We’ve been mentioning our second book off-and-on for several months now, usually followed by promises to give you some details soon, so we’re finally fulfilling that promise.
How did you get a second book deal?
Our original deal with our publisher, Artisan Books, was for two books, so we’ve known since signing on with them in 2011 that we’d be doing a follow-up to our first book, which came out in November of 2012 (more on that whole experience here).
When will this one come out?
Right now we’re working towards a fall of 2015 release – although that depends on lots of factors (many beyond our control) so it’s not set in stone yet. Artisan has been great. Instead of pressuring us to jump right back into developing Book #2 right after the first book’s release, they encouraged us to decompress and take time to really be thoughtful about the second book. Having been through this process before, we have a much better understanding about how time consuming each step can be (the proofreading alone, my goodness!) so we know fall of 2015 will creep up on us faster than we think.
Will it be more of the same from Book #1?
Nope! There will still be specific projects and tips worked into every chapter, but the overall concept of the book will be different. We actually assumed Artisan would encourage us to follow the same format as Book #1 (if it ain’t broke, right?), but they really wanted us to make it different, so it could stand alone. That sounded a lot more interesting to us as well… albeit sort of elusive for a while. What concept and format would grab us this time? We spent nearly a year tossing around ideas, drafting rough outlines, and brainstorming with each other and Artisan. At some points, Sherry and I worried nothing would ever hype us up enough to say “that’s IT!”, but sometime last winter we landed on an idea that got everyone excited, which added up to some really nice momentum.
So… what will it be about?
Without giving too much away, the goal is to write a book full of real decorating ideas that fit the way that families really live. It’s all well and good to stare at gorgeous high end inspiration rooms, but where are the TV remotes? Where do they drop their mail? Do kids and pets actually live there? We want to highlight a bunch of decorating and organizing ideas that solve challenges that many families face, while making sure there’s not just form and function, but meaning in every space (so each member of the family feels at home). Obviously our household isn’t representative of everyone’s family structure, so we’re excited to step outside our own doors and include some other homes, which is a really fun departure from our first book, which was shot almost exclusively in our house. So in addition to chapters full of our projects and ideas, we thought peppering real home tours throughout this book allows us to showcase a greater variety of families, styles, and solutions.
Are you looking for homes to feature?
Yes! We’ve already begun shooting some of them, but there’s still room for more and we’d LOVE to consider yours (or your friend’s / neighbor’s / beekeeper’s). Here’s what you need to know if you’re interested:
- We’re looking for homes that are beautiful but also very personal and reflect the tastes and needs of the people who live there. Even if you don’t think your whole home is ready for its close up, we’ve got ways to feature single rooms or spaces if you think you have a really special kitchen, playroom, or even a great staircase.
- Unique circumstances are encouraged. We want to keep the definition of “family” as wide as possible – from parents with kids, to empty nesters, to couples with pets, etc. etc. Do you live with your in-laws? Do you juggle a big family in a small apartment? Did you convert a bedroom into a hang-out room for your eight dogs? We’re all ears.
- Send your pics and brief story/description to [email protected] with “BOOK TWO” in the subject
What if I don’t have a home to submit? Can I still be a part of it?
Yes! We’ve got some other fun ways to work you guys into the book. We really want it to represent tons of families, so we’ll let you know more about them when the time comes.
Are you going to have those crazy weeks of photoshoots in your house again?
Hopefully not! We’re trying to make the process less hectic than last time, so we’ve been spacing out our photography – especially since this time we have the added challenge of coordinating shoots in other homes in addition to our own, as well as juggling a newborn. At one point we tried scheduling all the shoots to be done before Teddy arrived, but quickly realized it would be impossible. It was nice to check some off beforehand though, and Artisan has been so great about letting us pace ourselves and focus on enjoying Teddy’s arrival. We finalized our outline last month, recently started writing some chapter intros and tutorials, and are aiming to have everything else shot by the end of the summer, at which point we’ll have a few months to complete the manuscript.
Will you be going on a book tour again? If so, will you be coming to my city again/this time?
This is another frequent question we get, but we haven’t really had that discussion with Artisan yet. Everyone’s focused on making the book first, so the tour stuff probably won’t get ironed out for another year or so. Our guess is that there will be some sort of tour but what and how many cities is a big ol’ question mark. So much of that depends on who’s willing to host an event, and that’s way too early to guess. For now we’re just grateful that we don’t have to think about traveling too far away from our kiddos for another year or so.
Trisha says
I’m sure I’ll miss the deadline as my house isn’t finished yet, but I too wanted to make sure you remembered to add Teddy to your email :)
Thais says
It sounds like my cup of tea and I will again pre-order as soon as it is out!
I am not sure how realistic it is but it would be brilliant to have houses and spaces from other countries. I know the main readership of the blog is American, but the book has a much bigher reach (I saw the Korean version!). For instance, as someone living in the UK, the houses in the States are not always realistic as the properties here are MUCH smaller. When I research on Pinterest and blogs “small bathroom ideas”, the US idea of a small bathroom is actuallu the size of most bedrooms here lol.
Another humble suggestion is that you try to avoid featuring bloggers’ spaces, especially the big shots. It would be a bit repetitive to see spaces we see every day on the internet again in the book.
Really exciting, guys, can’t wait!
YoungHouseLove says
Yes, we’d love to have other non-US homes (we already have one from Europe in the mix, and love the challenges that family has – many of which are universal). Here’s hoping we get some more submissions from overseas and can work them in!
xo
s
Lesley says
Definitely more projects/ideas for people who rent. We’re a military family and since 2008, we’ve lived in:
a) three-story townhouse in HI
b) new-build cottage-style house in NC
c) 100-year-old house in KS
d) two different 2500 sq ft houses in southern CA
So obviously we’re not changing flooring or ripping out cabinets, but I’d love ideas for window coverings, pieces of furniture that would work in really different types of houses, large-scale affordable art that could bring color to the walls, etc. Non-built-in storage options would be awesome too.
Love you guys! I’d tell you to make San Diego a tour stop, but who knows if we’ll still be here then. Ha!
Vicky says
Great concept for book 2. How do you plan on compensating the homeowners?
YoungHouseLove says
They’ll be compensated with money (it comes out of our book’s art budget) :)
xo
s
kelly says
Congratulations on your second book! Hope all the details go smoothly! I’m excited to see the collection of real life ideas. I fall into the something like 3% of your readers who are aged, but I am enjoying sharing your young family story! I wish I had a decorator home to throw into the lottery of possibilities for inclusion in your new book, but alas, no. However, I love the idea of sharing unique home solutions and wanted to share that as the parent of an autistic child, we incorporated some autism friendly concepts into our home when we designed it a few years ago. Our builder was not really on board with some of the features we included, but when he found out why we had these odd ideas, he was happy to accommodate. We have things like higher than normal porch rails, a concealed staircase, a “lockable kitchen (to avoid accidental encounters with appliances!). We have even installed metal covers on our upstairs windows and a door at the top of our stairs also locks so that our son can’t wander at night. As much as we would love a beautiful open floor plan and balcony staircase, we are very happy with our “safety plan!” It would be fun to see some ideas on how people make things pretty living with disabilities!
My sister also is just wrapping up a new house build that she had designed to accommodate her 5 dogs! She had to really push for her architect and builder to give her features like a dog room with built in dog bath and a center courtyard. Seems like anything out of the norm is labeled a “bad resale.” Anyway, I can’t wait to see what you come up with and look forward to the next chapters from your young house! kelly
YoungHouseLove says
I love that you and your sister aren’t afraid to make houses really work for your families! So inspiring! Here’s hoping we can find some like those to work into the mix!
xo
s
xo
s
Linda says
I agree that seeing ‘real life’ homes and challenges addressed will be a terrfic read and inspiration.
About the dog rooms – geez, in my area, a lot of the higher end homes in Chicago metro area are really starting to include a lot of pet friendly ‘rooms’ in homes, including dog baths! I’m sorry your sister’s builder wasn’t quite moving with that trend!
I agree that everything can’t be about resale – a home must be a home, not just an investment, in my mind.
Megan says
I wish I had clever enough ideas to participate! We’ll see…
I’d love to see any home ideas from families who have kids with special needs. We have a son with Down Syndrome and I’m always looking for ways to set up our house in a more child and special need friendly way.
YoungHouseLove says
We’d love to represent a family like that! Hoping for a submission!
xo
s
Sarah in Florida says
OMG possible photo feature in book 2? If that isn’t motivation to get my tufted headboard done, dresser sanded/stained and the other set of curtains hung I don’t know what is! :D
Maya says
Great concept!!
Christine says
Ahh!! Can’t wait! Love the idea of a more “functional” look at home decor. I love looking at gorgeous inspo but it never seems practical!
Also, can’t wait for the next book tour. I was all set to meet you guys in NY before the storm hit and ended up travelling for business the day you did the repeat. (cue sad face)
YoungHouseLove says
Aw, we’d love to meet you Christine!
xo
s
Jess @ Crunchy Hot Mama says
Ha! I love all your renditions of the sequel ;) So excited for you guys and can’t wait to see what the book is finally all about!
I’m gonna go ahead and get ready for another Texas hat trick :) Woo hoo!!
YoungHouseLove says
Woot! Better start stretching and eating raw eggs! Haha!
xo
s
Emily says
Congratulations!!
I hope you don’t mind me making a suggestion and it may open a new genre, but many households include a member effected by a disability, because of trauma, or a medical disorder. Because of your work at the children’s hospital, could you include good design concepts to accommodate individuals with disabilities? To have the accommodation incorporated into the home’s design scheme I think would be an expression of inclusion and appreciation for that afflicted member and to for good design to be highlighted would bring normalcy and order back to a disrupted household.
YoungHouseLove says
You are certainly not the only one who has requested that, and we’d LOVE to include those tips in the book!
xo
s
Rachel says
LOVE the idea for book 2, congrats!
I didn’t read all the other ideas people are lending, but since you’re talking about making houses work for furry family members, that got me thinking about my eternal quest to find things that work for our cats. (Hence the “cardboard graveyard,” where we throw shoeboxes and boxes from packages that they like to sit in…beautiful, right?) I hate the look of those carpeted cat treehouses and other cat playgrounds are always so brightly colored. Perhaps y’all have ideas about play indoor structures for cats that fit nicely into a cute room. :)
Rachel says
Oops, should say “indoor play structures,” not “play indoor structures.”
YoungHouseLove says
That would be fun to see too! I hope some cat-loving family out there invites us over :)
xo
s
JennT says
I saw red-lead proofreading pencils on sale this weekend and thought of you guys! thank you for sharing about this, I was out of the country for the first book tour, but Ima gonna jump on the bandwagon for this one. you might want to pack an extra blazer!!! (j/k) :)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha! What will Blazer 2.0 look like?
xo
s
Vanessa says
This sounds great. I cannot wait to get my hands on it.
Mary Sabrina says
Good luck with your new book! I hope you will feature some small homes (under 1,200 square feet). I feel like there is very little information out there about this. Not that there isn’t information about small home decorating, but that most people are defining small homes as 2,000 square feet.
YoungHouseLove says
So true! We got a really sweet European home of that size and would love others!
xo
s
Inês says
Long-time reader, never commented :)
Love the idea of including different home/family styles! I’d love to see something for college students: tiny spaces, tinier budgets, usually rentals/dorms… :)
I love decorating and functional organization, but there are so many constraints!
– I don’t want to spend too much just to pretty a space up when I’m still living off my parents.
– Is it worth the time/money investment when I know I’ll only be living in this space for a few years? Can I/will I even want to use it in a future home?
– REALLY tiny spaces! (When I do an online search for small rooms, it’s sometimes frustrating what people consider small.) My bed takes up 50% of my bedroom’s floor area. Students often share flats or even bedrooms and we don’t have a garage or basement or spare room to store stuff. My winter coats seem enormous! Our kitchen doesn’t have any tall cabinets or cupboards, so thank god for telescopic brrom handles!
– The place isn’t ours to mess around with. How to live with a wall paint you hate? How to hang stuff on the walls? In my experience, scotch tape peels paint off, blu tack leaves a stain on the paint, can’t make holes… I’m going to try washi tape next :)
Anyway, I hope I gave you food for thought :) Will be waiting for the next book ;)
YoungHouseLove says
Love all those ideas! Thanks for the suggestions guys!
xo
s
Jill says
Would love to see you address options for renters and transient families in your next book. We are a military family and it’s such a challenge to set up each rental in ways that work for our family. We’ve lived in 4 houses in the last 5 years!
YoungHouseLove says
That’s definitely on the list :)
xo
s
Amanda @ Serenity Now says
How cool!! I love your concept for this new book. I love to gaze longingly at “fancy” stuff on Pinterest and in magazines, but I know that they won’t work for me in the long run with three kids, two dogs, and a messy husband. ;) So excited to learn more!
Danielle says
I just picked up your first book a couple months ago and LOVE it! So many great ideas for real people on real budgets! We are a growing family with members of all age groups and I think this concept is awesome! Can’t wait to see the second book :-)
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks so much!
xo
s
Nicole says
OOOOOooooo…my friend may have convinced me to try and contribute. I’ve loved your blog since your first house and have been continually inspired by you both.
What’s the deadline for submissions? I’d like to try and get some worthy pictures taken to send your way. Here’s part of the space that we’ve turned into an airbnb rental for some extra cash. I’m sure you guys can appreciate that! (https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1213758)
Thanks again for sharing your life and inspiration with everyone.
YoungHouseLove says
So much fun! We’d love submissions within the next month, just so we can coordinate the shoots by the end of the summer :)
xo
s
Sandy says
I love the concept! Excited for book #2 but glad that you are pacing yourselves, enjoying life and not letting it take over. Good on ya!
kate says
Awesome!
Haven’t heard you guys mention the Bowers lately… Will you feature their home in your second book?
YoungHouseLove says
None of the guest bloggers from the first book will be in this one (that just felt repetitive) but those blogger projects from each chapter of our first book are actually what inspired the idea for real family tours in each chapter of this book – it’s fun to mix things up :)
xo
s
Heidi P. says
Yay! I can’t wait! I’m definitely going to talk to some local book places to get you guys out to Utah this time! Happy Independence Day tomorrow!!
Kelsey says
Can you make it to MN?! YHL has inspired me to really decorate our future home, but to also make our current rental our own!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Kelsey! We’d love to end up there!
xo
s
julianna says
Sounds great! Will it be a professional photographer again, like the first book, or will you be shooting some of the photos yourselves?
YoungHouseLove says
Almost 95% pro, with us using a few of our photos like we did with book one (some of the older pics in those chapter intros, and before & afters from our first house were our pics).
xo
s
Cathy says
Can’t wait to see it! Yeah!!!
Cara says
How about some “baby proofing” ideas? I’d love to learn more creative ways to safely yet handsomely arrange our home. Share us your ideas!
YoungHouseLove says
We’d love to cover that :)
xo
s
Julianne says
Hopefully you’ll be able to squeeze Toronto in again! This time, I will aim not to be in the middle of a move, a close on another property AND an 1.5 hrs. away. I will be there with bells on and look forward to a chance to meet the genius behind the work! :O)
Julianne says
*geniuses!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Julianne! We’d love that!
xo
s
Sally says
Please say the new book will have something about floor plans!! That seems to be where I struggle the most – especially with an open floor plan. I love that my living room/dining room/kitchen are all open to each other, but it’s one long room, and it’s hard to create definition and flow!
I also suck at picking paint colours – especially one that will work for such a large space – that will go with furniture, flooring, cabinets, and work with lighting, etc.
Hopefully you’ll be able to pass along some handy tips for the above mentioned problems in your new book! No pressure;)
YoungHouseLove says
We’d love to have that stuff in there for ya! One tip about floor plans would be to look for inspiring rooms that seem similar to yours (ex: check out Pinterest or Houzz and just scroll through the rooms until you see one with a similar shape, and check out where they put everything). It can really help you picture something when you’re stuck!
xo
s
Kerry says
Is it wrong how much I love the fake covers? *pretends not to put in my Blu-ray copy of Secret of the Ooze*
Looking forward to the new book! :)
Dave says
Nice stools. I have been trying to find one just like it.
Olivia says
Great idea!
Kay Snyder says
I’ll bee the token beekeeper you mentioned. Ha! I just expanded my keeping to 4 hives.
YoungHouseLove says
Love it!
xo
s
Amanda @ Living on Grace says
AH! you guys totally should have saved those book covers for april fools :)
Bonnie says
This is awesome! I was just pouring through book 1 the other day looking for inspiration for a new project. Would love for you to come to Albany, NY area if there’s another book tour! You’d love upstate… :)
Also, got a pop up advertisement asking me how likely I am to buy Triscuit crackers in the next week (??). It was powered by Vizu. I didn’t mind it, but I know you guys like a heads up about those.
Take care and keep up the good work!
YoungHouseLove says
Ack, thanks Bonnie! Those pesky popups are always asking about the most random things (beef? triscuits?) – off to block that one now :)
xo
s
Cynthia St. Clair says
As a member of your “over age 60” readers’ club, I hope you’ll have an example of folks in that age group downsizing and moving to a much smaller home/condo or retirement complex–that’s in our future!
And I’d love to see a good way to keep our master bathroom counter (a long one, with two sinks) look neater, particularly how to deal with things like electric toothbrushes and razors, which need to be plugged in. A small thing, but a constant niggle!
I hope the Seattle area is on your book tour list–Third Place Books, in Lake Forest Park, about 10 miles north of downtown Seattle, would be a fabulous place for you to come!
YoungHouseLove says
We have the coolest downsizing story! Can’t wait to share it! Love the other suggestions too! Thanks Cynthia :)
xo
s
Rachel says
YES! That dang toothbrush cord is the bane of my existence!
Lynn @ Safebeauty says
John and Sherry say word? I can grace the pages of your wonderful second book?? Here’s wishin’! Is there a deadline for submissions? And how does a garage converted into a schoolroom sound to you?
My best, Lynn
YoungHouseLove says
Sounds awesome! We are hoping to have all the submissions within a month to try to coordinate all the shoots by the end of summer :)
xo
s
lisa says
i’m loving the harry potter fake cover. It speaks to my HP loving soul :)
Also I know you guys like to know when weird ads pop up so I thought I’d let you know an ad asking me to take a “quiz” about triscuts popped up on the left hand side of my screen. It was actually kind of funny because of how random it was :)
YoungHouseLove says
Ack, that Triscuit one is so random! Thought we got it yesterday, so thanks for the heads up!
xo
s
martha says
In about 20 years we might have something to submit, but right now we’re entrenched in the early years of our forever house. I’d love to see something in a book about how to keep life contained in a 104 year old house with not one storage closet. :-)
Shay says
This is so exciting! I love the concept. I look forward to all the little sneak peeks you may post in the future.
I think a few of our rooms could represent some of the things you’re looking for; hiding the cables, storing toys, and managing with pets and a kid.
I saw that the deadline for submission is about a month away so the shoots can be done by the end of summer – do you know if spaces that aren’t 100% done would still be considered? We’re currently converting our sons closet to a reading nook but it’s still missing some important finishing touches. We plan to be done soon, but this is a busy month so it probably won’t be finished until early August.
YoungHouseLove says
Sure! Just send along what you have and we can reach out if we have any questions :)
xo
s
Shay says
Alright, thanks! In the very least your deadline gives me even more of a push to get things finished up for my son’s birthday party at the end of the month :)
YoungHouseLove says
Wahoo!
xo
s
Kate says
Excited for you guys! :)
I’ll send an email your way. We are in our early 30s, three children (8,5,3) with two more (5,2) on the way via adoption from Haiti! We live in what would be considered a small 1940s home that we adore. Everyone asked if we would move or assumed we would move since our family is growing. Nope! :) We have had so much fun making our home work for us through creativity….and knocking down a wall or two. Let’s hope the finishing touches will be done by this fall when we expect our sons home!
Thanks for being an inspiration in so many ways!
Kate :)
YoungHouseLove says
Congrats Kate! That’s so exciting!
xo
s
Leslie C says
I love the idea if incorporating family centered ideas! Our first baby is due pretty soon, so I’m excited to see what kind of great ideas y’all have for organizing and incorporating kid stuff into the house!
One small request, when thinking about projects that concern pets, don’t forget about the large and giant breeds! We have a Great Dane named Jack and a lab/collie mix named Kali and would love to see ideas to fit them too!
Super excited to check it out!
-L
YoungHouseLove says
We love big dogs too! They’ll be in there for sure :)
xo
s
Summer says
I love the fake book covers! :) So much fun!
Nicky says
The first book is STILL on my wishlist (can’t believe I haven’t actually bought it yet!) but I am already looking forward to the next!
My boyfriend and I have bought our first house together a couple of months ago and in August our puppy will arrive so I seriously need to find a way of incorporating her into our life and house… So far, we’ve been really blessed with how smoothly everything has been going, only the previous flooring proved to be a challenge (5 people working on 3 small rooms for 2 days straight… before it even came out!)
It feels as if we’re not progressing that much but if I look back now at photographs of when we moved in, I can’t believe the work we’ve done… Too bad it’s not in good enough shape to submit for your book! But that is going to take a couple of years extra I’m afraid :)
Joseph@littlehouseblue says
I’m so glad your second book won’t be a Squeakquel, but also a little disappointed it won’t be Back in the Habit. haha
Melissa says
OMG, please tell me you are taking suggestions! I would LOVE ideas on these topics:
-Ditto on attractive childproofing and the remotes idea
-Dealing with front-entry clutter when you don’t have a mudroom
-Solutions for hiding cables, cords, wires, etc.
-Beautify-ing the desktop and making printers either pretty or invisible.
-Storing garden tools, bikes, and other stuff and such when you have NO garage
-How to make the trash and recycle areas more pretty (seriously). Mine have to stay in my yard and its horrible to look at.
-Dealing with obtrusive AC units and gas readers.
-Turning a bedroom in a multi-function room (ie, craft room, office, library, AND guest bedroom)
-Dealing with toy clutter. ie, how to hide them in plain site!
YoungHouseLove says
Love all the suggestions guys! Thanks so much!
xo
s
Crystal says
I just wanted to tell you that I think you guys have a great concept for your book! I stopped subscribing to House Beautiful and fell in love with HGTV’s mag because I needed “real” inspiration and project ideas.
Also, in anticipation of baby #3 coming in 30 or less days now, we’ve been crazy rearranging our 3 bed house to accomodate a 5th person. There has been lots of painting and DIY projects happening and I can’t help but want to submit something to you guys…maybe I’ll be ready in a week or two! Plus we have 3 cats and built our 8 chickens a pretty cool coop earlier this summer. :)
Isabel says
So excited for you guys! I missed the Book 1 process (although I did get it and one for my sister), so looking forward to being part of the adventure in Round 2 and hopefully getting to meet you in person during a book tour.
Lauren Nicole says
Will you at least consider the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cover? ;)