Archive for September, 2009
Let The Blogiversary Extravaganza Begin!
Young House Love turns two this week (insert cooing toddler sound effect here). It feels like just yesterday when we were celebrating our very first blogiversary. Time flies when you’re having fun. And speaking of fun, to celebrate our second year in the blogoshpere we’re doing a few things to mark the last 365 incredible days we’ve shared with all of you.
First, we’ve lined up a week of blogiversary themed posts that take a look back at all the craziness of the last two years. We’ll also be sharing some of our favorite projects and milestones, giving away a pretty amazing blogiversary prize (seriously, we’re counting down the seconds to reveal this week’s fab freebie later today) and we’ll even be asking you guys to weigh in on what you’d like to see Young House Love become in year numero tres.
But before we do all that, we wanted to take another moment to say thank you. We never imagined 24 months ago that starting a little blog to document our kitchen remodel would snowball into full-time gig, and we have your amazing support and never-ending enthusiasm to thank for that. If only you guys could see how much your comments and emails make us perma-smile, you’d think we were in a Mrs. America pageant or something. Seriously, the only thing missing is some double stick tape and a dab vaseline on our teeth.
What’s truly crazy though are all the unexpected and wonderful things that your support has brought us this year. We’ve found our way onto CNN and HGTV, into the New York Times and even seen our mugs on the cover of a national magazine. And while our little blog’s growth is euphoric (somebody pinch us!) the fact that we’re able to do what we love everyday and still put food on the table (and in Burger’s bowl) makes us feel truly blessed and appreciative of each and every one of you.
So again – it can’t be said enough – thank you for all that you’ve done to give us the means and motivation to do this. Here’s hoping we can repay you with even more decorating ideas, home improvement tutorials, fabulous weekly freebies and much much more…
The goofy two-themed photos are from our Texas Road Trip, which you can virtually join us on here.
Lindsay’s Design Dilemma
Lindsay’s living room is bursting with total makeover potential. Here’s her letter:
I’m really excited to begin! My living room as a mismatched disaster! It’s a big space and I really can’t figure out what to do with it. I love your rooms and would like mine to reflect them. I am working to move all of my rooms into a more light and airy feel. I do have a 2 year old (with more babies to come in the future) so it needs to be somewhat kid friendly. My hubby won’t let me go too overboard so I need to keep: the entertainment center, toy chest, couch, chair, end table and coffee table. Obviously the giant orange wall (what the heck was I thinking?) is bare and needs to be repainted with the rest of the room. I just painted my kitchen Ben Moore “Sterling” so I need the new room to compliment that color. My plan was to paint the living room Ben Moore “November Rain” but I’m open to new ideas. I would love to put up a photo collage with frames on that accent wall (if you think it would work). I also was thinking about a roman shade for the window above the stairs- any ideas? There aren’t any patterns or colors that I don’t like for the room, I just want to keep it somewhat light. Thanks so much! -Lindsay
This space is primed for a major transformation. Here’s the plan:
And now for the mood board breakdown.
Read the rest of this entry »
Reader Redesign: Color Me Wonderful
Laura’s paint and accessory makeover is truly a testament that high style doesn’t have to come at a high price. Here’s her letter:
I enjoy reading your blog and wanted to share some before and after pictures of my living room redesign. I too am a first-time homeowner of a charming older house (a Cape Cod built in 1951). Since moving in four years ago, I have enjoyed taking on many projects to make the house my own while still honoring its history. The living room is now one of my favorite rooms in the house. Please excuse the clutter and décor in the “before” pictures; they were taken before I moved in. To complete the transformation, I used Behr’s Tide Pools on the walls with Behr’s Pot of Cream on the trim and filled the room with furnishings from Target, Pier 1, and JCPenney (and accessories from Homegoods, Marshall’s, and Target). The curtains hail from Christmas Tree Shops and the photography is actually pictures I took when living in Spain. Thanks for such an inspiring site. Keep up the good work! – Laura
Here’s Laura’s living room before the big makeover:
And here’s the same room after a few totally doable changes (hard to believe, isn’t it?!):
Isn’t that a lovely and inspiring transformation? We always say that paint and curtains really can dramatically upgrade a space and Laura’s living room is the perfect example of just how far those two things can go! What do you guys think? What’s your favorite part? Thanks so much for sending the photos our way Laura. Long live simple and oh so transformative room redos like yours!
