Minimalism can still seem like an unconventional lifestyle, so this week we invited expert Joshua Becker to explain how taking small steps toward minimalism can yield big rewards at home and in life. He discusses how to prevent the slow creep of household clutter, what minimizing teaches kids, and how simplifying your surroundings can help … Read more

We finally made it — despite a few notable setbacks. The duplex has been completely gutted, and today we’ll walk you through the demolition with photos and a video, plus outline our plans for rebuilding. From our experience with the pink house, when a property shows heavy moisture damage it’s far safer to remove all … Read more

Now that we’ve cleared out our backyard’s weed and liriope jungle, let’s turn our attention to another neglected space: the basement. Don’t worry — we’ll just talk about it. You might remember it started out as a shameful, debris-filled no-man’s land… …and after renting a Bagster a few weeks ago it became a bit more … Read more

In addition to our 1,400 square feet of indoor living space, our house benefits from generous outdoor areas — most notably a large second-story deck off of our family room. That elevated outdoor “room” surrounded by trees has quickly become one of our favorite places, and in this post I’ll explain why. outdoor armchairs | … Read more

Our Richmond home is officially under contract, and the way it came together was unlike any previous sale we’ve experienced. Today we’re sharing how it unfolded, why it felt unexpectedly emotional, and what this means for our planned move in June. We’ll also spotlight an unsung hero from our bathroom renovation and explore whether we’ve … Read more

Remember the “Things That Are Awesome” print we picked up at a local craft fair last Christmas by an artist named Rachel? We intended to hang it in the guest room so visitors could study all the awesome things while they stayed. We finally framed it and hung it. This is actually a view of … Read more

Alternate title: Breaking Out John’s Painting Belt It felt familiar, like old times. For anyone unfamiliar with the painting belt reference, that bit of DIY nostalgia explains it. As we mentioned yesterday, we painted Clara’s nursery. Instead of recreating the exact look from our previous home, we saw the move as a chance to update … Read more

***This giveaway is no longer accepting entries – see who won below!*** Random.org selected two lucky people to receive $100 to IKEA. The winners are Jennifer (a teacher who is making a difference and preparing to adopt a child from Ethiopia) and Ashley (who entered to make some personal improvements). Congratulations to both! If there’s … Read more

If you haven’t heard the news, we doubled down on the beach house dream — literally. We bought a duplex! If you listened to our podcast, you know much of the backstory: the price was right (we negotiated $30K off), the location is excellent (near the park, shops, and a few blocks from the beach), … Read more

I’ve been meaning to share a few thrift-store finds—four main purchases, though technically there are nine items because I bought six of one kind—so here’s a quick roundup. I picked up a gilded pineapple vase at Goodwill for $4. What I love most is the hexagonal pattern on the body; it reads more “bees” than … Read more