Young House Love

Home Decorating & DIY Tutorials

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Monstera Deliciosa – Plant Care Guide

Monsteras are one of the most iconic indoor houseplants today and for good reason. They’re an eye-catching, low-maintenance tropical plant that looks great in any space. Our monsteras are still low and bushy, but they’re climbing plants that can grow tall & tree-like too. Here’s why we chose this easy plant for our home. The genus Monstera includes over 50 different species of plants, most known for their large “monster” leaves with distinct holes and split edges. Today we’ll talk about the most popular houseplant variety of monstera: the Monstera deliciosa. What Is A Monstera Deliciosa? Monsteras are native to the tropical environments of Central America, especially Mexico. Their large, distinct leaves are a natural

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The Best Christmas Trees, Lights, & Holiday Decorations

Over the last 17 years, we’ve decorated a whole bunch of houses for the holidays and it means that we have favorite methods and items when it comes to decking the halls. And why is finding the best Christmas tree lights so hard?! The point is, we’ve tried a ton of holiday decorations, and this post is your one-stop shop for photos, ideas, info, and links to our favorite things – from the faux Christmas trees that we like best to our go-to outdoor lights (if you ask John’s special eyes, there is definitely a correct temperature). In this post we’ll cover all of our favorite: Wherever possible, we’ve linked to the actual items we’ve

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2023 Holiday Gift Guides

Just like for our 2022 Gift Guides and 2021 Gift Guides, we’ve put all three of our gift lists in one place (this post right here). So, without further ado… let’s dive into the 3 categories that we cover every year: We have fun making these each year, and always include things we actually own & love as well as items that we’re actually buying for others in our family (from our own kids to each other – and for relatives and friends). It’s probably helpful to point out that nothing was sponsored/gifted in order to get into this guide. If something is on these lists, we just genuinely love it (and in many cases,

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Benjamin Moore Simply White (OC-117) Color Review

White paints can be complicated. And believe me, we’ve tried more than a few over the years. Over a decade ago, we finally landed on Benjamin Moore’s Simply White (OC-117) as our favorite go-to white paint. It’s a warm and bright white that we put everywhere: walls, trim, doors, and cabinetry. Case closed, right? Well, it’s not quite that simple… What makes BM Simply White a popular white? Picking the perfect white paint for your home is hard because a true “simple” white doesn’t exist. And even if it did, you wouldn’t want it on your walls! The best white paints typically have hints of black and subtle colorful undertones like yellow, green, or pink.

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How We Organized Our Ikea Pax Closets

It feels like a miracle, but we’ve gone from absolutely zero closet space in our bedroom (when we moved in we just had dressers) to having just as much space as our last house’s big walk-in closet! We’ve previously covered how we installed Ikea Pax wardrobes and how we made them look built-in, so today we’re throwing open every door & drawer to show you how we’ve organized them. If you’re looking for tips to maximize your storage & specific products that can make it feel more customized, this is the post for you. It should be said upfront that neither of us have what we’d call a large amount of clothing (although I’ve always

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How To Unclog A Bathtub Drain

Excuse my excitement, but yesterday at exactly 5:41 pm I told our clogged bathtub drain who was boss. I did it all by myself while John was at work (gotta love girl power) and without spending a dime, calling a plumber, OR using chemical drain cleaners like Drain-o or Liquid Plumr. Victory is mine! So we’re gonna share every trick we tried, and what eventually worked best. We received nearly 200 crowd-sourced techniques on yesterday morning’s post (FYI – this post was originally published when we lived in our first home)! We even had some plumbers weigh in with expert advice! Unclogging Techniques We Tried Before we turned to our readers for help, we tried

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6 Smart Layout Features For A Smaller Home

Since downsizing to our 1400 square foot house three and a half years ago (as a refresher, our previous house was more than twice as large – clocking in at 3150 square feet), you’ve probably heard us proclaim that smart storage is key. It certainly makes living in a smaller home a lot more sustainable and enjoyable, but there are also specific layout features of our house that make sharing less square footage go a lot more smoothly for us. So whether you’re thinking of downsizing, considering a new home with any of these layout details, building a new home, or are just curious about what some of our favorite “living-larger-in-a-smaller-home” features are, we’ve put

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Sherwin Williams Extra White (SW 7006) Color Review

From its name, you might expect Sherwin-Williams Extra White (SW7 7006) to be the brightest, whitest paint on the market. And while it is a crisp clean white color – it has some nuances when it comes to where and when it should (and shouldn’t) be used in your home. So let’s answer some common questions about this popular white paint color so you can decide if it’s right for you. What makes SW Extra White a popular white? Extra White is one of the most popular white paints out there. Lots of these whites have names that lead you to believe they are the best, brightest, or “whitest” white around. You’ll see names like

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The Best Family Board Games

Our family LOVES a game night and we keep a tight collection of only our 30 most favorite games. They cover a pretty wide variety: card games, party games, puzzle games, and more. We believe the best family board games are as fun for grown-ups as they are for kids. So except for a couple of adults-only versions that we’ve clearly labeled below, everything linked in this post is great for the whole family. I’ve categorized our games into the groups you see below. But be warned – there’s definitely lots of overlap! I’ve included a brief description of each game, but to avoid repeating them every time a game appears in a list, you

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Easy DIY Window Plant Shelf

Let’s show you how we whipped up this CRAZY simple window plant shelf! You can make it in less than an hour & without any fancy tools, meaning you’ll be out shopping for more plans in no time. We even used some scrap wood we already owned, so the DIY project only cost us $2 to complete! We’ve put some greenery in this window, but adding the floating shelf gave us room for lots more! It adds some interest to a formerly non-descript window and the plants are super happy in the sunlight! You can see what it looked like previously along with all of our bathroom before and afters. Note: We recently had our

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Sherwin-Williams Pure White (SW 7005) – The Best Whole House White

Picking the perfect white paint can be a mind-numbing process. But after trying several, we’ve gone ALL IN on our one true favorite: Sherwin-Williams Pure White. It’s got all of the things you’re probably looking for in a crisp white, without any of the pitfalls that you run into with others (too bright! too gray! too yellowed!). Plus, it’s versatile enough to work on just about every surface of your home: walls, doors, trim, ceiling, cabinets, and more. Is Sherwin-Williams Pure White the best white? Anybody who has looked for white paint knows finding a “true white” is nearly impossible. Whites vary greatly depending on their undertones, often skewing yellow, pink, violet, or even green.

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Two Days In St. Petersburg Florida With Kids

Rather than take one big vacation this summer, we opted instead for a few short trips so we could experience more new places. We kicked things off with a 3-night trip to Charleston, SC, we met up my parents in the Georgia mountains in July, and then capped off the summer with a getaway to St. Petersburg, Florida. Sherry and I had only been there very briefly during this 2008 beach vacation, so we were excited to spend more time there and explore it with our kids. So here’s a quick recap of what we did, where we ate, and why we’re excited to go back. Where Did We Stay In St. Petersburg? St. Petersburg

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