We’ve encountered a few frustrating setbacks with our beach duplex renovation, but thanks to a small technicality we were finally able to charge ahead and start demolition. Gotta love a loophole! So we're sharing our work-around, and the surprising thing that was discovered during demo. Plus, when it comes to buying things online without touching or seeing them in person first, we've become much more willing to go for it these days, so we’re sharing our tips for minimizing your risk when shopping for home stuff online (including how to unlock even more reviews, and what items we haven't had the courage to buy online yet). Plus, we make the case for rethinking your shower curtain and the verdict on whether or not a weighted blanket can solve Sherry’s sleep problems.
Be sure to check out younghouselove.com/podcast-83/ for notes, links, and photos from this episode.
If you’ve ever had dreams (or maybe nightmares?) of living in a tiny house, you’re not alone. Lots of people have lots of different feelings about them. So we called up a couple who have lived in an 188 square foot space for over two years, and we asked them all of your burning questions to find out the rosy (and not so rosy) parts of tiny house living. And it was FASCINATING. Plus, we’ve hit a big sentimental milestone at home, and Sherry's finally jumping on the bandwagon of a certain decorating trend.
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The beach house has thrown us plenty of curveballs, but frozen pipes was not something we ever saw coming. This nailbiter had a (mostly) happy ending, except for one stupid move we made in the final moments. Plus, is expensive high-end paint really worth it, or are you better off sticking with the stuff at your local hardware store? The answer might surprise you. And find out how Sherry’s battling back against the clutter of little accessories and why John’s fighting off social media FOMO.
Be sure to check out younghouselove.com/podcast-81 for notes, links, and photos from this episode.
Making the decision to move is one of those big life-changing choices, and we learned the hard way that doing it under the wrong circumstances might not work out as well as it could for you in the long run. So this week we’re sharing our own personal test for knowing when the time is right to move (hint: it has nothing to do with "when the market is hot"). Plus, we look at what’s trending for kitchens in 2018 and we share why we upgraded our TV. And lastly, if you wanna know when you can come stay at our beach house, just tune in!
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When a neighbor shared some historic documents about our 100 year old beach house, we were stunned to find a story from 1936 of jealousy and even murder. So this week we’re sharing what we learned along with some other surprising facts about our old home’s past. We're also helping a listener find some creative ways to maximize the storage she has AND uncover additional places to stash things ("I have too much storage space" said no one ever). Plus, we share a Christmas gift to help Sherry fight insomnia and a cheap accessory that’s making John’s special eyes even more special.
Be sure to check out younghouselove.com/podcast-79/ for notes, links, and photos from this episode.
Christmas often flies in the face of our efforts to cut down on clutter and simplify the stuff in our house, so this year we employed 4 tactics to minimize all the excess without sacrificing the merriment of Christmas morning. And it worked! Well mostly (there was one memorable fail). We also both take wildly different approaches to New Year’s resolutions so we’re sharing a few things we’re resolving to do in 2018. Plus, our big duplex renovation has already hit a snag before we could even start, and why a bunch of naked people on TV are inspiring us to look at our possessions in a whole new way.
Be sure to check out younghouselove.com/podcast-78/ for notes, links, and photos from this episode.
The beach house feels like it’s coming together in fast motion these days. After over a year of working on it, we can’t believe it finally has working appliances, a kitchen island, even a functioning kitchen sink! But taking the freshly plumbed clawfoot tub for a spin didn’t exactly work out the way Sherry thought it would. We also dive into advice for mixing and matching wood tones in a room for a look that’s collected, not chaotic. Plus the autopilot Christmas decoration we’re both loving this year and the triumphant return of everybody’s favorite segment (consider it our Christmas gift to you).
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You haven’t heard a lot about the duplex that we bought three months ago. It might seem like not much is happening, but we’re actually working on three things behind the scenes that are inching us closer to demo day! We also learn what really goes into creating a home magazine (the good, the bad, and the sweaty) from HGTV Magazine’s Editor-in-Chief, Sara Peterson. Plus, some simple ways we’re automating our home on the cheap (without the use of any more smart home devices) and how to make your candles burn longer and stronger.
Be sure to check out younghouselove.com/podcast-76/ for notes, links, and photos from this episode.
As much as we love the holidays, all the “stuff” that goes along with it (gifts, decor, things piling up on every surface) can get overwhelming. So this week we’re sharing how we’re approaching things differently in an effort to maintain the joy of the season. And one of the most common questions we get is “who do I figure out my style?” so we’re spelling out exactly how we do that when we’re feeling torn, which actually happens more than you might think. Plus, Sherry revisits a controversial opinion that she passionately shared last week and John declares war on his screen time.
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People always ask if we ever argue, especially with all the house projects we tackle together. Well, the short answer is yes. And the speed bumps we hit while installing our beach house kitchen are a perfect example of what can spark a spat. So we’re sharing what we fought about, how we solved it, and who was right all along. We’re also dispelling a myth about a commonly espoused “real estate deal killer” that might not be as scary or expensive as you think! Plus, our take on the new “it” room to have in your house and our trick for getting holiday cards done faster.
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Young House Love turned 10 years old this fall (!!!) so we're looking back at our last decade of renovating houses, building a business, and making plenty of mistakes along the way - all while on a public stage called the world wide web. You’ll hear how both in decorating and in business there were some pivotal moments that led us to where we are today - literally without them, we wouldn't be here - and they didn't all feel great at the time. In fact, some of them felt downright terrible.
Be sure to check out younghouselove.com/podcast-73/ for notes, links, and photos from this episode.
What we thought would be an easy swap of an old sectional for a new sofa has turned our living room on its head. So this week we’re sharing how we’re rethinking the layout and reinventing the space to work a little harder. We're also sharing countertop pros & cons, since we've lived with 3 different kitchens with 3 different counter choices. So you can hear our regrets to hopefully avoid making the same mistakes. Plus, we run into some hiccups in our meal kit delivery experiment that may have us falling out of love with them for good.
Be sure to check out younghouselove.com/podcast-72/ for notes, links, and photos from this episode.
Keeping your kids safe at home is hugely important and creating a house that looks nice but is also livable (and not too precious) is basically the holy grail. So this week we’re sharing specific tricks and tips for how we childproofed our house without running down the safety aisle and buying every last foam pad and cabinet lock. We also finally got to meet Vern Yip in person, and he taught us a lot (like our favorite new term for choosing the right lighting) and made us laugh so hard (the hotel trick for stretching his Trading Spaces budget is the stuff of legends). We also talk about juggling the task of furnishing the beach house quickly, while attempting to layer in stuff that’s meaningful and not just convenient.
Be sure to check out younghouselove.com/podcast for notes, links, and photos from this episode.
Our week was sent into a tailspin when we got a last-minute invitation to appear on The Rachael Ray Show, and within 24 hours we were on a plane to New York so we could DIY in front of a live studio audience the very next morning. As you can imagine, we have some pretty hilarious stories from behind the scenes (it turns out Rachael Ray was NOT trying to hug Sherry) and the whole adventure was bookended by two other big beach house milestones: moving furniture in and spending our first night there! So we’re sharing how that went - and what woke us up at 6am - plus we’re learning the hardest pieces of IKEA furniture to assemble (who knew?! WE DID!). We also dive into our favorite blog for getting into the Halloween spirit, and we share what store is actually making some pretty great mass produced art these days.
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This week John is laying out why he thinks the end of HGTV’s Fixer Upper might actually bring some good things, and Sherry’s revealing the secret screw-up that almost ruined our beach house floors. Plus If you’ve ever dreamed about buying a second property or wading into the real estate investing waters, we’re getting pro tips from real estate expert Dana Bull. She’s breaking down a less risky way to buy your first rental, explaining why being a landlord isn’t as scary as it sounds, and sharing tricks for renovating wisely.
Be sure to check out younghouselove.com/podcast-69/ for notes, links, and photos from this episode.
This week we’re giving a listener whose house flooded after Hurricane Harvey some advice on finding the right people to help get her kitchen back together again after the storm. We also share why we’re loving a new “smart” platform for buying and selling secondhand stuff. And we’re sharing a series of recent faux plant scores that make us proud to be fake plant owners. Plus John’s shares a free tool that’s finally putting the kibosh on one of his worst habits.
Be sure to check out younghouselove.com/podcast-68 for notes, links, and photos from this episode.
When we look back at how we updated our previous homes, there are more than a few design decisions we regret - so we're breaking down five things that we’d go back and do differently if we had a time machine. And ding-dong, the deck is gone! Yup, we ripped that monster off the house, and the yard’s already feeling awesomely open - but checking this item off our to-do list has actually just added more to it (it's like the plot of 'If You Give A Mouse A Cookie'). We also check Sherry’s Color of The Year predicting skills, and John explains why he rejects tool brand monogamy.
Be sure to check out younghouselove.com/podcast-67 for notes, links, and photos from this episode.
Some people have declared the stainless steel appliance trend over (cue the gasps!). We used stainless appliances in our kitchen, but have decided against them for our beach house, so we're weighing in on when you might want to pull the trigger on stainless - or avoid it completely. And speaking of the kitchen, we've been trying some new things in there lately, including jumping on a certain culinary bandwagon, bringing some organization to our fridge, and finally taking a couple of those meal delivery services for a spin to see if they’re all that they're cracked up to be.
Be sure to check out younghouselove.com/podcast-66/ for notes, links, and photos from this episode.
We’ve probably all got dual purpose rooms like a mudroom-slash-laundry room, a breakfast-nook-slash-homework-spot, or the ol’ guest-room-slash-office. So today we’re sharing the key to making one space actually work in multiple ways - instead of feeling like it does one thing waaay better than the other. We also chat about a recent attic clutter revelation, and John shares a negotiation technique so covert you might not even know you’re doing it. He also gets a tool he has daydreamed about for years and Sherry’s love of all things woo-woo leads her to try some unusual accessories that claim to help with sleep, allergies, and even happiness.
Be sure to check out younghouselove.com/podcast-65/ for notes, links, and photos from this episode.
We’ve got some big news this week that you probably didn’t see coming (also: we might be crazy). Plus we share how we were able to pay off our mortgage (!!) and how the groundwork we laid over a decade ago in our first house made it all possible. We also chat about stuff you should NOT pass down to your kids (there’s some surprising stuff that experts say don’t make good heirlooms anymore) and we cover everything from our first house's cost to how our mortgage for our third house was actually smaller than our first.
Be sure to check out http://www.younghouselove.com/podcast-64/ for notes, links, and photos from this episode.
Who wouldn’t want more money in the ol’ bank account? So we picked a money expert’s brain for the most common places he finds his clients overspending, and for his best tips on making (and sticking to!) an easy household budget - which is definitely the key to saving more each month. Plus we share our not-scary techniques for negotiating with contractors, including how one short sentence has saved us $1500 in the past two weeks. We also dive into the not-so-straightforward process of fixing up our vintage pink stove, and a simple craft idea to keep little hands busy (which is always a good thing).
Be sure to check out younghouselove.com/podcast-63/ for notes, links, and photos from this episode.
Watching your former homes get altered by their new owners can be tough, and we witnessed some changes that bothered us more than we expected. This week we’re sharing how we got over those feelings and how to find the silver lining in seeing someone undo your designs. We also took a long overdue step in making our current home’s driveway more kid-friendly, Sherry gets sentenced to more time in “tooth jail,” and our beach house has a brush with a true-crime saga.
Be sure to check out younghouselove.com/podcast for notes, links, and photos from this episode.
When it comes to paper clutter around the house, the struggle is real. Where does it come from? Is it in the rabbit family, because HOW IS IT MULTIPLYING?! We get it. And this week we’re sharing exactly how we keep it at bay (and exactly where we put everything, from receipts and school papers to bills, party invitations, and coupons). Also, a recent trip to tile at the beach house goes less than smoothly, but a bout of good karma saves the day. John also shares some psychology behind how to price your items on Craigslist, Sherry drops an easy way to keep frame galleries in order, and - believe it or not - there’s already a color of the year for 2018.
Be sure to check out younghouselove.com/podcast for notes, links, and photos from this episode.
We’ve been on an organizing bender lately, so we called up pro organizers to the stars (yes, they’ve done Gwyneth Paltrow’s pantry!) and Target’s new home organizing experts: The Home Edit. Clea and Joanna explain how people are sabotaging their own organizing efforts, the right way to shop for baskets and bins, and how to not drive yourself crazy with labels. Also, Sherry shares two new (free!) sources of design inspiration that she has been devouring, John faces the facts about our online shopping habits, and we revisit if it’s really free to use a buyer’s agent when buying a house.
Be sure to check out younghouselove.com/podcast for notes, links, and photos from this episode.
It’s been a busy few weeks on our beach house renovation and they’ve been... well... less than smooth, to say the least. So this week we’re taking you through the saga of three setbacks that happened pretty much back to back (including a missed deadline, having no water line to our house, and a surprise medical complication). And although we're keeping it real about renovations not always being easy or straightforward, it all has a happy ending: we survived nearly 20 hours of tiling, and we share the handy gadget that made working in a house with no electricity possible. Also Sherry continues to refuse to be a clean freak, and we spill what it’s like to attend a live recording for a huge podcast (they had lines around the block).
Be sure to check out younghouselove.com/podcast for notes, links, and photos from this episode.