Young House Love

Home Decorating & DIY Tutorials

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Birthday Booty

My birthday came early this year, with our trip to Williamsburg kicking things off last Friday, and no shortage of cards and special deliveries arriving in the days that followed. And because today is actually my 26th, I thought it was high time I shared the goods. First, an adorable (photoshopped) pic of my baby boy (in the appropriate birthday celebrating garb) from my best buddy Heather : My hubby pulled at my heart strings too with a custom ordered portrait of Burger that was actually cut out of black paper by a fabulous silhouette artist. It’s amazing that Burger’s complex personality (snuggly, squirmy, squishy, sweet) can be captured in a clipping, and no detail

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You Might Want To Sit Down

This is one of the most comparable product features we’ve ever done. And it’s one that’s close to our heart. You see, we registered for two of these chic and totally versatile slipper chairs from Target (where else?) and received them as wedding presents from the fam. Fabulous- and oh so comfortable (especially with a snuggly sheepskin casually draped on top). Here’s one of ours in action. And thankfully they didn’t set our family back like most upholstered chairs could. Coming in at just $129.99 (with free shipping right now) they’re a total steal. Especially when you compare ’em to this almost identical slipper chair from West Elm for $599 (plus $35 for shipping). Admittedly,

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How We’re Liking Our Arietta Vent Hood

Ever since we first posted about our vent-tastic Arietta hood back in October, it’s been one of the most asked about items in our home. Does it work? Does it really look that good? Is it too good to be true? We had to dodge those questions for months while the hood just sat on the floor waiting for its friends, the cabinets. But now it’s been up for a few weeks and we’ve been able to put it to the test. So let’s put all the speculation to rest. Yes, it works. Yes, it looks pretty darn fine. And no, it’s not too good to be true. For all of you out there who

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An Updated Video Tour Of Our House

Every good movie has a sequel (Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit, anyone?) so it’s about time we debuted the follow-up to last fall’s partial-house tour. Sherry’s back in her starring role as “tour guide” and I’m directing again, but the set is much improved this time around. Not only do we have a completed kitchen to share, but this time we take you through the bedrooms, the other bathroom, and even let you a peek inside our fridge. As you’ll see, a lot can change in five months. So grab some popcorn, silence your cell phones and enjoy. (Also, please excuse Sherry’s blurry face in the very beginning. The censored look wasn’t intentional.)

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Adding Personal Wall Art

Ok, enough people mentioned that they wanted to see some of the photo collage items up close, so here they are. First of all, how cute was my man as a little man? And now for the other open-mouthed shot. This time I’m the one catching flies: Here’s a close up of the vintage Richmond map (found across the country at a Portland flea market by a friend): And here’s that funny article about the insane popularity of weddings on 7/7/07 (sent to us a few days after our July 7th wedding by my dad): And last, but certainly not least, an amazing photo of my father as an angst-ridden teenager, taken in 1964:

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3 Sweet & Sentimental Art Ideas

A while back we promised another post about wall art, so here it is. Being sentimental- and on a budget- we’ve had to get creative in the art department. So until we can afford that original Warhol piece we have our eye on (yeah right), we’ll stick to providing interesting art alternatives. For example, take this vintage map project that Sherry surprised me with this Christmas. She found this amazing map (from 1907!) on eBay for around ten dollars, picked up a white frame at Ikea, and then removed the glass and added some cork backing and pinned the map in place. Then she stuck more pins (actually called “map pins” from Office Depot) into

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Puppy Love

This morning as John headed off to work he mentioned that he’d hidden “a little something” around the house and encouraged me to “go on a scavenger hunt.” As I embarked on a journey that I expected to include lots of looking under, over and between objects in every room, imagine my surprise and delight upon immediately finding this huge concrete greyhound statue waiting for me by my desk- complete with a big red bow. You see, my obsession with greyhound statues began eons ago when I spied a pair of white glossy, ceramic greyhound statues flanking a fireplace in Jonathan Adler’s book, My Prescription To Anti-Depressive Living. I then began seeing them everywhere, from

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Adding Ikea Wardrobes For A Built-In Bed Nook & More Storage

We started 2008 with a home improvement bang like no other. We were up at 8:20 am and on the road to Ikea by 9. What would motivate two sleep-deprived twenty-somethings to get up that early on our last day off? How about the thought of gaining not one, but two more bedroom closets?! That’s right, we finally decided that one tiny closet in the master bedroom (which forced John to keep all his clothes in the guest bedroom) was not enough. So on New Years Day we (fittingly) resolved to do something about it. Here’s the New Years Day play by play: 8:20 am- Up and at em’. 9:00 am- Hit the road for

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