On this week’s episode we tackle that familiar dilemma: what do you do when a sentimental hand-me-down simply won’t fit with the rest of your home? If you’ve tried every placement and tweak but still can’t love it, should you keep it out of guilt and stare at it forever, or let it go and feel a little heartless? We also share one of Sherry’s house schemes that unraveled faster than expected, plus my honest take on those online “find your style” quizzes. On top of that, we give an underrated kitchen accessory its moment in the spotlight, learn what your home state smells like, and even hear from a famous “neighbor.”
You can download the episode from iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, and TuneIn Radio, or listen through the podcast app of your choice. Use this page as a quick reference for any links, notes, or photos we mentioned in the show. If you’re reading this in a feed reader, you may need to click through to the post to see the audio player on the site.
Episode Player
Listen to the episode in your preferred podcast app or on the show’s page where the player is embedded.
What’s New
- The photo above is one Sherry snapped during a house tour. Notice the areas marked as “stairs” on the bottom right: if those were actually installed they would block entry from the foyer and compromise the open kitchen/living room layout, or, if moved left, they would close that space off entirely.
- One of the sparks for our conversation was a post from Emily Henderson about design quizzes, which got us thinking about how useful—or limited—those quizzes can be.
- We dug through our archives to check old posts about online design quizzes and discovered that many of the original quizzes and links are no longer active. You can still read our older recaps, but most of the external quizzes they pointed to have disappeared or changed over time.
- If you’re curious and want to try a few modern options for fun, here are some current quizzes that explore decorating and personal style: Emily Henderson’s Home Style Quiz, Houzz’s “What’s Your Decorating Style?” quiz, Apartment Therapy’s Find Your Style quiz, The Novogratz’s Gratzi Design Quiz (mobile), and several quizzes from HGTV.
- For the record, BuzzFeed’s lighthearted personality quizzes are still around—one I tried claimed I’m “banana bread.”
What’s Not
- Curious what your home state “smells” like? The Homesick Candles collection offers scent profiles for each state so you can explore those nostalgic notes.
Listener Calls
- Have a question about home design or a DIY problem? Leave us a voicemail at 571-4-YHLHAP (571-494-5427) and we may answer it on a future episode.
- Below is the green buffet from our dining room that we mentioned on the show. When we first brought it home it needed some paint touch-ups and a little TLC.
- We also talked about how we brought a hand-me-down dresser from John’s dad back to life; that piece now lives in our master closet after a refresh.
- For more on handling inherited furniture and turning sentimental pieces into practical parts of your home, check out our second book, Lovable Livable Home (see the chapter that starts on page 29).
We’re Digging
- For creative kids who like both art and engineering, we mentioned the My Crazy Invention Sketchbook—an activity book that blends drawing with problem solving.
- Sherry’s favorite fruit bowls finally received their roundup: if you’ve been waiting for her picks, she shared several options that range in style and price to suit different kitchens.
Psst — looking for something we featured in a past episode but can’t remember which show notes to open? We keep a master list of everything we’ve been digging across past episodes so you can quickly find earlier recommendations and links.
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