Happy Thanksgiving everyone! We’ve prepared fresh, delicious show notes for Episode #25 of Young House Love Has A Podcast. This week we get into the holiday spirit: Christmas is approaching, bringing both joy and the familiar seasonal chaos. We discuss how we decorate our home for the holidays and how we think about seasonal decorating year-round. Along the way, Sherry shares a surprising decorating client story, John reflects on letting go of the pursuit of a picture-perfect family dinner, and we highlight a small kitchen feature that’s having a bigger-than-expected impact. We also take a light, curious detour into the invention of the broom. Sit back and enjoy.
You can download or stream this episode from your preferred podcast platform. Below you’ll find notes, references, and photos mentioned in the episode.
What’s New
- We discuss a piece John referenced about family dinners and the idea of magic in everyday meals.
- Check out our “We’re Digging” finds to see what Sherry has sourced for her mom and other items that have caught our eye recently. We update that list often with practical and stylish finds.
What’s Not
- If you’re curious about Shakers and their inventions, we touch on Tabitha Babbitt and the circular saw as an interesting historical example of everyday innovation. We also reference general background information available in public sources.
- We briefly compare Shaker and Mission furniture styles and note that the visual differences are often subtle.
- There’s a short history of the broom that we found surprisingly interesting and share a few tidbits about how a common household tool evolved over time.
Holiday Decorating
We reuse and repurpose a lot of holiday decor, so this year’s Christmas look will likely be similar to last year’s since we draw from the same boxes of seasonal pieces. Below are a few of the decorating approaches and projects we’ve posted about over time that give a good sense of how we layer holiday decor across the house:
- A round-up of our past Christmas decor that shows how we use familiar pieces in new arrangements.
- Our outdoor decorations and how we bring curb appeal and holiday cheer to the exterior of the house.
- A holiday makeover we completed for a local children’s hospital—an example of decorating with purpose and heart.
- Tips and tricks for storing and packing holiday gear so it’s easy to reuse and recreate year after year.
We also do small seasonal installations beyond winter: for example, our foyer “tree” made from branches and colorful eggs for Easter. These smaller, unexpected touches keep the house feeling fresh each season without a full-scale redesign.
We’re Digging
One small feature in our kitchen that keeps getting praise is the pull-down faucet. We share a few models we love—from our own pick to other options we considered when renovating the kitchen. We also talk about different faucet styles like bridge faucets and the convenience of an instant hot/cold water dispenser. Choosing a durable, functional, and stylish faucet is one of those small investments that pays off daily.
To make it easy to find things we’ve loved across episodes, we maintain a running list of “We’re Digging” items. It’s a helpful reference if you remember an item but don’t recall which episode mentioned it.
We also highlight products and brands we use and recommend for home projects, including paint and painting accessories that make DIY tasks cleaner and more efficient.
*This page contains affiliate links in the original episode and show notes.