Young House Love

Home Decorating & DIY Tutorials

| By | | 668 Comments

Let’s Go Behind The Scenes (Waaay Behind)

Ahhh! Our book baby is officially out there in the world. Holy cow it’s crazy. We thought once the book was actually released this might feel real but it still feels like it’s a big game of make believe – despite all of these awesome photos that you guys keep tweeting and Facebooking to us (anything with a dog, a baby, or a funny face = awesomeville).

YHL Reader Grid2

And ever since those early days of cobbling this labor of love together, we’ve been itching to share some behind the scenes peeks, so it’s an understatement to say that the 27 photos in this post were burning a hole in our pockets for nearly a year. So without further ado… the long-awated we-can-finally-share-these-photos scoop. Below you’ll also find a ton of details from many pages of the book with the correlating back story (if you don’t have a book in front of you, it might not make as much sense as it could – but you can still check out all the behind the scenes pics and then flag this for later). #warningitslong

  • The inside flap picture – The photo on this page with me and John mugging for the camera was actually one option that they shot for the cover, but since we were trying to dodge having our big smiling faces on the cover we campaigned against it being “the one.” Thankfully they opted for a more text heavy cover (with our cheesing faces much smaller) and we dodged that bullet. But while we had that corner all styled (we did all of the photo styling for the book ourselves so it felt as much like us as possible), we shot this picture to remember the setup. We love that it’s a bunch of projects smashed together in a random-ish grouping.

BTS Non Cover Shot

  • Page 25 – We only papered the backs of the bookcase that were going to be seen in this shot, so if you zoomed out the back of the shelves above it were still blue – and the rest of the room was a disaster.

BTS Living Room Bookcase

  • Page 30 – This is the first of several furniture makeovers in the book, but to save time we executed them at the same time (it’s easier to prime everything while the primer is out, right?). We were pretty certain the neighbors thought we were crazy. We called it our “furniture graveyard.”

BTS Primed Furniture

BTS Furniture Painting

  • Page 32 – We snuck a family photo of one of our visits to see the Bowers in Georgia into this shot. And oh yeah, that paint color is still on that wall in our playroom to this very day. Someday we’ll repaint.
  • Page 35 – We only made one curtain panel for this project, which meant it wasn’t really functional as a curtain or usable to anyone else in a charity auction, which is why it later became our headboard. And the nail holes from those frames are still in our living room wall. We’ll caulk them someday…

BTS One Curtain

  • Page 37 – There are several illustrations throughout the book because we knew we couldn’t execute every idea that needed some sort of visual (and our publisher agreed that it’d be nice to break up the photos a bit). Our publisher asked us to send some samples of illustration styles we liked, so I plucked out some from a Real Simple article that we loved and hoped we could find someone similar. They did us one better and actually snagged that very same illustrator – Emma Kelly – and she was awesome.
  • Page 38 – This was the first shot we took for the book. We had to scramble because the first day was supposed to be all of our “before” photos of all of the various pieces of furniture that we were making over, but a miscommunication meant that the photographer didn’t have the right equipment with him for those. So we went straight to shooting a few already-done afters. The red berries were stolen from a bush out back because we hadn’t planned on needing flowers that day.
  • Page 39 – We originally shot this without Burger and then he jumped up there and we liked it better with him in it, so we snapped a few more shots and called it a wrap.
  • Page 46 – We borrowed this sofa for the day since we couldn’t shoot our giant sectional as cleanly/easily. We only had it a few hours with it, so we rushed to set everything up – including adding a rug and frames that later got cropped out of the final images. D’oh!

BTS Sofa

  • Page 47 – That’s Katie Bower‘s hallway. Since this isn’t your typical home book shot across multiple high-end residences (and it was all a grass roots book shot in our home) there were a few concepts that we wanted to touch on but couldn’t demonstrate in our own home – like a project with stairs since we live in a one story ranch – so a handful of room pictures in the book (like the stairs on page 49 and Layla’s kitchen on 85 and the front door on page 309) are photos that we got permission to use to help demonstrate some of the projects that we didn’t want to leave without a photo.
  • Page 55 – This is a project that almost got scrapped. My first attempt was to splatter paint the lantern and I think I went a little completely overboard. Luckily we had bought a back-up paper lantern so I could try the more subtle watercolor approach that ended up in the book…

BTS Splattered Lantern

  • Page 56 – We temporarily hung wallpaper (with tape, not glue) just in one section of the entryway to get this shot and then removed it quickly to keep the wall freed up as a background for other shots.
  • Page 57 – Tulips became the unofficial flower of the book. Every time we needed some life we got pulled towards them at the grocery store, so by the end we didn’t even think twice. It was just “grab the tulips- whichever color looks the healthiest!”
  • Page 59 – We got this lot of old postcards on eBay. I was in love with them and didn’t want to take them down (but of course I had to or they’d sneak into photos or house tours before we were allowed to let these secret projects out of the bag).
  • Page 61 – We loved how this project turned out and actually left it for months, but it became so difficult to shoot around it that we finally painted the door white again. I’d totally paint it again though. And remember when our bed was right near the door back then? So funny to see now…

BTS Door Color

  • Page 62 – This is one of many colors that we painted various walls in the playroom for a varied background for projects and shots (didn’t want them all against our Moonshine dining room and living walls, our Plumage guest room, and our Sesame kitchen). And those reading glasses were the photo assistant’s – we scrambled to use anything we could to style things!
  • Page 66 – To pull this tip off we wallpapered a spare piece of foam core and taped it to the ceiling temporarily. Everything had to go up quickly and come down even quicker so it didn’t end up in another book shot or in a shot for the blog that could give something away.

BTS Ceiling Wallpaper

  • Page 75 – Shooting anything in our kitchen proved very challenging because of the lack of natural light. So we ended up shooting most of those shots after sundown since we’d need artificial lights anyway.

BTS Kitchen Lit Up

  • Page 78 – The wire basket is a thrift store find that Clara uses as her shopping bin for the wooden food in her play kitchen. Works for real food too!
  • Page 88 – We had to reshoot the macaroni set up after zooming in on our film and realizing there was some rice hiding at the bottom of the vase from that previous setup. Sneaky little buggers.
  • Page 89 – John got me these yellow flowers for Valentines Day and I loved them so much I made sure they snuck into the book at least twice (they’re also in the background on page 239).
  • Page 103 – We bought these glass votive holders at Target along with little candles to put into them and right before the shoot we realized the candles were a smidge too fat to slip into the votive holders – so we had to go back for slightly thinner ones. Who would’ve thought they weren’t standard sizes?! I also insisted that we burn the wick of every candle we shot, just since the waxy unburned ones look “dorky” to me (like sneakers that are too white, haha).
  • Page 105 – We had to photoshop some Garfield paraphernalia out of John’s childhood room photograph for “copyright reasons.”
  • Page 107 – My nails are always painted dark in the book because they were so dirty from constant projects (I had so much glue and paint under my nails that we had to paint them to hide the mess).

BTS Sherrys Hands

  • Page 108 – We brought our guest bed into the corner of the living room where the desk usually sits since there’s great light there – which is where it lived for a few days. Burger was a fan.

BTS Bed In Corner

BTS Burger In Bed

  • Page 115 – We tried to hide meaningful things in photos when we could, like the gold giraffe necklace that Clara loves and my favorite quatrefoil earrings.
  • Page 119 – This is another example of our guest room bed getting around. We stuck it up against the fireplace in the living room (where Clara’s desk usually lives) and shot it there for a different backdrop. Gotta spice things up, right? It actually blocked the walkway so while it lived there for a few days we’d just crawl over it to get through. Oh yeah, and that’s Clara favorite stuffed animal Gee making his book debut as a bed prop.

BTS Bed On Fireplace

  • Page 120 – The photographer Kip loved Burger, so shooting these Burger pics (there’s at least one in each chapter) was a fun break from all of the room pictures. We shot him on an all white background to make him easier to cut out later so he could “walk through” pages of the book. Lots of treats were involved.
  • Page 121 – This is another bright color that we painted a wall of the playroom just to add some more color in the background of certain projects – it was called Moroccan Spice and we loved it. We used an N as the letter on the shelf in honor of my mom (Clara calls her Nonna).

BTS Morroccan Spice

  • Page 125 – Kate’s original after photo had a Buzz Lightyear and an R2D2 on the shelf but we had to ask her to reshoot it without them for “copyright reasons.” She was so sweet and sent another shot that very day.
  • Page 131 – This is our favorite Burger blurb in the book. It cracks us up every time we see him sitting in that basket. Dorks for life.
  • Page 130 – There was a chandelier over the tub in the original illustration but since that’s not to code in most places we had the illustrator remove it. #codenerds
  • Page 139 – None of our bathrooms were big enough to shoot in, so we actually shot this book photo in the playroom. We placed a toilet tank top on a makeshift shelf and just cropped enough to fake it. Looks like a real toilet in the book, right?

BTS Toilet Faked

  • Page 148 – As a subtle shout out to John’s parents (Tom and Kathy) we made these canvases in their initials and later gifted them to them as a thanks for watching Clara during so much of shooting.
  • Page 156 – Everything we wrote on the calendar had some significance (ex: the 4:30 meeting has our favorite number 43 in it and we also had Clara’s birthday and a vet apt written in, in honor of Burger). We also styled the heck out of the mail holder to the left of the calendar only to realize that once it was cropped and laid into the layout you didn’t even see them. Oops!
  • Page 158 – We didn’t know what to write on the label of the box so John suggested “secrets.” It makes us laugh every time we see it.
  • Page 159 – This is another subtle Bower shoutout (that’s a pic of Will and Clara in the bowl).
  • Page 174 – We loved the opportunity to get our niece Olivia (then 11) and nephew Jake (then 13) involved, so we were psyched that they were willing to do some original art for us. Here they are with their “practice” sheets and their final works that made the book.

BTS Jake Olivia

  • Page 180 – I originally painted this project red and John hated it! Said it looked like bloody crime scene. Then I couldn’t not see blood either so I waited for it to dry and repainted it green.

BTS Red Art

  • Page 182 – We used the fabric that we stretched around the canvas of this photo as a Clara fabric the next month (February). Also in styling news, if I could do it again I’d remove the lamp from the right and move the yellow art over a scotch to the right and turn it vertically to balance the lamp on the left. Two lamps on that small console just feel kinda cramped now that I stare at the pic. So there you go. #keepingitreal

Clara21Months Small

  • Page 186 – After hanging all the butterflies made from book pages we realized the one that the photographer was focusing on had a rather dirty word right in the middle of it… so we blushed profusely and cut a new one after reading the whole page to make sure it was more PG.
  • Page 190 – This tip was supposed to be “paint an old corbel or sconce” but then we found and fell in love with that chippy corbel so much that we couldn’t paint it and wound up leaving it as-is (so the tip changed to be more general for folks with beautiful chippy corbels that shouldn’t ever be painted!).
  • Page 196 – We had done this once about six years ago and the results were terrible so we were nervous about how these would come out. John says his original drawing of me looked like the Terminator since he gave me giant sunglasses and a super square jaw – so this time he went a lot more abstract. I loved his new sketch because I’m all about big colorful earrings. Perfect.
  • Page 214 – The black and white photo in this layout is a really old picture of my dad and his sister when they were kids. And all of the stamps for the stamp family tree were under $6 from a local stamp shop, even though two are from the 1920s! That was a gift that we sent to my stamp-loving dad after we shot it, and he loves it.
  • Page 218 – So many frames were missing from the frame wall during shooting since we’d use them as props, etc. So on the right in the background of this page’s photo there was one picture that was actually missing, so we added one into the hole thanks to Photoshop.

BTS Missing Frames

  • Page 231 – We didn’t think the notebook in the shot should be empty so I quickly wrote “just writing words so this notebook isn’t naked. Words, words, words. This is weird.”
  • Page 232 – This shot was looking kind of bland and “staged” until I ran around the house and collected as many colorful hardcover books that I could find and haphazardly stacked them with a glass of water on top. Suddenly it felt like a room someone actually lived in.
  • Page 243 – We were having a “cleavage issue” in these progress shots so I actually had to change into something with a higher neckline. Mortifying. And this was a fabric that had previously been one of Clara’s backgrounds. We used the backside of it because it was a bit more muted and subtle that way.
  • Page 248 – This gilded glass lamp was one project that I didn’t think was going to turn out well (the first coat was more than a little streaky) so a few more coats later I was beyond relieved that it turned out so well. The only bummer is that we somehow forgot to shoot an after shot of the lamp! Luckily we had included it in a photo for an alternate cover idea that required us shooting against a white backdrop. We’re bummed we didn’t get a “prettier” after, but I guess it’s better than no after at all!

BTS Gold Lamp

  • Page 252 – To save time, we sometimes completed a project and then half completed another one so we’d be able to shoot an “in progress” and an “after” shot quickly without making the photographer wait for us to finish the project or reset his camera. In this case we actually drew on an entire pillow and just started a second one to use as the progress shot.

BTS Half Done PIllow

  • Page 263 – Of course Sue the Napkin had to make it into the book, so here she is. I also hid a stack of these napkins in the bar cart pic on page 30. And the B on the rock is a shout out to Burger.
  • Page 270 – This was shot on the weird little alley balcony that we later removed to build our deck.
  • Page 273 – The cupcakes on the cake plate in this shot are locally revered Ukrop’s cupcakes (the same cupcakes that we served at our wedding).
  • Page 281 – We painted the ceiling in our bathroom nook for this shot in the book and it took us over five months to finally paint it back to white (and we were constantly accidentally sharing it on the blog and then photoshopping it back to white, so it was a huge relief to finally repaint it).
  • Page 283 – We only stenciled about a 9′ x 6′ rectangle on one wall of the playroom (enough for this shot to look legitimate) and it’s still there right now. I always forget it’s there until I open the door and see a big ol’ stenciled rectangle, just floating in the middle of the wall.

BTS Stencil

  • Page 286 – This pattern was all John’s idea. He just cut painters tape into small strips and created this basketweave pattern and it came out awesome. It took longer than we probably should’ve spent on a project at the time, but it was worth it. Go hubby.

BTS Basketweave

  • Page 289 – For this project, I actually originally tried to use a seafan as a stencil and it bombed. It was too thin so the spray just left a big blob on the pillow cover. So I let it dry, flipped it over, and tried one more time with leaves on the back of the pillow cover. Thankfully that worked a lot better!
  • Page 291 – The chair and table in this shot are all up on quarts of paint that were later cropped out. Everything was looking oddly low and looked better closer to the windowsill. So from far away it looked like a crazy chair and table on paint-stilts, but in the book it looks pretty nice, right? #booktrickoutofthebag
  • Page 295 – We really wanted the images in this book not to just be regurgitated from our site  – especially on must-have projects that we’ve previously blogged about, but couldn’t fathom leaving out (like how to paint wood paneling or a brick fireplace). So we bit the bullet and repainted the corner of our grellow kitchen for this shot and then repainted it back less than 24 hours later since we were actively blogging about our kitchen remodel at the time. Oh and see the old floors before we laid the cork in the book shot? Forgot all about those!

BTS Painted Kitchen Corner

BTS Ram Down

  • Page 300 – After shooting the before picture for this layout, we marked the location of each item on the floor with painters tape so we knew where to place things again after painting the wall. Then we lined things back up with the tape, removed the tape, and shot the after pic so the only thing that changed was the wall color – which we actually painted (no photoshop here!).
  • Page 302 – We used the brick wall in the sunroom as a backdrop too, just to spice things up. The funny thing is that we never noticed how crooked the floor tiles were in there until we saw this shot! See how the four under the chair don’t line up at the corners?
  • Page 304 – We were so in love with this dresser when we saw it at the thrift shop that we bought it with our own money (instead of the small book budget that we had for projects) since we knew we wanted to keep it! Nearly every other item of furniture is being auctioned for charity, was gifted to a crew or family member, or returned to the donor, but this guy is staying! We’ll share where he ends up soon…
  • Page 311 – We were shooting the after photo of the mat on this page without our feet in it and it looked sort of plain, so we thought “let’s stick our feet in the shot!” – I threw on my leopard shoes and all was right with the world. It’s also the set-up that spawned the photo of us that they eventually used on the cover (I changed shoes and they Photoshopped a drill into John’s hand).

Book Us In Door1

  • Page 312 – We carried this birdbath all over the yard to find the least brown background that we could (it was February, so nothing was looking as hot as it does in the spring).
  • Page 317 – Finding a wood planter in January is nearly impossible. We ended up having to get one shipped from a garden store on the west coast. Who knew it would end up being such a hunt?
  • Page 321 – Don’t worry, this isn’t our current house’s address… it’s actually our first house’s! We did it as a loving little homage. Of course it confused the heck out of our neighbors because it’s nothing like our current address, so we kept it covered with a piece of card stock on the door until we shot it and confirmed that the photo was securely backed up. Then we just peeled it off since it was a $6 decal.
  • Page 323-336 – In order to keep the book in the lowest possible price point, we needed it to be no longer than 336 pages, so there was a big scare when it ended up a being a good deal longer than that. But instead of caving to the price hike, our designer and publisher worked with us to get things down, so one way we condensed things was by making the source list at the end of the book a smaller typeface, like an index. Boom, it shaved off a ton of pages and we were right at 336 (after a few other design choices inside to condense things as well). Whew.

And since more than a few of you have asked what it was like to see the book for the first time, we actually video taped it. Don’t mind my terrible camera work (our camera makes this loud noise when we zoom so we need an external mic to fix that, hence all of my chatter about resisting the urge to zoom in).

I think we were both sort of in shock. Still are, actually. And as for that tidbit about photoshopping out Clara’s sleeve, the editor thought part of her sleeve on the arm behind her head looked weird right next to her face, so they photoshopped it out so her profile was more clear. It was something we never would have noticed, but they were totally right.

But enough jabber. Here’s where we beam at our computer screen and thank our lucky stars that we have you guys… our amazing, encouraging, and hilarious readers. There’s no way we’d ever be where we are today without you, and we don’t want to take a second of this who-woulda-thought journey for granted. We said it on the thank you page at the end of our book, and we’ll say it right here for ya too: you guys make our day every day. Thanks so much for taking this crazy DIY ride with us. We love you, for reals.

Comments

  1. emma says

    I loved that the styling was so you. Everyone can swoon over Real Simple’s setups but sometimes it’s like “How do I even begin?! I don’t have a trailer of accessories!” This book is so approachable and all about the baby steps. Thanks & a BIG congrats!! So well deserved!!

    Reply

  2. Sheryn says

    Did anyone ever say what would happen if you posted secret book projects on the blog too early? What kind of trouble would you be in? Congratulations by the way, my copy is in the mail still and I can’t wait to get it!!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We just knew from the beginning that in order to keep saying “none of the project photos have been shown on the blog” meant that we had to keep it that way! We didn’t want to go crazy doing all this new stuff for you guys and then blow it by accidentally revealing it before the book came out!

      xo
      s

  3. Kristen | Popcorn on the Stove says

    Love all this behind the scenes stuff and knowing all of the little touches you added!

    I haven’t gotten my book yet (I was going to grab a copy at your NYC signing, but since that was postponed, I just ordered a copy off Amazon so it should be here soon!!) so I’ll have to come back to this post once the book is in my hands :)

    Reply

  4. Kenzer @ Interiors By Kenz says

    I may or may not have paid for overnight shipping. My book came on Saturday morning. I devoted my entire morning to it.

    Thanks for all your hard work. It turned out better than I could have imagined. You have every right to be proud of yourselves.

    Reply

  5. Yadira Batres says

    Everything looks awesome!!!!!

    I can’t wait for next Thursday for the Houston Book sign and get a chance to meet you guys, and to get ideas from all the projects in the book, I’m SURE there’s a lot of great ideas.

    love ya

    Reply

  6. Leigh says

    I love all the insider info! My book arrived yesterday and I flipped through it last night. My little boy helped me look. I would say, “Oohhhh mommy wants to do this.” And he would point to a picture and look at me and say “this?” and then clap. You have a 16 month old fan! I wish I could’ve gotten it on video.

    Great job Petersiks! Happy Book Release day!!!

    Reply

  7. Jen says

    So I already posted a quick “CONGRATS!” to your FB page but I have to tell you that you totally knocked it out of the park! I was able to take a little look this morning while I had my coffee and so I read the prologue and then opened to a random project page. Seriously guys? Those LACK table moves? Are you kidding me?! You are killing it! We are going on vacation in two weeks and I originally thought I would save your book for then but there is just no way that is happening. I am ordering one for my sister for Christmas today! And let us know when you reschedule the SoHo signing at FLOR because hubster and I will be there with bells on. Congrats again!

    Reply

  8. Rana says

    Awww, cannot wait to get mine!! It is already on its way all the way from US to UK!! Yes, I couldn’t wait for UK Amazon to start pre-ordering it and pre-ordered the day you’ve announced we could do it!!! Really hope, I’ll go home after work, and it is there!! Ahh , suspense is killing me!!

    Reply

  9. Rachel Lockyer says

    I’m holding out to buy the book at your Chicago event, but this post is making it vvveeeerrryyyy difficult!!

    Reply

  10. Lesley says

    Am now wishing I pre-ordered, but wanted to support West Elm, who is hosting your signing in Toronto, by buying from them…. Aughhhh – the wait!!!!

    Hey, which project(s) did you slip up and show in the blog by mistake?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Aw thanks Lesley! They so appreciate that! As for which projects we slipped and showed, a few folks noticed something funky with the wallpapered bookcase (it was wayyyy in the background of a kitchen pic) but couldn’t really make out what it was. And I made a house tour video with the painted door project in it, but thankfully I realized it and rerecorded it so it wasn’t in there anymore.

      xo
      s

  11. Carolyn says

    What a fun post! I was wondering, do you remember what color you painted the corner of your kitchen for that fireplace shot? See you guys in Minnesota!

    Reply

  12. Nicole Lindquist says

    It could be the hormones (I’m 11 weeks pregnant) but that video so made me cry. I am so happy for you guys. It’s always been my dream to write a book and I would one day love nothing more than to get a FedEx package like that in the mail. You guys have worked SO HARD to get where you are, it’s a true inspiration for the rest of us. Thank you for sharing and a HUGE congratulations to your family! Love from Iowa :)

    Reply

  15. Amy says

    I discovered your blog through Monica Hesse’s Web Hostess weekly chat at the Washington Post only a few weeks ago, and now I’ve even ordered your book. You are amazing advertising for yourselves!

    Reply

  16. Heather says

    Wow!! That’s a whole lotta work! I’m waiting to grab my copy at West Elm in Toronto on Monday! You guys + first time at West Elm = I will probably embarrass myself silly! How excited are you guys for Canada? Ever been? Please say your gonna have a full post about your trip north of he border?!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We’re so excited! We’ll definitely be posting about it! I actually dated a guy from Toronto so I used to go up there a lot to see his family, but John has never been, so I’m so excited to show him around!

      xo
      s

  17. Shari says

    That was so much fun!! I loved following along with you in my own personal book. After reading this entire book in 6-7 hours, this book has had more action than…well, I won’t go there. Haha. When I read the book the other day, I enjoyed seeing how you incorporated things that are near and dear to you. When I saw Gee chillaxin’ on the bed, I was like “Gee!” I also noted how good your painted nails were. I laughed when I just found out there was even MORE paint underneath them. Niiiice! Loved, loved, loved this!

    Reply

  18. Katie V says

    “See you later, fools.” <– something my dog would totally say too. You know, if he could talk…

    I am so proud of you guys! I have been following your blog for a couple of years now & got your book in the mail last night. Read it cover to cover (is it weird to read a project book in one fell swoop?). I may or may not be that creepy awkward person who camped outside last night when you come out to Dallas. Just sayin.

    Holla!

    Reply

  20. Paola says

    After a long (painful) run that turned into more of a hobble towards the end, I came home and read the book cover to cover. I seriously didn’t want it to end. My boyfriend even offered to watch football in another room so he wouldn’t bother me while I read.

    I have so many projects lined up now, I’m so excited. Congratulations and can’t wait for book two!

    Reply

  21. Tracy Bryan says

    I knew that 47 was Katie’s hallway! – I swore I remember her giving that thrift store light the orb treatment with tons of blue sticky tape. Haha, glad to know I am not crazy.

    Reply

  22. Sam says

    OMG!! Can’t believe it’s out already! Congratulations again! I can’t wait to order it a.s.a.p. [it’s not in the amazon.es yet =(] Looks amazing!!
    xx

    Reply

  23. Katie says

    Have you guys seen your sales ranks on Amazon today? Way to go! Well deserved!

    Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #59 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
    #1 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Interior Design > Decorating
    #1 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > How-to & Home Improvements > Remodeling & Renovation
    #1 in Books > Professional & Technical > Architecture > Interior Design

    Reply

  25. Nikki G says

    I have to say, I had some pretty high expectations for your book and you FAR exceeded them!!! I got it last night and when I realized what the amazon box could have been, I FLIPPED out and made some crazy, breathy gasps/screams before ripping the box open and fawning over it. I’ve now decided that I HAVE to gift this to my SIL for her bday coming up (even being just in college I know she’ll be able to use it for SO many things and I know she’ll love it!).

    So that leads me to a question: I’m going to the signing in DC on the 28th (CAN. NOT. WAIT!!!!), so I was thinking I could just buy a book in person to have you sign there, but I don’t want to run the risk that you’ll sell out before I get to the table. Is that still a risk now that it’s officially released (even a tiny one)?

    Anyway you guys are the BEST and SO deserving of all of your success (I had to choke back tears when looking through your book b/c I am so happy for you – weird, right? lol!!!). Needless to say – get ready for an awkwardly excited fan in DC!!!!!!!!! Hopefully I won’t cry… =D

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Aw YOU’RE SO SWEET! That’s so amazing to hear! And as for the book, once it’s released we don’t think we’ll sell out as quickly, so we have high hopes that we’ll have enough books for everyone at each stop! We also have bookplates to sign, so if the books are gone we can sign those, still take photos with you, and then you can get a book that day from Barnes & Noble and stick the bookplate right in! Hope it helps!

      xo
      s

  26. Julia says

    I always love “Behind the Scenes” stuff, so this is awesome! Can’t wait to get to flip through your book – I checked my pre-order on amazon (Germany) and it says it will be delivered on Friday (just in time for the weekend :) )!
    And I can’t even begin to tell you how many times you guys have made my day! Every time law school get’s to crazy I visit your blog and reading your posts always make me smile (even though I probably only understand about half of the jokes and puns since English is not my native language).

    Reply

  28. Caitlin @ Desert Domicile says

    I stalked my Amazon order status all day yesterday until your book finally arrived and then I stayed up until midnight diving into it! I only made it to page 80 (because I was so inspired/half asleep haha) but I can’t wait to soak all of the other pages up tonight/this weekend! Thanks for being a constant source of inspiration :)

    Reply

  30. suganya says

    Eeeks! Our little baby girl made it on YHL! So exciting! Can’t wait to go home after work and dive in! So happy for youg uys!

    Reply

  32. Jocelyn says

    I am so excited to get home and see this book sitting on my doorstep as a happy tuesday present. Thank you for sharing all the special meaning behind some of your choices… it’s definitely going to make reading the book that much more enjoyable. Congratulations!!

    Reply

  33. Eilene says

    It’s fantastic behind the scene goodness! BTW I had an extended internal scream when I saw the photo of the desk that you used in your inside flap photo. I just put that desk on the curb a couple months ago, because I couldn’t figure out what to do with it. I still miss that desk and all it’s potential. Good news is that the matching dresser is still in my room!

    Reply

  34. Kaitlin Jenkins says

    You weren’t lying…LONG post! I gave up about 1/4 through since my copy of the book isn’t due to arrive until tomorrow, I’ll have to come back with book in hand and read each little tidbit so it makes more sense. I CANT WAIT!!!

    Reply

  37. Jenny says

    Is it silly that I got a little misty eyed for you guys in this post? I loved watching the video, John wouldn’t even look up at the camera he was so into it and you were cracking me up Sherry! And we totally talk to our dog Taco like that all the time. It’s his world and we’re just living in it. I can’t wait to get my hands on the book!

    Reply

  40. catelyn says

    I was waiting til my birthday or Christmas, but I decided after seeing this post that I HAD to treat myself to a copy of the book. Come on Amazon!

    Reply

  41. Jenn says

    Sherry: your video narration is so funny. I was laughing so hard at your semi-growl (I can’t remember the part). Did you guys cry at all? It’s such a big accomplishment I almost cried when John opened it!

    Reply

  43. Larissa says

    I don’t have the book yet (I’m waiting to get it when you’re in Dallas), but just reading this post I am so impressed with the amount of work you put into it. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from you two over the years it’s not to half-a$$ things. Can’t wait for the book!

    Reply

  44. keri says

    Love it! I am at work and my book is at home – i can’t wait to get home tonight and match up your notes to the photos in the book :) Also, I CAN’T WAIT to see you in Boston tomorrow night! I think I am going to have to buy extra copies for all my friends as Xmas presents, and have you sign them :)

    Reply

  46. Cindy O. says

    My copy arrived yesterday. I had to explain to my family why I screamed when I opened it… I LOVE the book. It’s wonderful and I cannot wait to spend more time enjoying it tonight. Congratulations!

    Reply

  47. Chelsea @ Chelsea Eats Treats says

    Ughhh I wish I brought my book to work with me today!! I only read through the “chill” chapter last night so I am waiting to look at the rest of these until I am done reading the whole thing. I don’t want to give anything away!! P.S. one of my favorite parts of the book so far is spotting things that you guys did to be sneaky (e.g., “hey, that’s their headboard fabric in that curtain!” or “whose white couch is that??” or “I know that wrapping paper is only on a few of the shelves in the dining room.”) I’m such a freak! Haha I also commented to myself along the way about how you guys no longer have the blue stools in the kitchen and how the bedroom and deck could have been included if it didn’t have to be published so far in advance. See, what did I tell ya’? Freak!

    Reply

  48. Sara says

    I just like seeing your house filled with clutter, even if it were only for photoshoots. It makes me feel better about my own home. :-)

    Reply

  49. Amy says

    I got the book in the mail yesterday and it made a bad day so much better! Thanks for all the great ideas! Random question: where did you get your quatrefoil earrings?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      I found those thanks to Pinterest! They were from a site I can’t remember the name of, but maybe if you search “quatrefoil earrings” on Pinterest they’ll pop up?

      xo
      s

  50. Rachel says

    I’m blaming the pregnancy hormones, but I definitely cried watching that video! I’m so excited for you guys, congratulations!

    Reply

Stuff We Love

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *