Our master bedroom already has a large, floor-length mirror—one of John’s surprise wedding gifts so I could check myself before stepping out the back door to get married—so the smaller mirror to the right of the bedroom door felt unnecessary. We decided to take advantage of the extra wall space and swap the mirror for … Read more

For nearly a year we’ve been reimagining our pool area to create a larger, more multi-functional outdoor space. You may remember seeing the pool installation a couple of years ago when we shared behind-the-scenes photos of putting in a pool. We absolutely love our pool and it quickly became the family’s favorite outdoor hangout. In … Read more

We always imagined modern, cheerful green leather parsons chairs around our chunky wood table from the moment we moved in. When we found cheap chairs and matching slipcovers, dyeing them green felt like an easy way to get that look. We tried it on two of the covers and quickly realized it wasn’t what we … Read more

Several people have asked how we’re preparing Clara for a new baby brother. Beyond giving her a baby boy doll when we learned it was a boy, most of our preparation has been simple and conversation-based. We’ve talked a lot about what it will mean to be a big sister, and she’s genuinely excited to … Read more

We usually keep up a little Thanksgiving ritual: filling our homemade Thanks Jar with notes of gratitude all through November. This year, our book tour kept us away for most of the month and we almost missed it. So this past weekend we squeezed the tradition in at the last minute and gave it a … Read more

Are you surprised we went thrifting again? I’m not. These chairs originally retailed at $90 each — $180 for the pair — then were marked down to $70 apiece. With an additional 50% off at the register, we ended up paying just $35 per chair, $70 for both. Considering similar metal versions at Ballard run … Read more

Over the past few weeks many of you have asked for a House Crashing post with photos of the other six Homearama homes in the show, so we slipped in and photographed each one—just like we did for this Homearama House Crash back in 2012. Fair warning: this post is image-heavy. Everyone who’s visited the … Read more

This week we dive into a recent survey that uncovers the top regrets homeowners have after moving in — the features they thought they’d love but ended up not liking. The findings are surprising and make for a lively conversation. We also discuss an eye-opening study comparing millennial dads and baby boomers, and one particular … Read more

That’s right — I used the word dastardly. We should be knee-deep in our office cabinets project, but that’s a big job (a weekend project, maybe two), and this rocker has been giving me the stink eye since November, even before we moved. For anyone who doesn’t remember, here’s the short version: I found the … Read more

We didn’t expect to find $1 cabinets again like we did for our previous office built-ins, but we couldn’t resist checking the Habitat for Humanity ReStore for the four cabinets we need to build a peninsula and enclose the microwave and refrigerator. We’re able to reuse the 36″ base cabinet that used to sit where … Read more