Young House Love

DIY Home Decorating Projects, Tutorials, & Shenanigans

Search Results for: duplex drywall

| By | |

The Duplex Has Drywall! And A Video Tour!

Last week we gave you all of the details on the outside of our duplex renovation, but today we’re turning our attention to a big development on the inside: DRYWALL! We’d nearly forgotten how big of a step this is in a renovation, but all of the feels quickly came flooding back (just like when we hit the drywall stage at the pink house last summer). Rooms suddenly feel like rooms again! Your floor plan starts to feel real. And the vision for its finished state comes much more into focus. Speaking of vision, Sherry shot a video tour that goes room by room to explain what goes where (everything from where we’re planning to

[ Read More ]

| By | |

Exciting Developments At The Duplex

GUYS. GET EXCITED. Lots of major stuff is happening at the duplex. Like extremely thrilling developments that we’ve thought about and planned over the last year and finally… FINALLY!… they’re happening. You last saw the duplex about a month ago when we shared that it was drywalled, and the latest progress has basically put me over the edge. I, Sherry Petersik, am feeling what people refer to as “messy” about these recent developments. It means I’m too excited and it’s not a good look. But you know I can’t contain myself so I’m just gonna share it all anyway. GET READY FOR A CAPS LOCK EXTRAVAGANZA AND LOTS OF PICTURES! That room above is the living

[ Read More ]

| By | |

Our Duplex Paint, Cabinetry, & Tile Choices (Let’s Just Say They’re Not “Safe”)

I’m not gonna lie. Simultaneously choosing a bunch of finishes – like paint colors for walls and ceilings and trim and doors, cabinets for two kitchens, and tile for six bathrooms (plus two mudroom/laundry rooms along with two kitchen backsplashes) has felt overwhelming at times. Heck, planning just one room, like a bathroom renovation on its own, can feel overwhelming… and here we are planning six different bathrooms, two different kitchens, and 10 other rooms simultaneously! But we’ve managed to keep our heads on straight (so far) and even have some advice to offer through it all. So whether you’re working on a new construction and have to make a lot of decisions like this

[ Read More ]

| By | |

Why Are Shutters So Hard? And Other Duplex Exterior Questions Answered

You guys may have seen some of our progress on the duplex’s exterior on social media, but let’s get into some of the nitty gritty (and answer a ton of questions that have come in about it) here on the ol’ blog. We wanna talk shutters, steps, metal awnings, and what the heck is happening with all of that diamond door drama (among other things). As a refresher, this is what the house looked like before. Due to the historic mandates in town, we’re required to keep all of the basic elements of the house the same – original front doors, exact window locations, the roofline itself (ahem), and the corbels along the roofline… …

[ Read More ]

| By | |

The Duplex Is Coming Back Together, And It’s Happening Quickly!

Last time our duplex renovation was on the blog, it was still looking like shell – er, skeleton – of its former self (see below). The stench of potential was thick in the air (how’s that for a mental picture?) and today, nearly a month later, we’re gonna blow a big whiff of progress in your general direction. We’re starting to see our new floor plan come to life, the second story additions on the back of the house (two more bathrooms!) are nearly complete, and the rain held off just long enough last week to get the front windows in – including Sherry’s precious diamond-grille windows in the top middle (if you follow us on

[ Read More ]

| By | |

#94: Just When The Duplex Was Going So Well…

Just when we thought the duplex renovation was finally rolling along smoothly, we found ourselves in the midst of an ordeal that required an emergency trip to Cape Charles, and another hot-seat meeting with the Historic Review Board. We’re sharing all the details, along with an update on our month-long shopping ban (oh the temptations!). Plus we’re talking about how to get large materials and furniture home when you don’t own a giant car or truck. Because as much as we DIY, we don’t actually own the ideal DIYers vehicle. So this week we’ll tell you why, and share how we get around it. Plus, maybe millennials are just efficiently experts…? You can download this

[ Read More ]

| By | |

The New Duplex Floor Plan

If you saw our before & after post about the beach duplex demo, then you know we’ve got some big plans for the duplex’s floor plan. We want to make the most of the given space – and we’re even adding on a smidge more – so it can sleep more people, offer more bathrooms, and generally improve the feeling of being in this cool old house. Before each side had only one full bath (!!!), so we’re hopeful that we have nowhere to go but up. So we’re back today with some floor plans to show you exactly what we intend to do. And the nerd inside of me is extremely excited about it.

[ Read More ]

| By | |

A Tour Of Our New Beach Duplex!

If you haven’t already heard the news: we’re doubling down in the beach house department. And I mean the “double” part quite literally because we lost our minds and bought a DUPLEX! If you caught our podcast yesterday, you already know the whys, hows, and wheres of this story. The price was right (we even got them down 30K), the location is awesome (close to the park, shops, and a few blocks from the beach), and we didn’t feel like we could ever afford this much house in such a great spot if we waited much longer. This small town only has so many affordable fixer-uppers available before everything gets renovated and we get priced

[ Read More ]

| By | |

Making A Built-In Office Nook For $201

I know, I know – the idea of adding a little DIY office area at a vacation home seems borderline ridiculous, but back when we were debating what to add to the other side of the pantry, a bunch of people said a little desk area for email or writing or reading quietly would be nice to have in a rental. We definitely considered it, but went with more cabinets for general storage in there (you can see it here). But we kept the idea of adding a little desk nook somewhere else in the back of our mind. And if you get our email newsletter, you already know that we ended up opting to

[ Read More ]

| By | |

#102: Are Islands Ruining America’s Kitchens?

Islands are a staple of most modern kitchens, but this week we explore why not everyone is a fan (including what we realized is a negative about the island situation in our own kitchen). Plus, we’ve tiled our fair share of backsplashes, but our recent project at the beach house kitchen taught us an important lesson about preparation, patience, and imperfection. John’s also sharing a new technique for helping you pick the perfect paint color, Sherry finds a new favorite beach accessory, and, well… Chad!!! You can download this episode from Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn Radio, and Spotify – or listen to it below! Then use this page to check out any links, notes, or photos we referenced. Note: If you’re

[ Read More ]

| By | |

45 Tools You Should* Own

We get a lot of questions about what tools people should own and they only seem to pick up steam as we approach Father’s Day (are us dads really that predictable? Never mind, don’t answer that). “Should” is a strong term because what you need is very personal to the types of projects that you take on and how much budget/space you’re willing/able to dedicate to your tools. Also, I should note that Sherry uses every single tool that I do, so they also can make good Mother’s Day gifts… assuming your lady didn’t ask you for breakfast in bed and you got her a router. That might go over about as well as a

[ Read More ]

| By | |

Why Renovations Can Make You Want To Scream Into A Pillow Sometimes

Our post on Instagram last night was admittedly a little cryptic. We were having an extra frustrating day thanks to two discouraging duplex-related blows that came flying at us rapid-fire, in the span of a mere 10 hours. We’ve always tried to share the bad and the ugly along with the good – like talking about blowing a timeline or breaking a budget (or a ceramic animal). Or when we can’t find the water meter for a month or we fail our irrigation inspection in three different and spectacular ways). Sometimes on “Bad News Day 1” you don’t really feel like getting into all of the nitty-gritty details because you’re still in that “repeatedly screaming WHYYYY?!?!?”

[ Read More ]