After a few months of settling in, we’ve entered what I jokingly call the “What We Really Need (And Don’t)” phase. Like most people who move, we tried to pare down by donating, selling, or posting on Craigslist anything we were sure we wouldn’t use again, so we wouldn’t waste time and energy hauling it … Read more

I have fond memories of My Little Ponies—I probably owned around six as a kid—and that nostalgic, playful feeling led to a recent decision to finally fill the empty wall spaces flanking the sink nook in our bedroom. After months of hemming and hawing, John and I had several long conversations about what should hang … Read more

I’ve written about monograms and personalized initials before, but this time it felt different because we actually brought a few into our home. Aside from the makeshift monogram above our bed and a few scattered P’s, we hadn’t fully introduced first initials into Chez Petersik until this little bathroom refresh. To celebrate our newly updated … Read more

Our bedroom began life as a living room, so turning it into a cozy, functional, and beautiful sleeping space took time and thoughtful choices. It’s now one of our favorite rooms, and below we share the six most impactful improvements we made, along with updated photos that show the transformation. bed | art | similar … Read more

Today we’re celebrating a special kind of birthday: Hamburger “Burger” Petersik’s second birthday. To mark the occasion we treated the little guy to a fun day out, starting with a stop at Three Dog Bakery for a dog-friendly cake and finishing with a new harness that’s gentler on his small neck than the collar we’d … Read more

Tomorrow is the big reveal: our porch makeover completed as part of the Better Homes & Gardens and Home Depot 48-Hour Challenge. We know you’ve been waiting, so here’s a small teaser to give you a sense of what’s coming. Consider this a quick preview before the full before-and-after gallery goes live. During the final … Read more

Doorless bathrooms, toilets behind glass walls, showers and tubs placed openly in bedrooms—these “open concept” bathroom trends are popping up more often. Some people find them exciting and modern, while others worry about privacy. In this episode we explore what’s driving this trend, where we stand on the bathroom privacy spectrum, and the practical trade-offs … Read more

We’re trading the mainland for island inspiration this week with a special giveaway. While we’re not literally relocating, Honolulu’s So’mace Lifestyle is offering a taste of Hawaii through a small design boutique that celebrates sustainable, thoughtfully made home goods. So’mace Lifestyle grew out of a design practice founded in 2004 by former New Yorkers Kaypee … Read more

Put a birdcage on it. That’s right — why stop at putting a bird on something when you can hang an entire birdcage? Better yet: why stop at one when you can hang three? Sidenote: some readers asked about the brown sheet on the daybed. We still haven’t bought new sheets for that bed; most … Read more

We decided to go for it: we tested two paint colors we already owned on the bedroom walls to see if a darker tone—something John has been advocating for months—would work better. Remember when we mocked up a version of the room a while back? Imagine that mockup shifted toward a brown-gray, more of a … Read more