Young House Love

DIY Home Decorating Projects, Tutorials, & Shenanigans

| By | |

How We Cleaned A Dingy Secondhand Rug

Pretty much every vintage runner we own is one that we have ordered online, never having seen them in person. Generally, we’ve had great luck. But it’s always kind of a gamble because you can’t fully trust a photo to show you what something truly looks like in person (especially under the specific lighting conditions of your space versus theirs – plus your computer monitor’s brightness can alter things too, etc). It might arrive and look darker in person. It may be a bit more worn when you actually lay eyes on it. The colors may be a smidge yellower or grayer or whatever. But as long as you understand that up front and are

[ Read More ]

| By | |

#169: How Exactly Do You Downsize Your Stuff?!

As we prepare to move into a house that’s less than half the size of our current one, we’re taking a long hard look at our belongings to figure out what should come and what we no longer need, love, or have a use for. And today we’re outlining the systematic criteria that we’re using to evaluate what to bring and what to leave behind (yes, we actually have four questions that we consider for every last object). Plus we’re sharing how we’re getting rid of the things we don’t need, including different ways to donate (and some great causes to consider), along with a recent technique that we tried (and it worked!) for selling

[ Read More ]

| By | |

Our T-Shirt Line Is Baaaaaaaack!

Over 10 years ago we launched a small t-shirt line featuring designs for women, men, and – yes – even dogs! I’m not kidding. Who remembers that?! We eventually retired it, so who knows how many still exist out there in the wild – beyond the dozen or so in my dad’s closet (he was our best customer) and the one below that showed up at a book signing in 2015. Earlier this year we got the itch to relaunch the line, but this time with a shift away from logo shirts and towards styles that could fit easily into anyone’s closet… all while maintaining a distinctly Young House Love look. So for months we’ve

[ Read More ]

| By | |

#168: Our Florida Renovation Kicks Off With (Surprise!) A Plumbing Issue

We knew our new house in Florida would involve some big repairs, but we didn’t anticipate a certain plumbing curveball to get lobbed our way (although given our past plumbing luck, maybe we should have seen this coming). So this week we’re sharing how it popped up, why it cost thousands of dollars, and what we’re doing to resolve it. And with so many people suddenly working from home, we’re sharing our top tips for being productive in a home office (even a temporary one) – including what has and hasn’t worked for us over the last decade. Plus, the app that’s blowing our minds and the binge-worthy show that we still can’t believe. What’s

[ Read More ]

| By | |

Turning A Mostly Unused Room Into A Kids Art & Work Space

Some of you will remember that way back in January, Sherry talked about grabbing these wood chairs from Target on Instagram Stories for “a side project we’re working on that we’ll share after we complete the bathroom.” And then the bathroom dragged on for a few more months (you can see the finished product & full budget breakdown here) and somewhere in there this big thing happened too. So while we’ve been enjoying this completely new room for a few months, we’re excited to FINALLY share the update with you guys. So let’s show you around and tell you why we decided to revamp this room. The space you’re looking at is actually our old

[ Read More ]

| By | |

#167: Have Our Moving Plans Changed? And Are Our House Sales Derailed?

With everything that’s going on right now, we’re the first to admit that house stuff feels trivial, but we’re keeping our podcast going in the hopes that it’s a welcome escape for anyone tuning in (it’s definitely a nice distraction for us). This week we’re answering the most common question we’ve gotten in the last few days: how the coronavirus is impacting our Florida move and our house sales (spoiler alert: one contract has fallen through). We’re also having a strangely thorough discussion about high-tech toilets and bidets. Plus, we’re sharing two things that are helping us make the most of being home with kids 24/7. What’s New Note: As promised we’ve rounded up ways

[ Read More ]

| By | |

#166: We Sold Our House!

Our Richmond home is officially under contract (!!!) and it all came together unlike any other house we’ve sold before. So today we’re breaking down how it all happened, why it was surprisingly emotional, and what it means for our move in June. We’re also highlighting an unsung hero in our master bathroom renovation and exploring whether we’re all doing bathroom storage totally wrong. Plus, the app that may be bumping Instagram out of the top spot in Sherry’s heart. What’s New Over a whirlwind weekend, our house saw lots of foot traffic and at the end of it all… a signed contract! And boy are we grateful! The full story is in this week’s

[ Read More ]

| By | |

Our Master Bathroom: Before & Afters Plus A Budget Breakdown!

We waited over 6 years to start our master bathroom renovation and now, nearly 6 months later, it’s fully completed! And you know what that means – the master bathroom curse that we discovered over the last month definitely seems to be in play (more on that here). All jokes aside (but really, is the curse a real thing, because it seems like it might be?!), let’s put all of this waiting to an end and get to the goods. Including a source list and a full budget breakdown at the end of this post! Believe it or not, the “after” photo above was taken in virtually the same spot as the “before” picture below.

[ Read More ]

| By | |

#165: The Dumb Thing We Did Before Listing Our House

We’re fessing up to an extremely poorly timed project that made our house look WORSE right before it hit the market. Whoops. Plus we share the smorgasbord of ways we’re selling our houses. All three are being sold differently (including some with and some without the help of a real estate agent). So we’re breaking down how and why we chose each route, including why we paid to have a “pre-inspection” done for our Richmond home and how that changed our preparations for listing the house. Plus Sherry talks about an unconventional (and completely accidental) way she decluttered her digital life. What’s New This is literally the cleanest, emptiest, cobwebless-est our garage has been since

[ Read More ]

| By | |

A Surprisingly Quick And Demo Free Hall Bathroom Makeover

This bathroom came together in such a short period of time, we almost can’t believe it ourselves (and we witnessed it with our own four eyeballs). If we hadn’t watched it fly along ourselves, while everything just seemed to line up perfectly, we probably wouldn’t have thought it was possible – especially after the longest-bathroom-reno-of-our-lives that we started way back in October. (Yes it’s still going, but next week we’ll have a full reveal & budget breakdown! FINALLY!). Meanwhile, in less than a week, this upstairs hall bathroom went from looking the way that it has looked for years (old painted double vanity, two yellow-beige sea-shell shaped sinks, bare white walls, old seams in need

[ Read More ]

| By | |

#164: How We’re Getting Our House Ready To Sell

With our big move only a few months away, what do we need to do to get our house ready to sell? This week we’re outlining some of the projects we’re taking on – both big and small – including the fast-tracked makeover of our hall bathroom. John also outlines a shopping challenge of his very own for 2020 that’ll push us to look more locally when we seek certain items. Plus, can a simple pen and paper save you money? We’re looking into an ancient budgeting method that promises to do so. Oh, and there’s an unintended rant about The Bachelor. What’s new If you missed our big news about moving last week, you

[ Read More ]

| By | |

Holy Buckets, We’re Moving! (To A Smaller House In A New State)

In case you haven’t had a chance to listen to this week’s podcast or read the transcript, we wanted to put our big news into an actual blog post. It’s basically a combination of info from the podcast + additional details based on some common questions that kept rolling in. It’s one of the biggest life changes we’ve made in the last decade, so it feels good to get everyone up to speed in this post. And a huge thank you for all the support and encouragement you’ve shared for this new adventure of ours. We can’t wait to live with less, be outside a lot more, and eat even more fresh caught shrimp than

[ Read More ]