This week I’m admitting that one kitchen decision I pushed for in our beach house turned out to be a mistake. Fortunately it’s an easy fix, so we’re sharing why we changed our minds and what we did to correct it. We also weigh in on a divisive design trend that seems to spark strong emotions, explain why people react so strongly, and offer our point of view. Plus, we reveal tips for creating that cozy, luxurious magazine-style bed at home and explain which bed-making tricks are best left to professionals. And yes — Young House Love may or may not have inspired a board game.
You can download this episode from Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, TuneIn Radio, and Spotify — or listen to it below. Use this page to find the links, notes, and photos we mention. Note: If you’re reading in a feed reader you might need to click through to the post to see the player.
What’s New
- The photo above shows how close the mini fridge sat to the pantry that contains the full-size refrigerator.
- We discussed the original two-fridge plan on Episode #74, where we explained why we briefly considered eliminating the full-size fridge from the main kitchen.
- We documented our appliance-buying process and why we converted the breakfast nook into a walk-in pantry in a separate post.
- This past weekend we made the fridge and cabinet swap, and the space already looks much better. We still need to add hardware and finish a bit of baseboard work, but the change made a big difference.
- We also built pantry shelves that frame the full-size fridge. That shelving makes the fridge feel integrated and gives the pantry more usable storage.
Fridge / white bins / woven baskets / similar pendant light
- If you want to visualize the pantry and kitchen layout, we have a video tour post that walks through the space so you can see how everything fits together.
Can We Just Talk About…
- There’s a recent Elle Decor piece that passionately criticizes the trend of turning book spines inward. That story stirred up a lot of debate among readers who either love or loathe the look.
- For our own shelves we landed on grouping books by general color families — not perfect rainbows, but enough cohesion to feel intentional without being overly staged.
Living room chairs / wood dresser / similar rug / kitchen pendants
- Here’s a cozy shot from the other side of the room taken around Christmastime — yes, there’s a tiny ceramic Mr. and Mrs. Claus sharing a moment in front of a ceramic succulent.
Listener Question
- We looked at a range of catalog photos that show the “lived-in” layered bed look: West Elm and Pottery Barn examples that feel relaxed and inviting, a Ballard Designs bed with a more tailored layered approach, and a neater, upscale Annie Selke arrangement that still uses plenty of layers and an oversized headboard.
Those professional images are aspirational, but you can achieve a similarly luxe, cozy bed at home with a simple formula. On a queen bed we use a king-size duvet and insert for extra drape, two extra-large king shams layered in front of the sleeping pillows, and one accent pillow centered in front. For added polish we fold a king blanket across the foot of the bed. Sizing up the duvet, insert, and blanket is key to getting that rich, layered volume.
Duvet / blue pillow / white blanket / art / headboard / sconce / night stands / sound machine
- We don’t stage perfect magazine beds every day, but the layered method translates well to real-life rooms. In the beach house we split a striped duvet set across two beds to keep things cohesive without being matchy-matchy.
Headboard / rug / blue blanket / side table / lamp / curtain rods / curtains / sound machine
- We also shared a tutorial for making an upholstered headboard. The headboard pictured in the tutorial was later recovered in a neutral fabric and still looks great.
Lamp / duvet (flipped) / similar night stand / gold frames / similar mobile
- If you want our beach house paint colors and all the sources we used there, we put together a shopping page with that information, and we’re also working on a Before & After page that will showcase the renovation progress once it’s ready.
We’re Digging
- We shared board-game excitement on Instagram and saved the story to our profile. If you visit our Instagram page on a mobile device, look for the story highlight titled “YHL Game?” to see the clips.
- Games we recommended include Exploding Kittens (and its Imploding Kittens expansion) and Bears Vs. Babies. We’re always open to new game suggestions from listeners.
- Sherry recently fell for a basil-scented hand soap that also comes in a dish soap formula. A seasonal “Iowa Pine” hand soap sampler is also still around for fans of that scent.
If you’re trying to recall a product or topic we mentioned on a past episode, we maintain a master list of everything we’ve featured on the podcast, which makes it easy to find past recommendations.
Thanks to Agility Bed for sponsoring this episode. They offered listeners a special discount on mattresses, and we appreciate their support.
Thanks for listening, everyone!
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