Young House Love

DIY Home Decorating Projects, Tutorials, & Shenanigans

Archives for June 2008

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House Crashing: Sister Act

John’s sister Emily has been a busy girl since our last post about helping her move into her fabulous new home (that she and her husband Todd designed themselves). Yes, only a month later, she’s managed to furnish, fluff and feather nearly every room and has graciously allowed us to invade her space once more to bring you some fresh & fabulous after photos. Let the house crashing begin… Here’s a shot of the swanky modern exterior with Emily and Olivia hanging out on their front deck. The house’s theme was clean lines, modern touches and windows galore. When you buy a corner lot with nothing but green in three directions it’s easy to see

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Our Home In R. Home

Ok, so we’ve extended our 15 minutes of local fame a smidge thanks to the latest issue of R. Home magazine, the much loved home & garden offspring of our hometown’s über popular Richmond Magazine. We’ve been anxiously awaiting this July/August issue since way back in April when they first contacted us for an interview and a professional photoshoot (I know, we’re fancy), and it’s finally here. And I must say we’re thrilled (especially Sherry, who has worried for two months that her pose on the second page might make her appear one-legged).   The article chronicles the short story of us and the birth of Young House Love, while sporting some swanky, professional pics

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Nine Designers Walk Into a House…

Sounds like the start to a good joke, eh? It’s not (but I’m open to punchline suggestions). It’s actually the concept behind the Washington Design Center’s Design House, where nine of DC’s top interior designers divide and conquer to turn nine blank spaces into nine trend-setting design concept rooms. And this past weekend we stopped by in search of some inspiring, well, inspiration. This season’s theme was “What Hue Inspires You?” So each room – with names like Silver Lining, Something Blue and Paprika Passion – showcased how to bring color into your home while steering clear of tacky and heading straight for elegant. We’ll start with the Paprika Passion foyer, which features a seating

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The Jolly Green Garnish: Plant Clippings As Decor

When Meghan Carter came to interview us, we tried to pull out all the stops to make our house look its absolute best. We were sure to have a tasty assortment of apples in our clam-shell-turned-fruit-bowl in the kitchen and fresh towels in each of the bathrooms. Heck, we even Fabrezed a bit for good measure. But we opted against bringing in bushels of fresh flowers after deciding that lush leafy greenery looks just as fresh with our simple neutral palette (and conveniently grows in abundance just steps away in our backyard. So we were sure to snip some fresh ferns for a few bud vases in our bathrooms: And to bring in some heavier

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House Crashing: The Big Reveal

There are about a million and one suggestions to make a small space feel larger, but when it comes to cozying up a large room with soaring ceilings and square footage to spare, there’s nary a tip or trick in sight. So without further ado we’d like to take you on a fun house tour through our good friend Justine’s amazing abode. Her house serves as the perfect example of what to keep in mind to evoke that cozy and über inviting feeling that doesn’t always go hand in hand with a super-sized space. Rule #1: Create different zones by using a variety of furniture arrangements and other decorating elements to define each space. For

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Burning Question: Breakfast At Tiffany’s In Bed?

Ok, another burning question for you guys: what are your thoughts about having a tv in the bedroom? This is a surprisingly polarizing topic for many people, and we’d love to know whatcha think. This breathtaking master suite by Candace Olson has a big flat screen above the fireplace. Thoughts on this seemingly popular decorating trend? Do tell…

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A Case of Elephantitis

The June issue of R Home (Richmond Magazine’s home-related offspring) had a great little story about a woman who stumbled upon a Knoll Bertoia Side Chair last year for a mere 25 bucks, far below its usual $500 retail price. This too-good-to-be-true mecca where designer pieces sell for average-joe prices? The ASID White Elephant Auction & Sale. So when this annual event stampeded back into town this past weekend, we were up bright and early on Saturday to be among the first ones there. The ASID (American Society of Interior Designers) White Elephant Sale is basically a collection of leftovers – furniture, accessories, paint, fabric – from professional interior design projects. Think of it as

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Kelly’s Design Dilemma

As soon as we received this basement man-cave makeover challenge, we couldn’t wait to dive in. Often times the basement can become a confused mish-mash of muddled man decor, so we’ll see if we can bring some order and efficiency (along with a whole lotta swoonworthy style) to Kelly’s soon to be extinct man-cave. Here’s her letter: Please help me transform the ‘man-cave’ which has taken root in my basement into a less masculine place that we can all relax and enjoy. We have lived in our house for 4+ years, but this room has been the ‘last frontier’. My objective is to make it more cohesive while maintaining its functionality as a TV room,

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Some Fresh Greens For Our Floating Vases

Last week’s post about our floating CB2 vases elicited a reader request for some other vase options beyond the grasses that we had on display. So without further ado, we bring you a greener, more contemporary option: Some simple cuttings from a tree out back (definitely more believable than any faux greenery we’ve seen) added a fresh dose of green and some clean organic shapes. And even though backyard clippings may need to be replaced on a weekly basis, they’re as easy on the wallet as they are on the eyes (read: free). Still craving a few other floating vase ideas? A layer of sand with a tiny seashell or two on top would be

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Our 15 Minutes of Fame

You could have knocked us over with a feather back in December when we won the Remodel, Blog & Win contest. And not only did we score a few clams (5000 of them to be exact), we also won a coveted interview with none other than AskTheDecorator.com’s Meghan Carter. And since Meghan is such a jet setter, we weren’t at all surprised that her schedule was packed until this June (which happily meant that we had six months to whip our house into prime shape just in time for its close up). And then this past Saturday, the fateful interview day finally arrived. We realize now that we could have taken more exciting photos if

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Shop & Learn

Possibly my biggest local inspiration, Williams & Sherrill can be summed up in one word: swoon. From furniture to fabric, they always provide fresh and fabulous ideas that really come in handy when decorating our own abode and solving design dilemmas for our lovely readers. And now even if you’re nowhere near Richmond they can serve as your long distance inspiration thanks to my trusty digital camera. Does this not look just like a Parisian cafe? The gorgeous pale colors and natural infusions of wood, metal, and porcelain make me crave mismatched dining chairs, a wire chandelier and antiqued peeling walls. W&S lesson #1: muted colors allow a variety of materials to work together to

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Father Knows Best

My dad gave me a toolbox when I was in high school. I think it had four things in it: a hammer, a handsaw, a set of screwdrivers and a photo of his dad (to show me that being handy was in my blood). But not even my ancestry could interest me in tools as a teenager. Yet I dragged that toolbox along to college, then to New York City and even back here to Richmond. With each move my need for (and skill with) those tools grew. And I added plenty to my collection along the way – levels, drills, wrenches, etc – eventually outgrowing the toolbox itself. But to this day we still

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Floatation Device

After countless readers asked what was hanging to the left of our living room fireplace, we thought our cheap teardrop vases from CB2 warranted a post of their very own. With 15 framed works of art in the expansive living and dining room (yup, I counted) the last thing we wanted to bring in were a few more hard edged rectangles. So for less than $12 (actually they were a gift so they were F-R-E-E), we added instant interest. Some wild grass “borrowed” from a Target parking lot completed the look (and has surprisingly held up for the last 12+ months). Observe: These vases are versatile. If you have a wall at the end of

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How To Make Labeled Vacation Jars For Your Travel Keepsakes

Inspiration can come from the strangest places, so I wasn’t even surprised when I saw some cool old canning jars in a recent Pottery Barn catalog and needed to take a closer look. Upon closer inspection I realized they were antique bell jars filled with shells, sand, and even just ocean water with fancy labels that said things like “Mikonos” and “Fiji”. Adorable. So I looked around and realized I had at least one or two keepsakes from each and every vacay that John and I have spent together. Why not put them on display instead of in a box in the closet? So after a trip to Michael’s to pick up 6 canning jars

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Stacie’s Design Dilemma

There’s nothing quite like a light and serene spot to rest your pretty little head. And that’s exactly what Stacie had in mind when she wrote to us. Here’s her letter: What a fun site you have!!! I spent quite a bit of time on it last night and it occurred to me you might be able to help me out. I’m just about to overhaul my bedroom. Its very big and very dark and I want it LIGHT LIGHT LIGHT and airy. I’m into modern styles with a touch of hollywood regency in there somewhere (and I LOVE Barbara Barry). I have to keep the dressers, the TV, the bed and the window shades

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Mi Casa, Su Casa

When two of our lovely readers sent us pics of their very own transformations that we inspired by our blog, we couldn’t have been more excited. So without further ado here’s Erin’s new CB2 pendant hanging proudly above her dining area. She went with the green version of the linen colored light fixture that we hung above our very own dining room table. Perfect, no? Elvira in DC also sent us a few pictures of her fantastic front door transformation. Here’s her entryway before a little color intervention: And her punchy new door thanks to a few glossy coats of Fabulous Red- the same Valspar hue that we used to makeover our brick rancher’s front

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Colleen’s Design Dilemma

Yep, we’re back with another room redecoration, this time it’s a space that has to perform double duty as both a part-time bedroom and a full-time den. Here’s the gist: Your blog is such a fun read and I admire all that you’ve done with your house! I need help with a den/part-time bedroom for my fiance’s twelve year old son named Cullen. I’d like to make it a cool media room as well as a bedroom for Cullen when he visits. We have another tv, stereos, speakers, books, and CDs/DVDs to put in here, but it has to mesh with Cullen’s toys (although he’s outgrowing them quickly). I look forward to any advice you

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