We had other plans for this week’s post, but Hurricane Sally moved slowly through the Gulf and gave us several days of steady rain. We were fortunate to avoid power outages and flooding, and we’re very grateful. Our thoughts are with everyone who experienced more serious impacts. Because the weather kept us from photographing the exterior updates we’d planned, we used the time to build two site pages that have been missing for months. Many of you asked for these, so we finally put them together.
First up is our new Before & After page for our Florida house. That page collects the progress shots and short stories behind each room’s transformation so you can quickly see where we started and how far each space has come. While we hesitate to call any room truly “finished” after only a few months, the improvements already feel meaningful. Living here during a pandemic has helped things come together quickly—being home more, cooking more meals, and balancing virtual learning has given every space a chance to prove what it needs to be.
The Before & After page is designed as an ongoing album: thumbnail images, short descriptions, and links to individual posts when you want the full project details. We plan to keep the page updated as rooms evolve and as we take new photos. If a space remains mostly unchanged for months, we’ll still keep it here so you can track the timeline of progress and get inspiration from how small changes added up.
Alongside the Before & After gallery, we also launched a new “Shop Our House” page for the Florida home. We’ve shared shopping pages for previous houses before because readers often ask for paint colors, furniture sources, and product details. This page collects the exact paint shades, rugs, lamps, furniture pieces, and accessories we used, with suggested alternatives when an item is no longer available. The goal is to make it faster and easier to find the finishes and sources you ask about most.
Both pages are searchable and meant to be practical. On the Shop Our House page you’ll find room-by-room breakdowns, paint color names and brands, and links to the closest available options when original items are discontinued. We’ll update the page as we add a headboard, swap a rug, or change a light fixture so the shopping guide stays current with real-life changes in each room.
You can access these new resources from the menu bar under “Our Current House.” If you’re looking for colors or sources from past homes—like our pink beach house, our duplex rental, or our previous Richmond house—those shopping pages remain available under the “Our Previous Homes” dropdown. Each house has its own shopping and before/after collections so you can compare approaches and pick elements that work for your space.
Thank you for your patience while we built these pages. They’ll continue to grow as projects progress and as we photograph updates. Seeing everything organized in one place makes it easier for us to reference past decisions and for you to discover the details you’ve been asking about. We hope these pages save you time and spark ideas for your own rooms.
Good news—the sun has just returned here, so next week we should be able to share those outdoor shots we postponed. The exterior spaces have changed a lot since we last photographed them, and we’re excited to show the updates. In the meantime, please explore the new Before & After and Shop Our House pages and let us know which rooms you’d like more details about next.