Young House Love

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Framing A Custom House Portrait

How do you like that sensationalized title? Haha. It’s like Star Magazine up in this joint. This is basically a post idea that John and I came up with when we realized that there were a surprising amount of nooks and crannies in the house that we’ve never shared. And some things that are a lot bigger than a nook or a cranny. Which is weird for two over-sharers like us. So consider that remedied now that we’re over-spilling the beans in true Petersik fashion. Without further ado, here’s the first we-can’t-believe-we-haven’t-shared-it-yet thing. Our pantry:

NotSeen Pantry

We’ve mentioned that we have a pantry-ish cabinet next to the wall oven in our kitchen…

Other Side Final

… but realized that we never opened wide and snapped a shot. All the cabinetry in the kitchen was replaced around 25 years ago, so the swing out doors and the little middle compartment that also swings out (so there’s storage on the back and on the wall behind it) must have been quite the state of the art stuff back in the day. Heck, we’re still kind of charmed by all of those little shelves to stash stuff – although we do occasionally forget where we put something which leads to a ten minute cabinet swinging search party.

Ok moving on, betcha didn’t know we had an in-ground irrigation system. Fancy, right? Since I’m not fancy I just use the term sprinklers. It’s not for our whole almost-acre lot, just for the front yard and a small portion of the backyard that’s grass. Of course we’re “frugal” with our water usage, so we only turn it on after a while without rain (when we’re not on water restriction of course), but they’re actually pretty handy (it definitely beats wrestling the hose). And Burger jumps off the couch/out of the bed and runs to the window if they turn on. Which is always hilarious. The guy loves watching them do their thing.

NotSeen Irrigation System

Up next is just an update that we’ve been meaning to share. Remember I mentioned that I got a rendering of our first house for John this Father’s Day? Well, I finally got around to framing it. First here’s a shot of the pretty little pen & ink + Prisma marker portrait:

NotSeen Color House

The artist (Jennifer Ahnquist from Kentucky) also included this first-draft sketch in the envelope as well, which was really fun to see:

NotSeen BW House Sketch

So here’s the portrait hanging up in our always-changing hallway frame gallery. We hung it nice and low (using the same affixed-to-the-wall-so-it’s-baby-safe method that we outlined here) since Clara loves saying “ohh hou” which is “bean-talk” for old house. So cute.

NotSeen Both Framed Far

Oh and see the frame above it? That’s this page from a hand-me-down Boden catalog that my BFF left at my house. I loved the playful riff on “seize the day” so I just cut it out (following the imperfect background rectangle) and popped it into that frame. Can’t wait until Clara starts learning to read, since it’s down towards her level.

NotSeen Squeeze The Day

This never before seen tidbit might scare you in an is-that-the-vine-from-little-shop-of-horrors-and-will-it-try-to-eat-my-face kind of way. Yup, that’s right, the green leafy mass on the tree trunk next to our upper patio is a vine. It’s actually “hugging” a tall healthy oak tree (we had someone check things out, just to make sure), and apparently the vine down towards the base shouldn’t be invasive enough to do too much damage, but if it continues to grow and starts looking too heavy or the tree starts not-thriving we’ll be on it like white on rice.

NotSeen Vine Around Tree

And now for the that’s-a-shame thing that we’ve never really pointed out specifically. We love the extra wide reclaimed pine floors in our bedroom, but they desperately need some love. Check out the faded square in front of our dresser (our best guess is that some piece of furniture sat there for so long that the floor somehow faded around it).

NotSeen Faded Bedroom Floor

It has also completely lost its seal, so the previous owners must have placed something brown here on the floor that was sucked right into the wood and stained it (floors with poly or some other sealer usually prevent this from happening). So refinishing it (along with a lot of other damaged areas of hardwood in our house) is definitely on the someday agenda.

NotSeen Rings Bedroom Floor

We also ironically learned in the very last post about our first house how often we re-share the same angles of a room over and over again – but somehow miss taking shots from other vantage points. For example, we never shared a shot like this of the den (looking into the kitchen/laundry nook) until moving day when everything was packed up in the truck. So it makes us want to include mundane photos like this one of the hallway that connects Clara’s room, the playroom, the guest room, and the hall bathroom to the heart of the house (the hallway frame gallery/kitchen/dining room/living room, etc).

NotSeen HallwayRegister

See that giant intake vent near the floor? I’m dying to add some sort of wainscoting to the hall, but I’m not sure how I can do it with this beast going on. Maybe just work it in around it and paint it glossy white and hope that it looks semi-seamless?

Ok, and here’s the thing that will probably surprise everyone the most. This is the south-west corner of our house:

NotSeen Spaceship Sunroom

Yup, it’s pointy. The entire sunroom actually slants up. Which definitely threw us off during our walk-through since the rest of the house is so mid-century and ranch-ish. This room was added in the 90’s, so that might explain the different look. But it’s actually a really airy and light-filled room from the inside – thanks to that lofted ceiling:

Picture 54

So it has lots of potential and we’re happy to have it – strange slanting-up roof and all. We actually have a few ideas for trying to integrate it down the road when it comes to the exterior, but who knows where we’ll end up. One thing is for sure: we’ll keep you posted. Probably in that typical over-sharing fashion that we know so well.

Is anyone on the floor? Come on, somebody tell me that something shocked them. Probably not. I wish we had crazier house secrets (although I do have a recurring dream about discovering a hidden room). Wouldn’t that rock?

Psst- Speaking of dreams, I actually had one about Beyonce last night. But the real one (as opposed to the chicken one that we mentioned yesterday). We bought a tiny horseshoe shaped necklace together (it was $100 so I put in $40 and said “you’re the rich one, so do you mind doing $60?). Ugh, I’m even embarrassingly cheap in my dreams. But Beyonce was cool with it. The oddest thing is the concept (how on earth were Beyonce and I going to share a necklace? Are we together so much that swapping it back and forth is easy?). So strange.

Comments

  3. Kate says

    Okay- I think it’s funny/odd when people notice little details… but I couldn’t help but notice the top left cupboard/shelf of your pantry. Is that tea? It looks like the “Mother’s Milk” tea that I drink. :)

    And the Beyonce thing… I totally get it. Happens to me too. So strange!

    P.S. Would you guys ever be willing to share what your cleaning routine is? How do you manage it? Who does what? Perhaps it’s not post-worthy, but I do wonder. :)

    Thanks!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Yup, totally mother’s milk tea. I drank that like crazy for the first 14 months of Clara (when I was breastfeeding). As for our cleaning routine, here’s a detailed post all about it (I did almost all of it while John did cooking and laundry because we thought that was fair when John worked at an office and I worked from home- now that we both work from home John pitches in more, which is awesome – so I think I got the good end of the deal since he still cooks and does laundry).

      xo,
      s

  5. Minnesota Molly says

    Seeing the big light square on your hard wood floor made me think of the experience I had with my very first ‘nice’ piece of furniture–a very tall sofa table made of natural cherry wood. When it arrived at my house I called the furiture shop to complain because it was about 10 shades lighter than what I ordered. Imagine my surprise when they told me that many different woods respond to sunlight by drastically changing color over time (certain kinds of stain stop this process).

    Two years later I have the beautiful, deep cherry piece I ordered…with the exception of a small circle where a lamp has been sitting. So who knows, maybe over time your floor will correct itself! One can always hope! ;)

    Reply

  6. danyelle says

    funny I just framed a pic from the boden catalog too! It was the page that said welovecolor. Its hanging in our nursery.

    Reply

  7. Monique says

    Beautiful house. I actually like your pantry. My pantry is more like a small closet. And your sunroom…love it. That’s where I’d be most days. Looks very comfortable, bright, sunny…love it!

    Reply

  8. katalina says

    I have a feeling you are secretly doing a project behind the scenes–painting the office , painting the pantry or night stands. You will have to space out all your
    projects so your blog followings won’t feel so bad if the only thing we checked off today is 1) mowed lawn or 2) went to farmers market

    or maybe you are taking a much needed break and having some Clara time!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We are actually taking the weekend to enjoy family time! My mom’s visiting from NY and hasn’t seen Clara since before she started walking or talking. So cute.

      xo,
      s

  10. Haley says

    I think the pine floor issue was dirtied rather than faded. It is darker where it was exposed because of wear, and the place where the furniture was sitting is the original color.

    In my parents house, my sisters and I each had a secret room. We called them Hidey-Holes. When they were building the house, my mom asked the builders to just put a little door on the extra space between dormer nooks upstairs. We loved them, especially as kids!

    Reply

  13. Abby says

    I just noticed the Clara fabric in one of the frames!

    I was wanting to do something similar with a scarf I have. Did you just wrap it around a square of cardboard? And is that just a piece of cardstock behind it?

    Thanks :)

    Reply

  14. Erin C says

    I love the “Squeeze the day” from the Boden catalog. Maybe I need to look more carefully at the next Boden catalog I get in the mail! Never know where new inspiration will come from!

    Reply

  15. Kari says

    I remember reading that you guys don’t eat out a lot, and by the looks of your pantry, it seems that you try to eat healthy and organic. Would love it if you posted some of your favorite budget friendly yet healthy recipes! Maybe on young house life?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      I wish we were more interesting and ate awesome meals to post! Haha. We usually just eat basics like spaghetti and salad, veggie dumplings with brown rice, veggie pizza, turkey burgers (or veggie burgers), etc.

      xo,
      s

  16. Nancy says

    Do you guys also have a separate garage-like work space for the power tools we haven’t seen yet? I feel like I’ve seen it in ‘in-progress’ pictures but maybe this is a my own personal work space mirage. Also, I don’t remember seeing the big PAX cabinets that were in the little storage room with the outside door at the old house? Did you leave those?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      John uses the basement a lot. I think you could see that in the post about the desk counter (John sanded them down there and we laid them all out on the floor and took a pic or two). You can also see it on the house tour page. As for the ikea cabinets that were in the last house’s basement, we conveyed them to the new owner (they bought them along with our bed, curtains, etc).

      xo,
      s

  19. Dina says

    Hi Sherry! I have a completely off-topic question about the Clara fabric you made on Spoonflower, but I figured it was easier to put it here than on an old post. I’m planning on ordering some fabric from Spoonflower and I was wondering what weight you thought would be good for a crib skirt and curtains. Do you think the quilting weight you got, or the cotton sateen weight, would be heavy enough, or is there a heavier weight you think would be better (for either the skirt or the curtains)? I’m too impatient (and cheap) to order swatches in various weights, so I thought you might be able to help based on your experience with the fabric. Thanks in advance (and thanks as always for the inspiration)!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Hmm, we just got the basic cotton weight I think (whichever one was the cheapest) and it seemed too thin for a crib skirt/curtains, so whichever they offer that’s a little thicker would be better I think. Wish I knew more. Anyone know the weight by name that would work for Dina?

      xo,
      s

  20. Brandy says

    Use Fancy Vents in the hallway! They are expensive, but gorgeous. And made local to Nashville. You could also check out Preservation Station on 8th Ave here and see if they have some sort of cover for it.

    I adore the pine floors…so different! And the sunroom outside view was a shocker. I figured it was a neighbor’s house.

    Love your blog, best of luck!

    Reply

  21. Rachel H. says

    Ahhh, what I would give to have a pantry like that in my kitchen! I see that you also have an addiction to TLC fruit bars? :-) Love them.

    Reply

  22. Margot says

    Hi, new here! Your house is beautiful and I love what you and your hubby have done with it. It’s so lovely, chic and cozy at the same time. Thank you for sharing your ideas!

    Reply

  24. Jessica says

    Ok, the pantry is totally awesome – jealous!

    And also, my inner grammar nerd is trying to emerge…… Recur is what you want to us instead of reoccur since it’s not an actual word.

    Reply

  25. Caitlin says

    Great post! It’s amazing that even though you might overshare, we’ll still carefully examine each angle, topic you keep presenting to us. Thanks! Oh, and I think I knew about the automatic sprinklers – can’t remember which post though, I’m vaguely wondering if it was around the time that you were planting the tree to eventually screen the neighbours? I would so love automatic sprinklers, due to plants dying because of my lack of faithfulness when it comes to water. It’s on the wishlist…

    Reply

  26. katalina says

    I am wondering what Clara’s first sentence will be…

    1) let’ s just ORB it!

    2) I think SATIN moonshine white would look better than kitten whisker white!

    waiting for her house tour!

    Reply

  27. Rachel says

    Sherry, wow, that is so strange…after my husband and I bought our house I kept having recurring dreams about finding an extra room we somehow never knew about! I loved it and I always wished it was true when I woke up. I still sometimes have them (5 years later) but not nearly as often.
    Thanks for showing us some never seen before areas!

    Reply

  29. Bella Daylight says

    Someone probably already said this but i am too lazy to read through all of the posts so here goes:
    Regarding the lighter spot on your floor. I doubt that it faded my guess is that the hardwood floor simply got darker where there wasn’t any furniture because real hardwood floors tend to get darker over time ^^

    Reply

  30. ashlee says

    i can’t wait to see what you do with this kitchen. can’t wait. is your plan to repaint and jazz up a bit slightly and then do a full reno, as you did last time?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Since the cabinets are in such good shape and we generally like the layout we’re planning to work with them (paint them, new hinges & hardware, etc) and also plan to keep the granite since it’s relatively new and in good condition. But we’ll definitely be replacing the mismatched appliances, moving a few things around, redoing the backsplash, flooring, and lighting- etc. So it won’t be a full gut job like the last one, but probably a lot more of a spruce up than the first wave in our last house (where we just painted).

      xo,
      s

  33. becca robison says

    Hello!

    someone very well may have asked this already, but I don’t have time to read through all the posts w/ my newborn ; )

    Wanted to know where you found your frames for your gallery? (white ones) I am trying to do a gallery but am finding all of the frames that I like, are quite pricey-when all added up. and i just need some basic ones like the frames you guys used.

    Thank you!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We got most of them from Ikea and Target (sometimes Ikea has markdown stickers and stuff). Another great place to find frames is a thrift store (and you can spray paint them if they’re not white).

      xo,
      s

  34. Rachael says

    Thanks for over sharing, I loved every minute of it, including your crazy Beyonce dream! Your dream self should have told her to pay for the whole thing, she can totally afford it. I’m shocked that your house has that unexpected sun room architecture. I just stared at the picture when I saw it, but I kinda like the contrast.

    Reply

  35. Jane says

    Hehe!! I’m one of those many many silent readers that read you daily :)) Just wanted to tell you that I LOVE your blog!!And your makeovers & DiY’s are always so so so so inspiring and amazing!!!

    I actually have two pantries at home,they are going to explode sometimes soon! (When my mom shops,she actually buys things for 2/3 months use)

    Love From Mauritius :) Its a smaaaaallll island in the Indian Ocean and you have a very BIG fan there :D

    Hugs,Jane :)

    Reply

  37. Violeta S. says

    Hey Sherry!
    I resently read an article about interpretations of common dreams … here is what finding a new room means:
    Discovering new space in your home—often you’ll open a door and uncover a staircase that you’d never known was there—“is usually symbolic of some aspect of yourself that is opening up for unanticipated potential,” says Dr. Garfield. If, for example, you stumble upon a room full of artwork, you may be realizing your desire to get back into painting. Or if you find a cabinet of family heirlooms, the discovery might symbolize a newfound connection with your relatives. Isn’t that great, finding your new potential (for DIY ot not) is so inspiring!

    Reply

  40. jesser says

    How do you like the pantry?? We have a tall cabinet for a pantry that is the black hole for food … I’m constantly losing stuff in there. We’ve been considering replacing it with a system like this, but dragging our feet on it partially because we’re unsure how it would function in real life. Thoughts??

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We really like it! It’s not very organized (our fault) so sometimes it takes us a few tries to find something since there are so many layered shelves, but we love that nothing is hard to reach in the back of a deep shelf.

      xo,
      s

  41. Jannell says

    I love it!

    One idea for the wainscoting/vent- you could removed the vent cover and cut 1/4″-1/2″ verticals out of whatever type of board you use for the wainscoting. Probably would have to consult someone about how many square inches you needed open. Or you could do a raised panel that works with the dimension of the vent.

    On the topic of dreams- I had a yhl dream last night! The two of you came into the little Mexican restaurant I just started working at. For some reason Sherry had ordered her food the day before and I couldn’t find the paper I wrote it down on- I kept shuffling through a stack of newspapers and magazines looking for it. John was the diner from hell!! He kept ordering things that weren’t on the menu and insisting on having a spicy chicken burger?! I kept apologizing that we only did authentic Mexican, to which he complained that was the problem with “all you New Englanders.” Then you tried to leave without eating and wanted to speak to the owner and I freaked out and kept begging you to stay and I’d try to cook something myself! I actually did win the father’s day give away from you guys when you gave away the grill and reel mower- but in my dream I kept telling you how I won a kitchen floor from you and I just wanted to make it up to you and I’m really not a bad waitress. John was thoroughly unimpressed, but Sherry took pity on me and tried to help cook something. But turned out there was no kitchen, just a vending machine full of chickens and weirdly packaged meat. Oh, and you said you were going to write a post about how I was a horrible waitress. haha- it was totally mortifying and bizarre.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Oh man – that’s so funny because in dreams John’s usually the nice one and I’m the mean/neurotic one. Haha. He also hates spicy anything, so ordering a spicy chicken burger is too funny.

      xo,
      s

  42. Laura says

    We have some seriously random stuff in our house. There was a random extension cord in our bedroom coming up from the floor. We don’t know where it went but its not working and the electrician tested it thoroughly. Also the previous homeowners left us this horrible made of plastic painted metallic gold cherub with grapes holding a table. Its terrible but we put it out whenever we have a garden party. I mean why not?

    Reply

  45. W Design says

    We have almost that exact same pantry – crazy!! My husband and I bought our house from his grandparents, and his grandfather made a pantry just like yours for the kitchen. We love the space and the swing-out doors!

    Reply

  47. Trina says

    Sorry for the huge amount of gushing that is about to happen but I must say you guys crack me up!! I just discovered your blog a couple days ago through a friend & have been checking it out non-stop for 3 days now! I just can’t seem to get enough, there is just so much good stuff to experience!! Plus I feel I MUST catch up on all the time I’ve missed!! Your humor makes your blog just as entertaining as all the wonderful pics/house/reno info you post. Love how down to earth & fun-loving you guys seem. PS–I’m looking forward to buying your book as soon as it’s available, too!! :-)

    Reply

  49. Jennifer says

    Late to comment on this, but wanted to let you know that we had the same issue with the heating vent, and we just worked it into the wainscoting. Hubs did a fantastic job working it into the room(s) (in our dining room and in our hallway) and it looks gorgeous. Well, as gorgeous as it can — it’s a vent. We’re in Richmond too. I’d be glad to send over some photos for inspiration! Sometimes you just need to see how someone else did it. Love your blog!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Sounds gorgeous! Would love to see pics if you don’t mind! See the button on the sidebar with our mugs on it? That’s how you can send photos our way! Thanks so much.

      xo,
      s

  50. Annie Murphy says

    The pics are so awesome especially of dining table is so nice I like these all pics. it is my dream to have a very nice home in a beautiful location and much more. and that’s why I love my dream. Thanks for sharing the post.

    Reply

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