Young House Love

Home Decorating & DIY Tutorials

Posts By John Petersik

John Petersik is one half of the duo behind the award-winning home improvement and do-it-yourself design blog, Young House Love. Together, he and his wife Sherry have renovated seven homes, published two New York Times Bestselling books, and designed products sold in Target and Home Depot. They are currently enjoying their downsized home on Florida's Gulf Coast with their two kids and their dog, Penny.

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What DIY Tools Do You Use Most? Any Favorites?

Q: Hello Youngsters. As I read about all the projects you tackle around your house, I find myself wondering whether you have a gigantic toolbox, or if in fact there are just a small handful of tools that you use on a regular basis. Do you have a few essentials you’d recommend to any DIYer? Are there any tools that you don’t have, but find yourself wishing for? Thanks!  -Chris A: We’ll admit up front that we’re extremely weird about storing our go-to tools. We actually keep many of them in a few of our kitchen drawers. Betcha didn’t see that one coming. Even our installer thought we were crazy when I told him the cabinet base

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How To Seal Grout

Experts recommend thoroughly sealing your grout after any new tile work is done, but even those who have sealed it (or have had it done professionally) back when their floor, shower surround, or backsplash is newly completed should break out the sealer regularly (anywhere from every six months to a year) to keep that nice protective coating on your grout. You don’t absolutely have to, but it really cuts down on maintenance and keeps it looking mint for years to come. What does sealed grout have over non sealed grout? Well, by not allowing moisture or dirt to penetrate the grout, it relegates these things to the surface, thereby protecting the look of your lines.

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Why We Like Being Eco-Friendly

You already probably know that Sherry and I do our best to make green decisions around Casa Petersik, but we actually approach the whole eco-friendly issue from two different places. Which means that we don’t always see eye to eye on the lengths that we’ll go to be green. Sherry’s interest in being green comes from a health & safety standpoint. That usually means limiting unnatural chemicals around our house, on our bodies, and in our food whenever possible. She’s the driving force behind things like filtering our water, gradually shifting into organic food, switching plastic tupperware for glass, cooking with Greenware instead of Teflon, and trading our personal care and cleaning products for their

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Cleaning An Oil-Clogged Air Filter In Our Lawn Mower

Our lawn was making me feel like a terrible neighbor last week. Sure, I had good reason (i.e. the ol’ newborn excuse) but surely the people driving by our house everyday didn’t know my airtight excuse. So to put my guilt to rest I resumed my Friday evening mowing routine. That is until our mower started spewing white smoke and sputtered to a stop. I was left with a dead lawn mower and two buzzed stripes in our yard. Awesome. To be honest, I was more annoyed at my incomplete mow job than my busted equipment. In fact, some of you on Twitter and Facebook probably saw us seeking recommendations for mower replacements mere moments

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