow approach of tackling one room at a time — and revealed a few weaknesses in that method. If you’re wrestling with your own home project, we’ve gathered some practical ideas that helped us. We also recap our trip to Chicago for the Domino Magazine Awards, defend our opinions about navy cabinets and keypad locks, and confess that Sherry bought something delightfully ugly for the house.
You can download this episode from Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn Radio, and Spotify — or listen to it on this page. Use this post to find any links, notes, or photos we referenced. Note: If you’re reading in a feed reader, you may need to click through to the post to see the player.
What’s New
- Thank you to everyone who voted us Best Renovation Blog in the Domino Magazine 2018 Design Blog Awards. We’re honored and grateful to be included among such talented peers. Other winners included:
- The Best DIY Blog: The House of Wood by Jen Woodhouse.
- The Best General Lifestyle Blog: Bright Bazaar by Will Taylor.
- The Best International Design Blog: Hygge for Home by Reena Simon.
- The Best Interior Design Blog: Studio McGee by Shea and Syd McGee.
- The Best New Voice Blog: Emily Everyday by Emily Blanchard.
- The Best Small Space Blog: A Small Life by Melanie Gnau.
- The Modern Maverick: Yellow Brick Home by Kim and Scott Vargo.
- We realized most of our photos from the awards night are actually Boomerangs (short looping clips), so a better recap might be on our Instagram where Sherry posted a series you can scroll through.
- Also: yes, “flowers in trash cans” is a real thing — more proof of Sherry’s point about unexpected displays being charming.
Updates
- The keypad pictured in our mudroom photo is not a Wi‑Fi or Bluetooth smart lock — it’s a keypad lock that lets you rekey to match your existing Kwikset keys. Don’t be confused by “SmartKey” branding; that indicates rekeyability, not connectivity.
- It’s a touch larger than typical door hardware, but we like that the finish matches our doorknobs. We chose oil-rubbed bronze; other finishes are available if you prefer nickel or brass.
- If you want details on the gray tile shown, we’ve linked to the exact product we used.
- In the top-left of that photo you can see the cabinet color I once called “navy.” It’s probably closer to a muted teal or grayed peacock blue — a shade that’s showing up more often in recent design trends.
- We’ve used peacock blue on previous projects (like our former guest room and dining room), but these cabinets land somewhere between navy and a muted teal, per Sherry’s description.
- If you missed our earlier episode about fixing a stale-smelling house with a crawl space dehumidifier, check out Episode #103 for the full discussion.
Decorating a Whole House
chandelier / ceiling medallion / rug / bookshelf / curtain rod / curtains
- It’s been just over a year since we first moved furniture into the beach house, so looking back at move-in day is fun. Some pieces stayed right where they landed, like the coffee table base we got from a neighbor (we later topped it with DIY concrete), while other items migrated to new rooms as the house evolved.
- For example, the main bedroom’s layout changed after move‑in: original bedding moved to the middle bedroom, old nightstands found a better home in the front bedroom, and a blue rug we originally planned for the living room ended up fitting perfectly in the bedroom.
- We remember old posts where we agonized over seemingly small things — a light shade, a kitchen rug, even bath mats. It’s funny to see how tastes change and how much “look” can happen at once.
- We’re working on a full before-and-after post for the beach house, but in the meantime you can see most rooms and find sources on our Shop Our Beach House page.
We’re Digging
- Sherry found that a mirror perfectly reflects the TV for her — yes, she watches Housewives in the mirror. It’s ridiculous and we love it.
- We bought a NordicTrack treadmill for the bonus room. Sherry mostly prefers walking outside, but when weather gets bad she uses this and catches up on her shows. If a free expert set-up is available, take it — assembling and moving the treadmill was doable but awkward and easier with two people.
- I’m wearing two pairs of Goodfellow & Co pants from Target that I recently tried: Slim Straight Fit Twill Pants in “moss” and Slim Fit Chinos in dark gray. I also grabbed a blazer, shirt, and shoes from Target for the awards event. Sherry’s outfit details are linked in the show notes for those who asked.
If you’re looking for items we’ve recommended on past episodes but aren’t sure where to find them, check our master list of “We’re Digging” picks and the Book Club page for books we’ve discussed.
Finally, thanks to Grove Collaborative for sponsoring this episode. Sign up at Grove.co/YHL to receive a trio of Mrs. Meyers cleaners and walnut scrubber sponges; returning customers can claim the free sponges through the same link.
Thanks for listening!
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