Update: Aaaand less than 12 hours later we’re back with an update on the bottom of the post for ya. Smooth, right?
Hello everyone — long time no see.
The break has been good for us. It felt a little strange at first, but ultimately it was refreshing and clarifying. We’re deeply grateful for your support and thoughtful comments, which helped put words to emotions we’d been feeling for quite some time. While a month away didn’t answer every question about what’s next (when do life’s questions ever get fully answered?), one thing became clear: after seven amazing years of sharing our home and lives here, it’s time to move on to a new chapter.
This blog has been a constant in our lives for more than 80 months, covering almost our entire marriage and our whole journey as parents. We thought it would be impossible to step away from sharing — that our blogging energy would come rushing back — but something shifted. Maybe it’s age, maybe it’s the kids getting older, or simply a new set of priorities. Whatever the reason, the pause felt right. It gave us the clarity and courage to move forward and to pursue better life balance — something we’ve been talking about for years.
We’re not declaring the definitive end of Young House Love or blogging entirely. Perhaps in the future, when the kids are both in school, the urge to create and share will return — maybe here, maybe in another form. We don’t know what’s ahead, but the best things in our lives have often come when we stepped far outside our comfort zone.
We’ll keep the blog archives available as long as possible and will freeze comments soon, but we won’t disappear completely. You’ll still see completed product designs with Liberty Hardware and Shades of Light, and our second book is scheduled for release on September 22, 2015. Those partners have been wonderfully supportive of our decision, and we’re very thankful for that.
Thank you doesn’t fully capture our appreciation for being able to share our quirky little world with you for so long. We’re filled with gratitude for this experience and for every reader who joined us along the way. (*This is probably where we should fade up on that Dirty Dancing song*)
Rather than saying “goodbye,” we prefer “see you another time.”
Peace, love, and ceramic animals,
John & Sherry
PS: During the break we snapped a few updated photos for the House Tour page (a few rooms were looking dated). Feel free to side-eye the dining room’s blue trim — yes, it’s still there.
Update: A few questions kept showing up in the comments (we just can’t quit you). About new jobs: we’ve mentioned before that we left the door open to our previous professions (advertising, copywriting, consulting). We can often do that freelance from home while alternating stay-at-home parenting duties. The book and product work are tied to the blog, so we’re not relying solely on them for income. We didn’t mean to be mysterious. Regarding social media, we’d love to pop up on Facebook and Instagram occasionally to say hi. And we hope the blog archives remain accessible for a long time — we use them ourselves to reference things like paint colors and would hate to lose that resource.
We’re sorry if this change feels abrupt. We’ve made public attempts to slow down before — when we moved to this house and after Teddy’s birth — but our “all in” tendencies often worked against those efforts. Taking this break made the difference: it helped us get closer to the balance we’ve been aiming for. We considered a range of options — fewer posts, shorter posts, turning off comments — but none felt like a version of Young House Love we were excited to continue. We wanted this post to be light and upbeat, because despite the difficulty of the decision, it comes from a place of immense gratitude.
Graceful exit? Not exactly. We’re awkward at goodbyes and we will miss you terribly.