What we expected to be a simple swap—replacing an old sectional with a new sofa—ended up turning our living room upside down. One of us loves the change, the other is still adjusting. This week we’re sharing how we’ve rethought the layout and reinvented the space so it can work harder for us. We also offer a clear pro-and-con breakdown of several countertop materials, drawing on our experience living with three different kitchens. We liked each option for different reasons, but we also have a few regrets we’ll share so you can avoid the same mistakes. And on a personal note, my meal-kit delivery experiment ran into enough hiccups that I might be ready to give it up for good.
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What’s New
- The photo above gives a sneak peek of our updated living room and the new sofa we bought from Crate & Barrel. We chose the 93″ length in a steel fabric. The fabric appears darker online than it does in real life, and we’ll share a full photo tour and details in an upcoming post, once we capture everything in better light.
- We added two new accent chairs from Target to complete the seating area; they were a great sale find. The small marble side tables are also from Target for now, though we’re considering a larger table that can hold a lamp. If we swap them out, these smaller tables will move to the beach house.
- One meal from our recent meal-kit try was a Roasted Vegetable Tikka that turned out to be delicious and surprisingly filling—one of the better dishes we salvaged from the experiment.
Kitchen Counters
- For our kitchen island we chose Cambria quartz in a Brittanicca pattern, which is one of the most convincing marble-like quartz designs. It remains as beautiful as the day it was installed and requires almost no maintenance—no regrets there.
- The kitchen perimeter features a matte-finish quartz in a muted, concrete-like tone. In person it reads as a soft, subtle surface. It occasionally shows faint water spots when it’s wet, but the marks are discreet and no longer a daily annoyance.
- We’ve documented the full kitchen remodel in a separate, detailed reveal post if you want the complete timeline and sources for everything we used. That post includes photos and product references that make it easy to find the items you like.
- In a past home we used bright white solid-surface counters. They were extremely white, even brighter than the cabinets, and they gave the kitchen a striking, clean look. The installers used specialized equipment to blend seams so they were nearly invisible, which was impressive to watch and made for a seamless finish.
- Our very first kitchen featured granite countertops. We loved the natural, warm character of the stone, though granite requires different care and has its own quirks—like the time we had to remove a blueberry stain with bleach. Each material has trade-offs in look and maintenance.
- At the beach house we’re installing butcher block on the perimeter and will add a larger island slab with a sink cutout and a stool-friendly overhang. The wood brings a warm, casual feel that suits the coastal setting well, though it does demand regular oiling and more attentive care than quartz.
We’re Digging
- We raised two beds with six-inch risers so the bedside tables now feel proportionate. The added height also creates useful under-bed storage if we ever need it. It’s a simple change that improved both function and sightlines in the room.
- To hide the risers we paired the beds with 18″ bed skirts. They’re doing the job, though they could use a quick press—an ironing board and iron are still on the beach house shopping list.
- On the entertainment front, we recently watched a British mystery series that left us thinking. The trailer gives a sense of the show, though it doesn’t fully capture the buildup and character development that make the series interesting.
If you want to revisit items we’ve recommended in past podcast episodes, we keep a master list of everything we’ve been digging across shows, which is handy if you’re searching for a previously mentioned product or recommendation.
A final thank-you to CanvasPop for sponsoring this episode. They offer prints, canvases, frames, and other photo products—if you’ve been meaning to turn favorite photos into wall art, they’re a helpful resource.
Thanks for listening, everyone. We’ll be back with a detailed living room reveal, countertop pros and cons, and more updates as the beach house work continues.
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