Sorry we haven’t posted more over the past two days. We spent Thursday and Friday enjoying food, family, and friends — and celebrating that our new pendant light from CB2 is finally installed above our dining area. Here it is as seen from the kitchen: And here’s the view from the living side of our … Read more

After finishing a porch chair makeover, I realized that, as frequent DIYers, John and I are exposed to quite a few household chemicals. I felt woozy and nauseous after only ten minutes of spray painting, which made me wonder how harmful these substances really are. Are the effects only temporary, or could repeated exposure lead … Read more

After finishing the two end sections of our three-piece DIY console table (previously described), I moved on to building the middle unit. This center piece will sit hidden between the two ends and between the sectional and the wall, so it could have been a simple platform to support the long tabletop that will span … Read more

Remember when we excitedly shared that we’d been invited to write a regular column for Richmond’s R. Home magazine? Our first piece is now in print, and we’re thrilled to present simple holiday decorating ideas that use ornaments in fresh, unexpected ways. You can click here to view the full three-page feature. Below are the … Read more

Our quick “we’re getting a new roof” post on Thursday generated so many questions that we decided to follow up with more details plus before, during, and after photos. Here’s what the old roof looked like before the work began: Up close you can see the old roof had a flat, grid-like appearance and had … Read more

When we visited the Bowers this weekend, we shared a few quick photos on Instagram Stories of a delightfully charming children’s bookstore. The response was immediate: dozens of messages asking for a full post so the shop wouldn’t disappear from the internet. So here you go — a longer look at the photos (and some … Read more

You haven’t heard much about the duplex we bought three months ago, but progress is happening behind the scenes. We’re quietly working on three major items that are moving us toward demo day. In this update we share those details, plus an insider look at what it takes to produce a home magazine feature with … Read more

***This giveaway is no longer accepting entries*** Brighten your home — and your day — with fresh paint. This week we’re giving away a room’s worth of paint from Olympic: two gallons of Olympic Premium Interior Paint plus one gallon of primer to three lucky winners. We chose Olympic because their paint is 100% VOC-free … Read more

Board and batten is one of our favorite easy DIY projects. It’s beginner-friendly and makes a big impact in any room, entry, or hallway. This is the third house where we’ve installed this type of wainscoting, so below we share our approach that makes the project faster, simpler, and less expensive than traditional board and … Read more

Get ready to cringe — it’s time for our annual (and always delightfully awkward) Q&A video. As we do every blogiversary week, we asked you to send in personal (non-decorating) questions on our Facebook page last week. After receiving more than 150 submissions, we sat down one afternoon while Clara napped and answered as many … Read more