Brrrr, it’s cold outside — the perfect excuse to curl up under a blanket and read the show notes for Episode #28 of Young House Love Has A Podcast. This week’s guests are the Novogratz: a family with seven kids and a gorgeous Brazilian vacation house. On the episode, Robert and Cortney chat with them about creating a welcoming guest experience, designing for a large household with kids of many ages, and balancing style with practicality. Back at home, the hosts are hilariously stumped over an upcoming paint color choice — 14 test swatches and still undecided — and they tackle everyday issues like dealing with temperamental computers, vacuuming habits, and the small but satisfying joy of organizing tiny items.
You can listen to the episode on your chosen podcast platform or stream it from the embedded player on this page. Below are the links, notes, and photos mentioned during the show so you can follow up on anything that caught your interest.
What’s New

- We’re testing a variety of colors for the beach house exterior and will share a dedicated post once we land on a decision. The front of the house is currently a mixed bag of options — clearly we’re all over the place in the best way.
- New tech in the house: John upgraded to a new iMac and Sherry got a MacBook Pro. So far, they’re both happy with the upgrades.
Updates
- There’s an ongoing poll related to the “Decluttering Epiphanies” piece that listeners can view and participate in. We share the results and reactions in an earlier episode’s notes if you want to see how other listeners responded.
What’s Not
- We talk about common vacuuming mistakes and the little changes that can make cleaning more effective. The hosts reference a helpful roundup of vacuuming errors and tips to avoid them.
The Novogratz
- Their new book, Beachside Bohemian, offers a look at their Brazilian vacation home and is full of travel and entertaining tips inspired by that coastal life.
- We’re also big fans of their earlier book, Downtown Chic, which continues to be a favorite resource for design inspiration and approachable style ideas.
- The Novogratz offer an online design quiz for a quick sense of your personal aesthetic, plus they share images and updates on their website and social feeds for those who want to follow their projects and product launches.
We’re Digging

- Small compartment organizers are a current obsession for storing nails, screws, washers, anchors, picture hangers, wire caps, and other odds and ends. They make small-parts management simple and visually satisfying. We shared examples on the episode and recommend picking a size and layout that fits the tools and spaces you use most.
- Sherry’s favorite jeans (that don’t require hemming) and John’s ultra-comfortable stretch pants were also mentioned as clothing items that have become wardrobe staples around the house.
If you’re trying to remember a product we recommended in a past episode, there’s a master list of everything we’ve highlighted across shows so you can track down previous recommendations quickly.

DIYZ app was featured in the episode — search for YHL within the app to find short videos of a few five-step projects created by the hosts.
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