Posts By John Petersik

Making the decision to move is one of those big life-changing choices, and we learned the hard way that doing it under the wrong circumstances might not work out as well as it could for you in the long run. So this week we’re sharing our own personal test for knowing when the time is right to move (hint: it has nothing to do with “when the market is hot”). Plus, we look at what’s trending for kitchens in 2018 and we share why we upgraded our TV. And lastly, if you’re wondering if we worry about people trashing the beach house or if you wanna know when you can come rent it, just tune

When a neighbor shared some historic documents about our 100 year old beach house, we were stunned to find a story from 1936 of jealousy and even murder. So this week we’re sharing what we learned along with some other surprising facts about our old home’s past. We’re also helping a listener find some creative ways to maximize the storage she has AND uncover additional places to stash things (“I have too much storage space” said no one ever). Plus, we share a Christmas gift that’s helping Sherry combat insomnia and a cheap accessory that’s making John’s special eyes even more special. You can download this episode from Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, TuneIn Radio, and now Spotify – or listen

Christmas often flies in the face of our efforts to cut down on clutter and simplify the stuff in our house, so this year we employed four tactics to minimize all the excess without sacrificing the merriment of Christmas morning. And it worked! Well, mostly (there was one memorable fail). We also both take wildly different approaches to New Year’s resolutions so we’re sharing a few things we’re resolving to do in 2018. Plus, our big duplex renovation has already hit a snag before we could even start, and why a bunch of naked people on TV are inspiring us to look at our possessions in a whole new way. You can download this episode

The beach house feels like it’s coming together in fast motion these days. After over a year of working on it, we can’t believe it finally has working appliances, a kitchen island, even a functioning kitchen sink! But taking the freshly plumbed clawfoot tub for a spin didn’t exactly work out the way Sherry thought it would. We also dive into advice for mixing and matching wood tones in a room for a look that’s collected, not chaotic. Plus the autopilot Christmas decoration we’re both loving this year and the triumphant return of everybody’s favorite segment (consider it our Christmas gift to you). You can download this episode from Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, TuneIn Radio, and now Spotify

You haven’t heard a lot about the duplex that we bought three months ago. It might seem like not much is happening, but we’re actually working on three things behind the scenes that are inching us closer to demo day! So we’re sharing all of those details along with learning what really goes into creating a home magazine (the good, the bad, and the sweaty) from HGTV Magazine’s Editor-in-Chief, Sara Peterson. Plus, some simple ways we’re automating our home on the cheap (without the use of any more smart home devices) and how to make your candles burn longer and stronger. You can download this episode from Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, and TuneIn Radio – or listen to it

As much as we love the holidays, all the “stuff” that goes along with it (gifts, decor, things piling up on every surface) can get overwhelming. So we’re sharing how we’re approaching things differently in an effort to maintain the joy of the season. And one of the most common questions we get is “help me pinpoint my style – I’m all over the place!” so we’re spelling out exactly how we do that when we’re feeling pulled in more than one decorating direction, which actually happens more than you might think. Plus, Sherry revisits a controversial opinion that she passionately shared last week and John declares war on screen time. You can download this

People always ask if we ever argue, especially with all the house projects we tackle together. Well, the short answer is yes. And the speed bumps we hit while installing our beach house kitchen are a perfect example of what can spark a spat. So we’re sharing what we fought about, how we solved it, and who was right all along. We’re also revealing another big change we’re making in the beach house kitchen (hint: it has to do with the island) and dispelling a myth about a commonly espoused “real estate deal killer” that might not be as scary or expensive as you think! Plus, our take on the new “it” room to have

What we thought would be an easy swap of an old sectional for a new sofa has turned our living room on its head (and one of us is more thrilled about that than the other). So this week we’re sharing how we’re rethinking the layout and reinventing the space to work a little harder. We’re also sharing a full pro & con breakdown when it comes to countertop materials, since we’ve lived with three different kitchens with three different countertop choices. We’ve loved them all, but not entirely, so you can hear our regrets to hopefully avoid making the same mistakes. Plus, I ran into some hiccups in my whole meal-kit-delivery experiment that may

Keeping your kids safe at home is hugely important and creating a house that looks nice but is also livable (and not too precious) is basically the holy grail. So this week we’re sharing specific tricks and tips for how we childproofed our house without running down the safety aisle and buying every last foam pad and cabinet lock. We also finally got to meet Vern Yip in person, and he taught us a lot (like our favorite new term for choosing the right lighting) and made us laugh so hard (the hotel trick for stretching his Trading Spaces budget is the stuff of legends). We also talk about juggling the task of furnishing the

Our week was sent into a tailspin when we got a last-minute invitation to appear on The Rachael Ray Show, and within 24 hours we were on a plane to New York so we could DIY in front of a live studio audience the very next morning. As you can imagine, we have some behind the scenes stories to tell you (it turns out Rachael Ray was NOT trying to hug Sherry) and the whole adventure was bookended by two other big beach house milestones: moving furniture in and spending our first night there! So we’re sharing how that went – and what woke us up at 6am – plus we’re learning the hardest pieces