Q: Since you decorate/upgrade/reno your house for a living, do you ever feel like you are always working on your house but not ever getting to just live in it and enjoy it? Like when you spend all day cooking in the kitchen by dinnertime you aren’t hungry and don’t even want to eat half the time. If something (like your house) is never quite done and there’s a to do list longer than the purchase contract, is it hard to just peacefully sit without always thinking about the next project and thereby giving yourself low level anxiety? Or….am I the anxious one which is why this even occurred to me? – Rach
A: Haha, it’s a great question and we actually get it a lot. I really think because this blog and our DIY love started as a complete hobby (we did home improvement stuff on nights and weekends and started this blog just to keep our friends and family posted) it’s totally something that we still enjoy doing – and are thankful to have the opportunity to do full time. We actually still do most projects on nights and weekends since during the day we’re tending the blog/answering comments/writing posts/doing other office-job stuff like arranging giveaways and managing sponsors (and watching the bean) and then at night when Clara’s asleep we can actually get our hammer on.
Bit since fixing up our home wasn’t something we did to make money or start a business, and was actually what we opted to spend our free time doing without making a dime after a hard day’s work – it really is just the definition of FUN to us. To be very honest, the business side of running a blog can be pretty hard work – so the coding and the technical stuff and the other behind the scenes being-a-small-business stuff (like filing quarterly taxes and paying for our own health insurance, etc) can be stressful (more on that here). But the DIY stuff is always our favorite! It’s the fun part. The cream in the middle of the Oreo, if you will.
Even picture taking/uploading/sizing can sometimes feel like busy-work, but projects and planning and painting and all the fun physical you-see-the-changes-as-you-go stuff is the thing we always look forward to! It’s so rewarding and personal that it never gets old. I definitely don’t think it would be that way for everyone, but just as someone else might have a passion for numbers (and take great joy in being a professor or an accountant or a financial adviser) we have a passion for getting to plan/rethink/paint/upgrade stuff. It’s a fun challenge for us and no day is ever the same. I certainly think some folks would rather just do it as a hobby (maybe five hours a week is their cap) but we’re happy to do it day in and day out. Heck, for the last four consecutive Christmases we’ve taken on some of our craziest house projects (what’s wrong with us? haha). But honestly, we wouldn’t have it any other way.
It wasn’t always an enjoyable, balanced, healthy thing for us though. In our first house we found that in the first few months after moving in (about a year before we started this blog) we felt rushed and put all of this unrealistic pressure on ourselves. And it sucked! We wanted our house to be completely made over in a matter of months and anytime someone was visiting we freaked out and tried to do ten things before they arrived, which left us feeling burned out at best and frustrated and deflated at worst (when we didn’t get everything done in time). The freeing thing was realizing that it takes years. Our den actually looked like this eight months after moving in. And that’s more than ok – it’s par for the DIY course.
A house that needs serious love isn’t going to look amazing overnight or even in a month or a series of months. Unless you have a crew of people and unlimited funds. Plus, if you take your time you’re more likely to love the result since you actually think it through instead of rushing in and having all those shoulda-woulda-coula feelings later. This room took 4.5 years to evolve and was one of our favorite spots in our first house – not only afterwards, but along the way. Once we learned to chill the heck out and relax. Haha.
So “relax, it’s only decorating” is kind of our mantra. We’ve had family visit us in the middle of our most recent kitchen reno (there were no doors on any of the cabinets) and we all just laughed that there’s always something disassembled at our house.
Guests know it’s totally normal to come over our house and see something mid-project, and you know what? They still love us! It was a revelation. We don’t have to go crazy trying to finish every last detail when family and friends are en route. They will love us and enjoy our company anyway. Liberating, I tell ya.
In short: now we feel a lot less time pressure (haha, yes, even with such a long list and so many people watching) because we have learned that it’s not a sprint and it’s more of a journey that we need to stop and enjoy. We always say it’s not about the destination, it’s about the ride. And the ride never gets old to us since we get to switch things up and tackle different tasks all the time (painting trim for five years would definitely get old, but getting to do a bunch of different challenges and have various adventures along the way really is our idea of a good time).
Plus we get to live IN our progress, meaning that everything we have accomplished surrounds us and reminds us how good it feels to get ‘er done. I suppose it’s like hanging your degrees on the wall in your office, and putting up photos that make you smile – the environment is a good one because it reminds us how far we’ve come and how rewarding it is when we get our hands dirty and make something lackluster into something that we find beautiful and functional. Even when we’re living right smack in the middle of a project, we try to enjoy that time, snap photos, revel in the fact that a doorway might exist where one didn’t a few months ago, etc. Even if the counters aren’t in and the new floor isn’t down, there’s something nice about enjoying each step of progress as it comes.
So our #1 advice to folks is to enjoy the journey and stop rushing around. Which means while you DIY your way to a new home, you’re required to stop to enjoy your handiwork and appreciate where you were and where you’re going and all that stuff. What’s a renovated kitchen if you can’t enjoy it? Since we finished that looooong project we have entertained a bunch of family and friends in there and every time we find ourselves beaming at a bunch of people milling around in our new space, this wash of gratitude and happiness comes over us. We’re proud and excited to share our hard work and so thankful that it’s functional and beautiful to us!
And not only do we get that giddiness when we entertain, but a quiet evening at home on a random Wednesday night might mean that John cooks while I read to Clara in the chair by the fireplace and then we eat at the peninsula. And this is the view.
Sometimes we take Clara outside to play on the patio, so we’re here:
… instead of here, which is what that area looked like before we got our DIY-loving hands on it.
So we’re soaking up the gratitude and enjoying our ever-evolving home all the time. The same is true when we work towards upgrading our bedroom or our living room or our curb appeal – all those spaces are areas we can enjoy and they fuel us and excite us and inspire us to keep at it. They remind us how much fun it is and how rewarding it can be. So try not to put pressure on yourself to get to this imaginary finish line and just have fun and take your time and tackle things one day and one small step at a time! It really keeps it manageable and spurs you on to make other parts of your home just as personalized and special.
What do you guys do to keep your DIY spirits up? Do you find that it’s possible to enjoy your home improvement triumphs along the way? Have you ever felt the it-must-be-done pressure that we put on ourselves in the first few months of living in our first house? I’m telling you, it’s crazy-liberating to just say: it’ll be done when it’s done and we’re going to have fun getting there. Booyah.
Yulia says
Literally, right before reading this post, I was fretting about not having enough time to powerwash the exterior of the house before a big outdoor party next week. I don’t know why I always feel like things have to be “perfect.” It’s such a stressful way to live!
P.s. Do you ever watch Renovation Reality? A typical episode is a DIY couple with no experience who decide to do a crazy amount of work in only a few days. Cue chaos and fighting 7 minutes into the show.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, it sounds like a recipe for disaster! We’ll have to check it out!
xo,
s
Ash says
I LOVE this post! It’s funny how some people seem to get stressed out just hearing about all the projects we have on our plate (or want to put on the plate eventually), when really we just love working on our home! My husband and I love to watch HGTV, but we’re always astounded by the “move-in-ready” people on House Hunters. To us, there’s no such thing! Lol
Caitlin @ Desert Domicile says
Such a great attitude! We’re moving into our brand new home on the 31st and I’ve been feeling the “it-must-be-done” pressure for months now while it’s been being built just thinking of all the new things we’re going to need to get since none of our furniture will fit in the new, much larger rooms.
I’d love to max out my credit cards and furnish it all in the first month so it’ll be done and I can show it off but that’s not realistic (or financially responsible) and besides, what would I do with my time after that? Instead I’m going to take my time shopping around, finding the things I love while enjoying the fact that I own my own house and can do whatever I want with it even if it takes 4.5 years to get it done ;)
Mary says
I have a problem in that the undone stuff drives me batty, so to stay sane I have to learn to overlook it until I can afford to change it. Then once I learn to overlook it, I have to kind of learn to backpedal into thinking it really DOES need updated! And then I feel like, “Why? It doesn’t even bother me anymore!” It’s bizarre.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, that’s too funny!
xo,
s
Matthea says
Ahhh… what a breath of air in this post! Thanks!
If you’ve already answered the next question, I hope you won’t mind doing it again —
How do you keep Clara and other short visitors safe in a home with projects going on? I am afraid to have friends over sometimes because our floor plan is so open that it’s hard to close a door on some of the mess/project/safety issue/etc. And soon we will have a tiny one who will grow up to be a short one before he grows up to have his own projects! :)
Thanks —
Matthea
YoungHouseLove says
We usually only live in total chaos at night during a project (while Clara sleeps and we don’t have guests around). Otherwise things are what we like to call “contained chaos” which is kid and other people safe (ex: all the doors are off of our cabinets but there’s nothing un-Clara safe in there to be grabbed, etc). Sometimes we block off rooms so Clara can’t get in there or keep guests out of those areas if they’re really bad!
xo,
s
Julie in TX says
Thanks so much for an amazing post! Hubs and I are currently buying our first home (OMG!) and we have to remind ourselves of this all the time. You guys are awesome and keep up the fab work!
Daena says
Your post really resonated with me. My husband and I bought a complete fixer upper in January. We gave ourselves a four month deadline to get it all done. Everyone thinks we’re crazy and now that we are almost done, we think we’re crazy too. But we really want to get the big stuff done, allow the dust to settle and move in a two (!) weeks. I have a feeling, like you guys, we’ll be in a constant state of DIYing. I haven’t been able to slow down and appreciate the process very much, but we will soon. I kind of think that renovating is like working with someone who has lost a significant amount of weight. If you see them everyday, you don’t really notice. And then one day you’ll realize OMG, that person looks completely different.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, you’re so right, it’s exactly like that!
xo,
s
Kristen says
thanks so much for this reminder! we have been in our house just over a year, and have some great friends coming to visit and they will see our house for the first time. the friends/family-is-coming-to-do-list gets so overwhelming!!! thanks for the reminder to just do what we can and enjoy the space as it is.
Melissa says
We’ve been in our condo for about two years now and it’s still “in progress.” I get frustrated about it, but this post reminded me that it’s okay
Elle says
It can suck uploading photos…I was wondering if you guys have one of those new wireless memory cards (EyeFi)? All you have to do is leave the camera on while it uploads.
YoungHouseLove says
We did have one of those for our old point and shoot cameras but don’t have one for our DSLR. We’ll have to check into that!
xo,
s
Elle says
As long as your DLSR accept SD cards, you are fine! EyeFI does not make COMPACTFLASH cards, only sd cards
YoungHouseLove says
I’ll have to check. Thanks!
xo,
s
Ally says
I look at this from Clara’s perspective…every time the sweet little thing wakes up, she must walk around the house, and think to herself…
“Wow….isn’t that a new light fixture? I could’ve sworn that toilet was almond? And HOLY INCH WORMS, is this place ever organized!” :)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha- holy inch worms = hilarious!
xo,
s
Allie ~ The Inspired Momma says
This was such a great post! I have been guilty of trying to rush and get a bunch of stuff done before company comes that when they are here I’m so exhausted I can’t even enjoy visiting with them. I love how you said to enjoy the journey of it all. Because it truly does feel overwhelming to have so much left to do. It’s a good reminder to relax and enjoy the process of it all. I will definitely apply this in fixing up my home too! :-)
Amanda says
I love the paragraph about how you don’t have to have a completed house in one month after move in. That was a hard lesson my family or me, I guess had to learn after we moved into our new house. You end up not really enjoying the house when you feel like you are constantly having to complete another task. I laugh now when I see my paint test areas in my bedroom, which have been up since April 2011. I’m sure one day I’ll decide and start that project when I’m good and ready.
Love your blog!
Amelia @ House Pretty says
I can completely relate to the it-must-be-done pressure, since our house is a major fixer-upper, but I try to remind myself that I don’t care at all what my friends’ and family’s homes look like when I’m visiting them – I want to spend time with them, not their homes. As for DIY motivation, I spend a lot of my time imagining what the final product is going to look like and that gets me so excited that I can’t wait to tackle the DIY. I completely agree with you guys that it’s what I love to do with my free time, so even though it’s hard work and tiring, I really wouldn’t have it any other way!
Plein Jane says
Speaking of going slowly, I’ve only been reading the blog for about a year and had never read the post about the original dining room shelving until you did your organizing series. I noticed that you made a point about the color — that wonderful teal — maybe going into the kitchen somewhere. Are you thinking about spraying the peninsula chairs that color? Or putting it on the wall-underfoot space of the island? Or making sure it’s a color that’s represented in a new kitchen rug? Because I love it!
YoungHouseLove says
Yes, yes, and yes! We have contemplated all of those options and can’t wait to see where we end up!
xo,
s
Suzy says
I am soooooo glad I waited to do DIY projects. We have lived in our house 2 years and I promise it took me that long to decide on what color to paint our dining room. After much research on blogs and magazines, I am so happy with the color I chose. Good old Martha Stewart Plumage. It is a color like no other!! It seriously gets more loverly each day!!! You guys were one of my inspirations to go with such a bold color. I finally found a lime green buffet at a local antique market. That sold the deal & it has changed the entire look of the entryway. Love it….will have to email pics after I finish getting accessories. Thanks again for inspiring me to be bold & being able to show hubby pics of your guest room helped convince him too!!!;)
YoungHouseLove says
Wahoo! That sounds amazing!
xo
s
Ashley says
http://sixinthesuburbsblog.blogspot.ca/2012/05/caterpillar-grape-kabobs.html
These made me think of Clara’s upcoming worm party! Totally passable for worms…..
YoungHouseLove says
So cute!
xo
s
Heather says
Thank you for such a good perspective on this subject! I really struggle with this part of home improvements and DIY. I get so impatient and forget to enjoy the progress we’ve made. Thanks for the reminder.
A Wife and her Carpenter says
Thank you SO much for this post! I can’t wait to show my husband this :) We just started a home renovation blog of our own and have been finding ourselves stressed-out lately. It doesn’t help that he is a carpenter by day and then comes home to do more work at night, but I think that this post will encourage him to take his time and enjoy where we are.
I know I need to be patient too. I’m so glad that you guys have shared your perspective. Now, I feel like I can slow down and enjoy :)
Keri Beth says
Have I ever felt the it-must-be-done pressure that we put on ourselves in the first few months of living in our first house? Heck yes, I was crazy enough to tell my husband he couldn’t invite people over until i was satisfied with everything in the house. Well, 6 months later nothing is ever really finished and we have had plenty of happy house guest and great memories already in our first home.
I still however create a mile long to do list before i know people are coming over. Like for our 1st family cookout this Sunday. And of all people my parents and sister in law could care less what my house looks like.
Emily says
Can I be honest? I’m harboring a dirty little secret. I do not enjoy DIY projects. There, I said it! I feel like it’s blasphemous to admit to this crowd, but true! When we have a free minute or some spare change at our house, our idea of a good time is heading out for a long walk or hike or bike ride, or reading a good book or seeing a great movie, or enjoying a fabulous dinner out, or just saving up and planning for our next memorable vacation. Try as I might, I just can’t get excited about painting the walls or shopping for new throw pillows. I know, crazy, right?
That said, we’re new homeowners and after nearly a year in our house I still get so discouraged looking around at all there is to do. (I admitted that I don’t enjoy DIY projects; I didn’t admit that I’m also very selective and want things to look a certain way–the worst possible combination!) We know ourselves well so we bought a house that doesn’t require any major work, but there are many tweaks and major purchases we’d love to make down the road. Yet we refuse to do that until we have plenty saved up to cover all of our upgrades and know that won’t be for awhile.
This post was encouraging even for me–why stress ourselves out if the journey is no fun? If that means our walls are bare and our furniture tattered for a few years, then so be it. Our friends and family will still love us and I should quit apologizing for our DIY shortcomings. We’ll get there eventually–even if, for us, that means saving up and shopping around until we can hire someone to do all the work for us! ;) Luckily, we’ll have a great idea of exactly what we want by then thanks to all the inspiration we’ve gotten from your blog.
Thanks for the wonderful perspective!
Kayla says
Thanks for this post. I know you guys always say that it’s a marathon/journey, not a sprint, but it was nice to be reminded again. I am definitely guilty of wanting everything to be done quickly and look amazing in a couple months… it’s so unrealistic! Thanks for the reminder that everything doesn’t need to be perfect right away – or maybe ever! – as we’re always changing. You guys are great.
Denise says
We’ve been in our “short sale” home for 10 months and I have been slowly removing the ugliest wallpaper on the planet, scraping and patching holes. The previous owners did a lot of damage to the home and there is so much work to be done that I sometimes feel like I have accomplished nothing. I have completed 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom that I am currently working on, that leaves the guest room, the living room, kitchen and master bath. When we first moved in I gave myself a couple of months to finish the entire house but that was an impossible dream. I have learned to work slowly as you describe and take pictures along the way so I can see how much I have actually completed. As always your blog is inspiring, it’s one of the first things I read in the morning with my coffee.
Kim says
What you say is true. In fact, I find that if I am TRYING to find the perfect thing for this room or that room, I usually don’t. But if I am patient and just wait until the right thing comes along, it usually does. Do you find this to be true in your experience?
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, whenever we’re under the gun to find something we never do- so whenever we see something that’s right, even if we’re not quite looking yet – or have given up all hope after looking for months – we snatch it up! Haha.
xo,
s
Melissa says
I really not only enjoy reading your blog but I admire you guys, too. You have a great perspective about this. I have been in my house 6 years and did a lot of work before I moved in; all DIY, new kitchen, floors, etc. but just finished my bath last year and still cont to upgrade and redo things. I dream of being “done” someday, but who am I kidding? Tastes change and I get bored sometimes and like to mix things up and rearrange/redo and whatever. I can’t imaging just paying someone to come in and do something and then living with it like that for years. You have great taste, yet are practical and economica AND have fun along the way. Thanks for sharing your lives with us!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Melissa, that’s so sweet of you to say!
xo,
s
Ashley Guttuso says
So glad I slowed down to read this. We are still so far from finished on our house and we’re planning to bring in professionals on the projects that are beyond our skill level(s). I’ve even let the blog lose momentum because with recent life changes lately our projects have also lost momentum and I got tired of simply posting inspirational we’ll-do-it-someday type entries.
There are still times when I get down on the lack of progress (when will we have a roofer actually come out and fix the bathroom leak, already?) but I’ve gotten a bit better at learning to live with reality instead of greeting each day as another day that I don’t have what I want. Now, I just try to get excited about what will be and laugh about the current state of things (like the fact that some of my kitchen shelves are on such extreme angles that the only items we store in those cabinets are tupperware containers – it looks like a fun house illusion but it’s my life).
Kelly says
Great post. One thing that I have begun to realize as my husband and I have started completing some DIY projects, is that just because we are doing it ourselves, doesn’t mean we should cut corners on the quality of e materials we use. In our first couple of projects, we used lower quality materials and had to rebuild later to satiate our perfectionism. Now, we use the right product first, so that our projects can last a lifetime. We are so much more relaxed now when we finish a project and realize that we won’t have to redo it.
Erin says
I love this post! My husband and I bought a 100-year-old 3-flat (that needs a little lovin :)) last summer, and we’ve got a LONG list of projects that will last us years. I agree with you; it’s important to enjoy (or at least live in) every step of the process, and nothing feels better than enjoying a space you’ve put LOTS of hard work into. We’ve currently started to tackle our yard (http://erinem.wordpress.com/2012/05/11/operation-totby/), and it’s been so fun dreaming up what we hope to do with the space. After all the planning, it can be so rewarding seeing it slowly come together! Can’t wait to spend many summer days and evenings enjoying our backyard someday!!
mp says
I’m so glad to read this, because sometimes I feel overwhelmed by what is yet to be done in my fixer-upper. When we bought the house in 2006, we had an ambitious reno schedule, which was derailed by my husband’s sudden health crisis two months after we moved in. Five years later I’m stuck in the middle of an MBR reno and the kitchen is an absolute failure, and I’m tired of living in a construction zone. (I have a good friend going through the same thing and we try to comfort each other in our distress.) But I love my home and remind myself I have the rest of my life to fix it up. Thanks for reminding me to keep it light!
Shannon Hoving says
I grew up with parents who were avid DIY-ers like you, John and Sherry. My aunt and uncle were their co-conspirators. Most weekends were spent on projects such as installing new flooring at our house, or building a new brick fireplace at their house. When I was old enough to wield a paintbrush, I was put to work. By observing and then doing, I learned valuable skills. The sense of accomplishment I got from mastering something new built self esteem, and because I saw first hand the hard work that went into a project, I learned to treat our home respectfully and to take care of my things. Those lessons have stayed with me all of my life. 40-plus years later, I’m still spending my weekends covered in drywall dust and paint splatters, and yes, sadly, this is still my idea of fun! Fortunately, I’ve found a man willing to be my co-conspirator, and for the last seven years we’ve spent all our free time gutting and renovating a 1940’s era Cape Cod, one room at a time. Is it close to being done? Nope. To quote my mom, “Oh, Honey, no house is ever done, not as long as you still live there!”
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, so funny and so true!
xo,
s
Amy @ a new old house says
Thanks for this- I really needed it today!
It looks like we may need to push back our kitchen renovation a bit longer (due to other, more pressing fixes!) and I was feeling discouraged.
Thanks for reminding me that it all takes time, and what are we rushing for?
So, this weekend I’m going to sit back & enjoy the things we’ve accomplished here so far :o)
Hope you have a very Happy Mother’s Day!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Amy! You’re so sweet. All the best to you guys! In hindsight the timing will be perfect!
xo,
s
Pam the Goatherd says
How did you know I REALLY NEEDED this post today!!!! This entire week has been consumed by a bookkeeping project that I committed to do for our family business which has meant the last few things that I need to get done to complete our kitchen re-do have not been touched. Not only that, but “stuff” is piling up on the kitchen counters because I just don’t have the time to deal with it. I was despairing this very morning that I will NEVER get to finish the kitchen even though I know that this other project will be done by Monday and my days will once again be free for sewing curtains and re-covering stool cushions and just generally getting back on top of the clutter…
Thank you for bringing me back from the edge!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, so glad you’re back from the edge Pam! Good luck with everything! Someday, it’ll all be done- and there will probably be other things on the to-do list! Haha.
xo,
s
Dawn says
Great response to her question. It takes patience to get through all the muck,debris & chaos that comes with remodeling or renovating a home let alone all the planning and re-planning of the design beforehand – they say it’s all in the details but it’s also in the planning. I should know, I’m an interior designer for a construction company and I’ve been happily following your progress for months now. I love what you’ve done becasue it reflects who you both are! Keep up the DIY projects especially when they make you happy.
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Dawn!
xo,
s
LeAnne Maready says
I soooo needed to read this TODAY. Thank you so much for the insight and encouragement. Just moved 6 weeks ago (again- moved 6 times in 5 years) and find myself getting impatient every day. We are at least “functional,” as in we can cook , do laundry, shower, etc. But as far as getting the house how we want, oh…. so far to go. But I enjoy every second of making it *home*. I know this sounds nutty, but you guys inspire me SO much and have helped me to be brave enough to be ME without reservation, and to celebrate who I am. Thanks for being so awesome!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh LeAnne, you’re so sweet! All the best and happy decorating!
xo,
s
Karlee says
I absolutely needed this post today! In 2 short hours my husband I are will be starting the process of moving into our very first home. We bought a teeny tiny home from an elderly couple that loved to smoke in their living room and did not have a house-trained dog….YUCK! I have been completely overwhelmed with the thought of making this house into a home we can start a family in. You have reminded me that it doesn’t have to be done in a day or a week or a month, we can take our time and enjoy the ride. Thanks!
Monica Forquer says
This post is just like my life! We bought a “fixer upper” house in DC almost exactly a year ago. Not only was everything out dated, but no one had taken care of the place–inside or out– in quite some time. We have painted almost all the rooms, put in new floors on the first floor and refinished the second floor, painted kitchen cabinets, put up a ton of shelves, and are in the process of redoing stairs…
There’s still about a million and five things on our to do list, but we couldn’t be happier with all the things we’ve done so far!! I never thought home improvement could be so fun :)
Kay says
Wow. Ok, so I’ve never commented on ANY blog before (quite the lurker…) but I just had to say “Thank you!” for this post and the great perspective. We bought our disaster of a home 2 years ago and are fixing up ourselves. We’ve done a ton, and love the results, but have a loooong way to go. I am throwing my husband a birthday party in 8 days and have a to-do list a million miles long and am taking care of our 6 month old at the same time. I’ve been so stressed trying to get everything done before people see our place…but I just read your post, took a deep breath, and vowed to chill out. Thanks. I needed that.
YoungHouseLove says
Aw, so glad to help Kay! Good luck with everything and have fun!
xo,
s
Amanda says
It’s reassuring to hear that we’re not the only ones who want to get the house done right away then later realizes that’s not going to happen.
We bought our first house about 6 months ago, and haven’t really done anything to it. Since we’re first time homeowners, we don’t really know what we’re doing for DIY, we have a long list of what we want to do or where to start. Knowing how and finding the time (and money!) is a different issue. Haha.
We thought we’d be a lot further on with fixing it up by now, but life (and working 45-50 hours a week each) gets in the way. It took us a month before we invited anyone over because the house wasn’t “ready” yet. Well it’s still not ready, but we’ve had some fun get together anyway. :)
Noelle says
Sooooo glad you wrote this post! This has been a MAJOR problem for me since buying a house about a year ago. I think I needed permission to slow down and not expect to get it all done at once. Thank you!
Ali says
I like this. When we moved into our house nearby, I was wanting everything to be done basically yesterday. Then I remembered that you guys took years to get your first house where you wanted it to be and that made me feel better. We’re having a party for one of our boys in a few weeks and just tore out a ton of hedges in our front yard. I find myself wanting it all perfect before everyone comes over, but guess what? It won’t be. Oh well. I think they’ll all be excited just to celebrate with us.
Enjoying the ride. :)
YoungHouseLove says
I would bet money that over 50% of the guests won’t even notice you tore out a hedge. Haha. They’re so busy chatting and having fun and eating/drinking/being merry!
xo,
s
Amber says
Thank you so much for posting this. I have been following you guys for about a year, but my husband and I are just now in the process of buying our first house. It needs a TON of work and I was feeling overwhelmed by all of the projects, but this makes me feel better to be reminded that it all takes a long time, even for amazing experienced people like yourselves :)
Ikl says
Just wondering…did you face the patio fence outwards instead of in? Just asking because we moved into our house and the existing fence faces in, do you know what I mean? Not sure why you did that, if that is the case. Thanks! Also, are you going to send Clara to preschool program or wait until three?
YoungHouseLove says
We were going to send Clara to a two-day a week preschool this fall but since we have our book tour (and will be traveling off and on a lot) we decided to start her when she’s 3 instead. As for the fence, it’s usually common practice to face the front of the fence away from the house (towards the street in the front and towards your neighbor on the sides). We already had an existing fence on that front part that we connected ours to – which was facing the road, so we thought it would look really weird if that existing fence faced out and the fence on the side that we attached to it faced in, so we kept things cohesive and they both face out. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Kendall says
This is an inspiring post. My husband and I are almost 1 year into our first home renovation and some days I feel like I haven’t accomplished anything or that we’ll never be finished! This is such great encouragement to just keep plugging away at it and enjoy the ride! Thank you
Carli says
What a sweet post! I always feel like my house is never quite good enough, and that I’m always so much further behind than where I ‘thought I would be by now’. It’s nice to read something like this and realize that it really is more about the journey. The accomplishments are lovely of course, but, as you guys said ‘chill the heck out’ and recognize the process. It’s all so much more gratifying that way.
Thanks for the continued inspiration :)
Steph says
What a refreshing post!
It can be so hard to slow down and take things one thing at a time. Thanks for much for your insight, it helps a ton. Your house/creativeness is so inspiring!
Keep it coming ;)
Rachel says
I was JUST wondering this about you guys! Thanks for reading my mind.
Makes me feel better too, because you guys have done a lot, and our house is one year old to us, and I complain we haven’t done much, but when you put it into perspective….you/we really have!
Georgia says
Evere since we bought our weekend house 1 1/2 years ago (our first ever bought house after nearly 20 years of marriage), I spend nearly every weekend we are up doing stuff. The house was dark and hideously over decorated french country -not my style! And so to begin with it was more about ripping off wallpaper that I couldn’t bear to look at and choosing soothing bright colours to paint on the wallls. I do most of the work myself, enlisting my husband and teenage sons when I need a bit of grunt work done. All our friends kept asking me if I ever relax in our house, or do I always work. But in all honesty, it is my joy! I tell them, that it’s 25 years of pent up decorating that I’m finally able to let loose. And I have learned so much. This weekend I’m ripping out a door and closing it off, touching up plaster, painting, building a bookshelf. And I LOVE IT! Being able to plan what needs to be done next makes me so excited that I can’t sleep. And there is nothing like feeling the pride of seeing something turn out how you imagined and feeling happy in how functional and pretty it is. Totally get you two and this blog. And I am constantly learning so much from it and getting the confidence to tackle things on my own.
I Play Outside The Box says
Fabulous!!! My daughter and SIL just finiished ‘doing over’ their entire home…it was a ‘work in progress’ zone for several months…and they worked hard every step of the way. They now enjoy the fruits of their labor…with a smile!!
Kim Birum says
Thanks for the example you set. Your joy for living and building a warm inviting place to raise your family and share with friends comes through in your posts. We’ve been in our new place for four months and the to-do list is endless. Sometimes it’s celebrating the little things that keeps me going.
YoungHouseLove says
Aw, thanks so much Kim! You’re so sweet. All the best with your place!
xo,
s
Nancy says
Thank you for this! We have moved in to our 1984 bungalow in february and needless to say there is alot of updating to do. The most challenging aspect for me is choosing paint colors and design elements. I always seem to be turning around in circles. Thanks to websites like yours, I get great inspiration.
Nancy from Granby, Quebec