First things first — Merry Christmas to everyone! We’re spending some quality time with family, so we prepared this post in advance for you to enjoy while we celebrate.
Recently we decided to tackle the cluttered hard drive on our old iBook. What began as a straightforward cleanup quickly turned into a sentimental scavenger hunt. Instead of deleting everything, we kept pausing to reminisce and preserve memories. The result: the hard drive didn’t get much lighter, but we uncovered a lot of gems we couldn’t resist sharing.
Among our rediscoveries, the highlight was a batch of old video clips. Mixed in with countless clips of puppy-sized Burger were several home-related videos. Our favorites are a few video tours Sherry recorded of former New York City apartments to send to her best friend in Iowa. We thought they were worth sharing here for you to enjoy.
The first of our three pre-Young House Love videos showcases Sherry’s studio apartment in Greenwich Village, New York City. Watching it gives a fun look at early decorating choices and practical hacks. Keep an eye (and an ear) out for these memorable moments:
- How Sherry added color to the walls without alarming the landlord
- Her early experiments with defining spaces using different flooring
- Hints of the bargain-hunting mindset she already had
- Her then-impression of what qualifies as “a lot of storage” in a kitchen
The video captures the charm of a small, well-loved space and reveals how creativity and resourcefulness can transform a studio. Even simple decisions—like paint choices, flooring accents, and thrifted finds—show how personality and practicality blend in small-apartment living. For anyone who’s rented in the city or lived in compact quarters, these scenes feel instantly familiar and surprisingly inspirational.
One of the things we loved revisiting is how small changes can make a big difference. In a studio, every inch matters: a strip of different flooring can imply a separate dining area; a pop of color can turn a bland wall into a focal point; and clever storage solutions can make a tiny kitchen feel far more functional. Those early experiments in Sherry’s apartment foreshadow the practical, budget-friendly approach we continue to use and recommend.
There’s also a lot of charm in the candid moments—the offhand comments, the small triumphs when a cheap find looks just right, and the little frustrations any renter faces. It’s easy to forget how satisfying it is to transform a temporary space into something that feels like home. Revisiting these clips reminded us why we started documenting projects in the first place: to capture the process, the mistakes, and the victories that shape a home over time.
If you enjoy home tours, budget decorating ideas, or simply the nostalgia of looking back at earlier projects, these old videos are a fun glimpse into our pre-blog days. We’ll be sharing two more videos from this collection soon, each highlighting a different apartment and a different stage in our evolving style and approach.
For now, sit back and enjoy this sentimental trip to Sherry’s Greenwich Village studio—proof that creativity and personality can make any space feel like home, no matter the square footage.