We’re taking one last look back at December to spot anything that might have slipped by—and to remind ourselves that we didn’t spend the whole month horizontally, living on Christmas cookies. Pausing to appreciate the things we actually finished each month motivates us to start new projects, so these little roundups serve as a “you … Read more

Blogging can feel like a funny hamster wheel: we install, build, buy, or try something, write about it, and then move on to the next project. Because we’re focused on new updates, we don’t always circle back to report how older changes have fared. That means readers often ask for follow-ups from the archives. Here’s … Read more

We’re back with another house-crashing visit from our recent road trip through Charlotte, North Carolina. You may have already seen a sneak peek of the stunning kitchen, and now we’re here to fill in the rest. This family couldn’t have been kinder, and their fully transformed 1960s brick ranch is utterly charming—inside and out. They … Read more

We’re preparing to move into a house that’s less than half the size of our current home, so we’re taking a careful inventory of everything we own to decide what should come with us and what should be left behind. Below we explain the systematic criteria we use to evaluate each item — four questions … Read more

In the words of Carla from Top Chef: hootie hoo! Our countertops are ordered. We chose them after comparing several retailers, and ultimately Home Depot offered the best price at $38 per square foot — no hidden fees — for a total close to $1,700. We priced the same countertops at Lowe’s and a few … Read more

It’s been a while, so in case you need a refresher: we replaced our tired old path with a larger, more durable front walkway made from leftover slate. The short version is that we ripped out the previous path and spent a long weekend arranging 48 slate pieces into a new, welcoming approach to the … Read more

Today we’re digging into an expert’s idea that your childhood interests—especially those you had around fifth grade—can point toward what you’ll enjoy most as an adult. We looked back at our own early passions to see whether the theory holds true, and it was surprisingly revealing. We also share a hiring mistake we made on … Read more

Why We Replaced Our Old Thermostat with a Programmable Model I wasn’t sure whether our old thermostat was reliable anymore. Since we installed a new programmable thermostat, though, I hardly think about heating and cooling. The new unit regulates temperature automatically based on the time of day, and that simplicity is one of the best … Read more

Just when we thought the duplex renovation was finally cruising along, an unexpected hiccup sent us on an emergency trip to Cape Charles and into a tense meeting with the Historic Review Board. In this update we share what happened at the meeting, how we handled a precarious chimney, the state of our month-long shopping … Read more

This weekend we helped John’s sister and brother-in-law move into the beautiful new house they designed themselves. Between the inevitable sore muscles and the nonstop carrying, we picked up some reliable, time-saving moving techniques. Since they worked so well, we wanted to pass them along. But first, here’s a shot of their stunning kitchen: Moving … Read more