Welcome to the show notes for Episode #3 of Young House Love Has A Podcast. In this episode, designer Sarah Richardson calls in to share one of her biggest makeover missteps, which prompts us to revisit a design mistake we made—not once, but twice. We also talk about how we try to keep our home organized, dive into some research on why clutter can make your brain feel overwhelmed, and share how our mornings have shifted toward greener habits. Plus: an update on our framing strategy and a fun quiz about the many spinoffs of a popular design show.
You can listen to this episode on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher and TuneIn Radio—or play the embedded episode above. Use this page to find links, notes, and photos mentioned during the show.
What’s New
We’ve been starting our days with green smoothies and wanted to share both the kids’ version and the adults’ version we make most mornings, plus the blender we use.
- Blender: Nutri Ninja Pro (the model we use for daily smoothies).
- Kids’ smoothie (simple, fruity and kid-friendly):
- Three frozen “green” ice cubes (spinach, kale and water blended and frozen ahead)
- 1 frozen peach slice
- A few frozen pineapple pieces
- A few frozen mango chunks
- 1 whole banana (not frozen)
- A generous spoonful of plain Greek yogurt
- A splash of orange juice or almond milk
- Optional: a pinch of chia seeds
Tip: If you let the frozen fruit thaw a bit before blending, the texture will be smoother and easier to blend.
- Adults’ smoothie (greener, more savory-leaning):
- Three frozen green ice cubes (spinach, kale and water)
- Frozen green apple chunks
- Cucumber chunks (fresh or frozen)
- 1 whole banana (not frozen)
- Two or three spoonfuls of plain Greek yogurt
- A few basil and mint leaves
- A splash of orange juice, almond milk, or water
- Optional: chia seeds and a scoop of protein powder (chocolate or vanilla)
Voicemail from Sarah Richardson
We were thrilled to get a voicemail from Sarah Richardson—what an honor. She shared a story about a makeover that didn’t go as planned. We’re hopeful her upcoming show will air in the U.S. soon. Sarah’s site has more information about her projects, fabrics, and home textile collections, and her second book, At Home Sarah Style, is available through major retailers.
Design Mistakes
We revisit some of our own design blunders—mainly a phase where green seemed like the obvious choice, and how we ultimately changed course. Two notorious examples were green curtains: the first pair in our previous master bedroom and a second attempt in the nursery. Both ended up being replaced as our tastes evolved.
- Other green missteps we mention:
- A fuzzy green rug in the old living room that we later replaced with a more suitable rug that now lives in our bedroom.
- Dining chairs that briefly sported green before being swapped out entirely.
- An attempt to paint a powder-room vanity green that was quickly reversed.
- Green pieces we still love:
- A chippy green buffet that now sits in our dining room.
- A bold green vanity we used in a showhouse.
What’s Not
We also talk about the many spinoffs of a long-running house-hunting show and how easy it is to lose track of them all. For reference, there’s a comprehensive list of those spinoffs if you want to see just how many variations exist.
Clutter Discussion
We dig into why clutter affects us mentally and share a couple of articles we referenced on the episode:
- An article explaining how clutter impacts your brain and offering practical tips for coping with it.
- A post about “clutter blindness,” the tendency to stop noticing how much stuff we have and how that affects decision-making and satisfaction.
We’re Digging
- Sherry found a non-white planter at HomeGoods that she loved; she’s also been eyeing a few other nested planters and styles for indoor greenery.
- We mixed birch and silver frames into our living-room gallery wall and placed darker frames in the master bedroom—photos of both arrangements appear in past posts and on our social feed.
Looking for items we mentioned in other episodes? We keep a running master list of everything we’ve featured on the podcast, so you can easily find past picks and inspiration.
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