The kitchen tour returns with a clear look behind the doors and drawers to show exactly where everything lives. Where’s the trash? Where are the knives? What about the blender for morning smoothies? Where’s all the food? All of that is about to be revealed. If you missed our full kitchen reveal from last week, … Read more

You might as well call us Mr. and Mrs. Puerto-Retersik, because we recently slipped away for a few days to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary in Puerto Rico. It was a short, restorative trip full of beach time, good food, and a couple of small adventures—exactly what we wanted to mark ten years together. We … Read more

We knew it would be hard to top last blogiversary’s prize of $2,500 in swag, but this year we managed to secure an adventure- and luxury-filled Virginia vacation worth an estimated $3,000 for one lucky reader. Virginia’s tourism team reached out to profile us as part of a series highlighting real Virginians, and during our … Read more

Can you believe it’s been a month since our last house-crashing adventure? While February’s tour was overseas, this one was local, so we were able to visit in person and take in all the delightful details. Meet Becky and Brian, their dog Fergie, and their two daughters. They live just outside Richmond and greet visitors … Read more

When Frances sent these photos of her recent living room makeover, we were eager to share the result. Her thoughtful choices and careful styling turned a one-bedroom co-op in Great Neck, NY into a serene, polished living space that feels both inviting and refined. Below she shares the sources she used and a few details … Read more

2, 4, 6, 8, Who Do We Appreciate? Planning! We celebrate planning because when we skip it, we pay the price. Case in point: the gallery arrangement we just installed above our sectional. Here’s how it went. Long ago we decided to fill the large empty area above Karl with a grid of oversized frames. … Read more

With a name like hardware, you might expect this update to be difficult. In reality, swapping out drawer and door pulls is one of the simplest, fastest ways to refresh a room on a very modest budget. In this project we focused on a small living room console table placed by the door, and the … Read more

Want to know the most universally loved white paint colors? We examined over 100 white paint shades across more than a dozen “best white” roundups and narrowed the field to the dozen that appeared most often. These 12 whites are trusted by interior designers, architects, builders, and bloggers alike. Below you’ll find what makes them … Read more

During the week of our big kitchen reveal, we thought it would be fitting to highlight a reader’s kitchen transformation as well. This redesign comes from a male blogger who goes by “Beard,” and his daughter—affectionately known as “Pigtails”—is often along for the ride. Beard’s writing is witty and candid, and his kitchen overhaul is … Read more

What color would you paint this bookcase? We adopted this plain, unremarkable bookshelf in Manhattan about three years ago. It was one of roughly ten pieces that made the cross-state move to Richmond in a minivan. We’ve always treated it as a temporary or “until we get something better” piece because there isn’t anything particularly … Read more