How We Created a Temporary Living Bubble to Keep Drywall and Brick Dust Out When the wall crew arrived for a multi-day renovation, we needed a reliable way to protect our belongings and create a livable area while the work was in progress. Drywall and masonry work generate a surprising amount of fine dust that … Read more

We did it — we stenciled the subfloor in our bathroom vanity area and closet, and it looks fantastic. It was totally worth the effort and a huge upgrade from the old carpet that used to be there. Before we started, the closet and vanity area were covered in worn carpet that we finally decided … Read more

Ruthy’s kitchen makeover immediately caught our attention because the style of her home — and therefore the kitchen — is something we don’t often see around Richmond. Their Tacoma, WA, mid-century modern house brings a refreshing Pacific Northwest vibe that felt both familiar and unique. We especially appreciated their bold choice: dark lower cabinetry with … Read more

I was digging through old posts looking for a link when I rediscovered a long-forgotten mood board I made about a month before we moved into our second house in 2010. At the time I captioned it, “we have no idea what our future living room will actually look like, but today this is what … Read more

As many of you know from our Instagram and Facebook posts, Katie B and I went thrifting in Destin last week. It’s become something of a tradition for us. We didn’t have the video camera with us, but we did take lots of photos. Here are my thrift store finds, and you can see Katie’s … Read more

How We Finally Organized Our Closet We finally tackled our chaotic bedroom closet and, after a little elbow grease, it feels refreshingly functional. For months we lived with piles of socks, pajamas, and miscellaneous clothing on the floor because our old dresser had a broken drawer and offered practically zero storage. Once we replaced it … Read more

John and I recently had the honor of designing bedrooms for three incredible local children who are currently undergoing cancer treatment. We shared a few sneak peeks on Instagram and in our podcast, but here’s the full, photo-packed post with details about each room and the thought that went into them. We’re thrilled to finally … Read more

We’ve refinished hardwood floors in five of the six homes we’ve owned. That doesn’t make us professional refinishers, but as homeowners and hands-on DIYers we’ve learned what to expect, which pitfalls to avoid, and roughly how much the work can cost. This post answers common hardwood floor refinishing questions and shares before-and-after photos from our … Read more

Things got steamy in the foyer. As a quick refresher: we have five rooms covered in wallpaper and we’re testing five different removal methods to see what works best. For our first attempt we used hot water in a spray bottle, which actually worked pretty well. This week’s Wallpaper Exposé focused on the foyer and … Read more

We had a stroke of luck at a neighborhood yard sale: a huge framed painting, more than three feet wide and over two feet tall, for only $20. The frame had a small dent, but that didn’t bother us. Even if we didn’t love the artwork itself, the size and the sturdy wooden frame made … Read more