Young House Love

Home Decorating & DIY Tutorials

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Father’s Day, Animal Friends, & Cheesy Grins

Work continues on the deck (looks like we’ll have an update for you on Monday barring any unforeseen disasters inspection failures!) so to end this week with a dad-worthy bang, I thought I’d share something that a bunch of you have been requesting: a belated Father’s Day recap (like last year’s) – especially since the day included a few home related activities and presents.

Fathers Day Instagram

The day started off much like any normal Father’s Day might. We went out to one of our favorite brunch spots (deLux) and enjoyed some french toast in their open-air back room (we also enjoyed an impromptu walk beforehand because we accidentally arrived 20 minutes before they opened – oops).

Fathers Day Breakfast

Our day kind of got derailed from there because we found out just the night before that a New York Times photographer was coming by at noon to shoot our kitchen (!!!). Cue the sweaty palms. We’d already been interviewed for the article (about people who use online floor-planning software to guide home renovations) a couple of weeks before, but it literally wasn’t until 10:30pm on Saturday that we heard they needed someone to come over about twelve hours later on Father’s Day to snap the photos. Check out the big cameras he brought…

New York Times Photographer2

The article actually came out last Thursday while we were at Haven. We’ll admit we’re not head-over-heels for how it turned out since we feel like we sound a little anti-architect, which definitely isn’t the case (we even have a close friend who’s an architect!). During the interview they asked Sherry about kitchen designers (not architects) and how they might help, and Sherry said something like “a designer might tell you onyx is in or help you define what you like if you don’t know, which can be really helpful” but somehow a shortened version of that was used as our quote about architects (who do a heckova lot more than talk about onyx, as do kitchen designers!). You can read the article here if you’d like. I guess there’s always a risk that a story may shape up differently than it was originally pitched to you (we heard it was more about the software itself, kind of like this post that we wrote about the pros & cons of certain programs). But at least the photo of us came out ok. No closed eyes or spinach in the teeth. High five.

The photographer was pretty speedy (and extremely nice!), but between getting home quickly to clean up the house for his arrival (both our kitchen and ourselves) and then with him shooting photos until Clara’s nap, we didn’t really get a chance to squeeze in any more Father’s Day activities (since we were also working on blog projects to get ahead before our trip to the Haven Conference and practicing our little presentation). But Sherry, Clara, and Burger did treat me to some nice Father’s Day gifts – like this addition to our kitchen that sports my favorite thing (she got it from Joss & Main). Am I the only dad to get excited about a dishtowel? Perhaps. But put a bird bike on it and I’m sold.

Fathers Day Dishtowel

Knowing that I have a thing for cool art, Sherry also found this fun “Twenty Northern Friends” print that not only is a subtle nod to our Alaskan honeymoon, but also includes lots of geek-y trivia about lesser-known animals.

Poster Screen Shot0

Like, did you know a Snowy Owl can eat close to 2,000 lemmings in a single year? I’d say that’s about 2,000 more lemmings than I’ve eaten in my entire lifetime.

We’re thinking the print will go here in our living room, but we’ve gotta get a frame for it first (fortunately Target sells a size that should fit, so we’ll keep you posted). We think it’ll play nicely off the dark gray beams in there.

Fathers Day Northern Friends

Speaking of keeping you posted, that picture reminded us that we’re guilty of sharing pictures of an unframed print and saying “we need to hang this and share the pics later” and then we hang it but never actually share the pics. So, let’s tie up some of those loose ends, shall we?

Come on into our frame hallway and make yourself comfortable…

Fathers Day Hallway Full

That’s where the map of Maui (which we bought on our Hawaiian vacation back in March) ended up.

HI Map

We were lucky that it fit in a frame that we found at Target (the mat’s opening was pretty much exactly the size of the map – huzzah for standard sizes!). And we actually had this empty spot on our wall since its previous occupant (an old map of Richmond) now lives on our kitchen shelves. Yup, things like frames and pillows definitely get around in our house.

Fathers Day Maui

And speaking of our trip out west, the wooden letterpress print that we got in Portland…

PDX Art

…also ended up in the hallway, just on a different wall. You can see it here on the bottom right:

Fathers Day Portland

I wish I could remember what was there before, but so much got moved around while shooting the book in January that I think it’s been empty for a while. Oh wait, I know – it was the other frame that we moved into the kitchen after the shelves were built since it had some images of food in it (it was actually an old $12 poster from allposters.com that Sherry cut up a few years back for our first kitchen).

Brackets Side

Who knew this Father’s Day recap would include miscellaneous art updates? Oh the twists and turns of blogging. As for Father’s Day, I’m thankful that I got to spend the day with my two favorite girls and my one favorite chihuahua (and a random, but very nice, photographer). How was your Father’s Day? Can you think that far back? I know I had trouble! Anyone have new art to hang? Or old project updates that they have yet to blog about? Why are those little updates so hard to remember to share?

Comments

  1. Andy says

    Your dining room curtain fabric is in the July issue of Better Homes & Gardens on the last page. It’s Khanjali in Peacock by Robert Allen.

    Reply

  2. Kate says

    As an architect, I agree the article overall sounds anti architect. But, I think that was the reporter’s angle. I appreciate you clarifying your thoughts on this blog post :) If someone has an eye for design and knows what they want, a simple kitchen remodel can very easily be done without an architect (I’ve personally never worked solely on a kitchen remodel for a client). As for that TN couple who designed their own house…is it doable without an architect? Of course. But, hiring a good architect for something like that can make a huge difference in the outcome. Good architects have great ideas, creativity, and experience; and they make sure the house is built according to plan, with the proper materials (all the way down to the insulation and caulk), and work with the contractor in coming up with good solutions with any problems that arise while building. All that being said, the article actually didn’t offend me at all. It just sounds like it was written from a certain angle.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Aw thanks Kate! We definitely were glad they included our “it could be see silly risky” quote about doing an entire house without an architect!

      xo,
      s

  3. Rhiana says

    Ok, this doesn’t have anything to do with your current post but I had to tell you guys this… I was googling Channing Tatum’s height (guess who saw Magic Mike last night) and there were a bunch of pictures that came up. I was scrolling through them and there in the middle of all the Channing photos was a photo of Clara Petersisk eating strawberries! It totally cracked me up and I just had to share!

    Have a great weekend!

    Reply

  4. Janet says

    I love the animal art and am totally with John on the “Hooray for standard sizes!” comment! My criteria for loving a piece of artwork must be that it is a bizarre shape and no ready-made frame will EVER be available for it, so I’m right there with ya! Thanks for the recap and happy belated Fathers Day! (and I’m framing and hanging an oddly shaped Ken Bailey print – the schnauzer chocolate bar one, this weekend!)

    Reply

  5. Michelle (aka mybelle101) says

    What a small world…the woman pictured at the top of the article is from our hometown! It sounds like you had a good, if busy Father’s Day! I love all the new prints!

    Reply

  6. Plein Jane says

    Love your Banquet print! We have another one of theirs called “Some Sea Animals of the Pacific Northwest.” Actually, we got it for our daughter, who is a marine biologist and got her degrees at UC Santa Barbara. But she said that it was “too stylized.” So we kept it — ha!

    I actually see her point of view. If you’re a scientist, you’re justifiably picky about things like that. But we love it, anyway.

    Reply

  7. erin says

    totally not father’s day post related, but i was wondering how you were all fairing with the weather that’s hitting the east coast? i’ve heard that there are lots of power outages and trees down due to wind and hoping that you are all ok!

    Reply

  8. Kim S says

    Your story about the NYT article reminded me of a story of my own that was mortifying for a while, but now I can laugh at it. Kind of.

    We have a building on the end of our street that used to be a restaurant but has been vacant for a while (at least for the 3.5 years we’ve lived here). The local paper was doing on article on why it should be cleaned up, and they asked for a quote from a neighbor, so I volunteered. The reporter called and we talked for about 10 minutes about how I love my neighborhood and being able to walk to restaurants, so my husband and I both wish that someone would buy that vacant building and transform it into a new restaurant that we could frequent. I also mentioned that since it had been vacant so long, there were some vagrants that had set up shop around the building. Well apparently, the reporter took that angle and ran with it, because it ended up on the front page of Monday’s newspaper that neighbor Kim Sanz was “bothered by the vagrants living around the building.” He never even mentioned all the nice things I had said about loving my neighborhood and being excited for a new restaurant to move in someday! The worst part was that we only get the paper Thursday-Sunday, so I probably never would have known, except that a guy in my husband’s office noticed my name in the article and cut it out for us. Oh well, I certainly learned my lesson about volunteering to be in the paper…never again!

    Reply

  9. Ashley says

    I don’t know if anyone already commented about the narwhal in that 20 northern friends print, but that is the coolest thing ever. I sort of have a mild obsession with narwhals… we even have one on our Christmas tree now. (:

    I love that you collect different pieces of artwork from your travels too. We’re going to start doing more of that. What a great way to remember your trips!

    Reply

  10. dana says

    hi guys! sorry this is off topic, and unfortunately a few weeks too late, but have you seen this diy jello-worms tutorial on pinterest? i know clara’s party has already come and gone but maybe these could be a really nice surprise treat? or have you tried them and found them to be too messy/not as perfect as this tutorial makes it seem?

    http://www.instructables.com/id/Bowl-of-Worms-Anyone/

    Reply

  11. Stacy says

    Anxious to know if everything is alright with you and your family. Seeing all the pictures of the storm damage in your area and a bit concerned. Hope all is well.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Safe? Yes. Sound? Yes. With power? Still no. But if that’s the worst this storm dishes out to us then I think we’ve fared pretty well. Thanks for asking!

      -Johm

  14. Tracey says

    Hey, on the upside of the disappointing Times article you guys have had some great coverage in ‘Style’ the ever-so-on-trend supplement in the ‘The Sunday Times’ (UK and Ireland edition)… while I was delighted to see you being accredited with founding the “American site that kick-started the trend (of DIY blogging)” and seeing a full page spread of your kitchen and bedroom (new rug and all!), I have to admit that I am a tad jealous now that I have to share you guys with the rest of Ireland and the UK after following you for the last year and half or so from the comfort of my DIY’d home on the West coast of Ireland – selfish I know! Hahaha! Congrats!

    Reply

  15. Melanie says

    I love the picture with all the bicycles on it! Where did you find that I would like one for my house!

    Thx

    Mel

    Reply

  17. Jen says

    This is probably a silly question, but how do you dust the frames when they are that close together? Or do I just have fat fingers that wouldn’t fit in between the frames with a wet cloth?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      A fluffy feather duster thing works pretty easily! I just sort of drag it around them every once in a great while (I probably only dust them twice a year- haha) and it seems to do the trick!

      xo,
      s

  20. Heather says

    How do you hang your prints? Do you have a bunch of little nail holes, or do you use command strips?

    Reply

  21. Shannon says

    I just got a beautiful Katie Daisy Earth print that I temporarily hung in my livingroom. I have another one of her prints in the mail that will go in the kitchen. I have a long, empty hallway wall that I plan on doing a gallery on but haven’t started yet.

    Reply

  22. Jess says

    “We’re extreme D.I.Y.ers,” said Ms. Petersik, who chronicled the project on their blog, Young House Love.

    MS.PETERSIK?!?! That’s so formal, I feel like I should be wearing a gown; and I’ve never even met you!

    Anyway, I’ve don’t think I’ve ever commented on anything other than giveaways, but I read the blog daily and I love. love. love it!

    Happy Monday :)
    Jess

    Reply

  23. Belinda says

    A recent discoverer of your blog and admittedly I’m totally hooked. Love it all!
    Total aside, what is the brand of your kettle and do you like it? Looking for a stovetop kettle but so many get bad reviews. Thanks

    Reply

  24. Cassie Helwig says

    I’m so envious of your frame walls! I have a lot of different prints I want to hang up and brilliant ideas for layouts and frame collections floating around in my head, but I have serious issues finding frames of different sizes that I am willing to commit to! I just see it as something that you have to buy a decent amount of frames to start with and gradually add too, not something you can get just 3 frames to start with.

    Reply

  26. Anna D says

    I am a little late on seeing this post, and you may have already said it somewhere, and it could even be in these comments somewhere, BUT, where did you get cute kitchen towel with the pink bicycle on it? I LOVE IT! Also, I was so bummed when I found out you guys were going to be in Boston recently and I couldn’t make it! I didn’t see it til about 3pm that day, oopsie! Please come back! :)

    Reply

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