Young House Love

Home Decorating & DIY Tutorials

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Our Blog Makeover

Yup, after months of working on a little behind the scenes blog makeover (not kidding, this stuff literally takes us months) we’ve FINALLY let ‘er rip. Like any project, there were unexpected delays: mysterious coding glitches, inexplicable site crashes (thanks for your patience on those, btw), an earthquake and even a hurricane to round things out. But before we let another excuse get in our way, we decided to just go for it. It’s not 100% done. It may crash the site again. There could be a blizzard next week. Who knows.

Redesign New YHLove

It’s actually surprising to us that we haven’t done this sooner. We’ve had the same exact blog look/background/layout since the spring of 2008 (if you can believe it). It seemed silly that we’ve been through so many room re-paintings, furniture re-arrangings, and even a move to a whole new house… but hadn’t so much as changed the background pattern for three whole years. So it was definitely time. It just sort of felt like we were wearing old clothes that didn’t quite fit anymore. So although we know there are probably folks out there who will miss the old look (we’re sentimental creatures too) we’re excited to finally put on a fresh new outfit.

Old Site Design

Here’s a little bit of what we were hoping to accomplish with the new design:

  • Update the look (colors/patterns/typefaces) to be more reflective of our design choices in the new house
  • Make the header more inclusive of the things we blog about (folks kept saying it just represented the “house” part of our name)
  • Lighten up a bit, since the old color scheme was feeling a bit dull & heavy at moments
  • Improve navigation and help you guys discover content more easily
  • Overall just make the site feel fresher, more 2011 and less 2008

So this is what our amateur web designing skills came up with. So far we really love it, even though there are definitely things we’re still trying to finesse. We’ve been tweaking it for the past several weeks, so we’re kinda used to it by now – but we understand if some of you are still skeptical of the change. Think of it like rearranging a room or painting a wall – you might just need to give it a few days to get used to it.

New Header

When it comes to the actual header, we photographed a collection of objects that had special meaning to us on white cardstock outside (you know we love keeping things personal). In case you can’t figure it all out on your own, here’s the meaning behind each item:

  • Photostrips have always been something we’ve enjoyed, hence their appearance at our wedding
  • Clara and Burger are as much a part of this blog as any DIY project, so their picture was a must
  • A little wooden “C” block for Clara and a small bone-shaped dog treat (on the other side) were another way to tie them in
  • Sherry and I met in 2004 when we lived in NYC, so the little wooden skyscraper and taxi cabs remind us of those early days
  • We’re cheap. So we save our pennies. Hence the change, which actually adds up to seven cents – which is a lucky number of ours (plus the dates on each of the pennies are 2007, which is when we started this little ol’ blog)
  • We live in (and love) Richmond. So we tossed in a little Richmond magnet. Represent.
  • Paint swatches and fabric samples = our idea of a good time. So we picked a few that felt like our current house/style
  • There’s not a much more sentimental object than the key to our house (although we altered the tip of it in Photoshop because we’re paranoid)
  • Of course we also squeezed in a photo of our current house (had to have that happy yellow door in there somewhere)
  • A white ceramic rhino is kind of our mascot at this point (at least behind Burger and our dearly departed ceramic dog).

When it comes to the background, we actually created that as an homage to our previous logo (you know that little YHL heart? the background is actually just a gazillion of those laid out at all different angles to make an abstract-ish pattern). And as for the actual functional changes that we made, here they are:

1. We added a new side-deal called Young House Life (see the “Life” title under the header on the right?) to serve as sort of a “mundane everyday happenings area” where we mostly share Clara & Burger pics/videos along with behind the scenes blog stuff and other odds and ends that aren’t beefy enough for a dedicated YHL post over here (you know we love to over-share). But don’t worry, it doesn’t mean Clara, Burger, and other life stuff (vacations, anniversaries, etc) will suddenly be gone from the main site. Those things have always been a huge part of who we are, so they stay. Just think of Young House Life is a little “bonus footage” spot. Oh and it has a separate feed address for you to subscribe to as well (if you’d like to get those updates on your reader).

  Redesign YHLife

2. We finally made a paint color page about all of the ones we’ve used in this house and linked to it from our sidebar (like this one that we made for our first house).

Paint Colors

3. We also made a dedicated source list for where we got nearly everything in this house (like this one that we made for our first house) and also linked that up on the sidebar.

Where We Got It

4. We tossed in a Fav. Posts button, also on the sidebar (with little thumbnails and links). We intend to update it every month or so with new faves (since we’re fickle folks and because we’ve also heard from a bunch of readers who’d love to see more archive stuff, but aren’t sure what’s worth digging around for).

Fav Posts

5. We also added a Videos button on the sidebar, which shows thumbnails of a few of them. All of our videos used to be accessible from the bar under the header, but we moved some other stuff up there and thought videos could breathe better down below – so now you can access them all by clicking the link at the bottom of this button.

Videos

6. We added a Giving Back button to share the love for three charities that we’re thrilled to support, each of which were chosen because they represent stuff we love (homes, kids, & dogs). We make an annual donation of $1,000 to the Richmond Habitat For Humanity along with $500 to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and $500 to the Richmond SPCA (and we definitely encourage others to check them out – you can donate here, here, and here or find a local Habitat for Humanity or SPCA in your area here and here).

Giving Back

7. We retooled a lot of other buttons that have always been on our sidebar (like the House Crashing one) with some updated pics/type/colors. But that’s more decorative slash fun than functional. As is the new Twitter button which now goes by the name of Tweetersiks. Oh yeah, we officially out-punned Mr. Tom Petersik (my dear old dad).

Tweetersiks

8. Oh and we were inspired (by Kate over at Centsational Girl) to add a nice thorough pagination capability (so you can click back to the very first post in our archives, you know in case you have a year to spare reading 2,000+ of them).

Pagination

So there it is. Of course we still have a bunch of stuff on our blog-to-do list, so here are just a few things that we’re hoping to roll out in the next few months (or years, you know how long these things can take us, haha):

  • Completely “renovate” our Projects page so it has some images instead of just a ton of crazy links (can you believe we’ve tackled over 500 projects?)
  • Update the designs/header on the Mood Boards and Room Gallery pages (since they’re still rocking the old tan stripes)
  • Add about 100+ other makeovers to our Room Gallery (we have so many amazing Reader Redesigns in our archives to toss in)

Should keep us busy for a while. And we do have our $6 cabinets to finish. Might switch back over to DIY for at least a little bit. Web stuff is kind of fun (when you’re in the zone), but there’s nothing like paint under your nails and sawdust flying. Hope you guys like the new look. Has anyone else done a little site tweaking lately? Any new color schemes or functionality that makes you giddy in that “it’s 2:52 am and we’re still working on this post way?” Not that we are. That would be irresponsible parenting.

Comments

  1. Jessica says

    I am so stoked that I can look back at your first blog entries, I have been wanting one of those on here forever! Thanks!

    Reply

  2. Hayley M. says

    It just figures that as soon as I read the whole blog top to bottom ya’ll add in that fun little “pagination” thing! That’s okay, it was well worth it to type younghouselove.com/page/380…379…378… I love the new page! It does feel much lighter, fun, and young. You lovely people rock!

    Reply

  3. Amanda says

    Thanks for posting a screen shot of the old design. Whenever bloggers change their design, I’m always left sitting here thinking, “But what *exactly* did the old one look like? Why can’t I remember? Why do I care?!” Thanks for sparing me that :)

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Haha, I was a crazy person grabbing ten million of them before we pulled the switch and held our breath. Still so excited our site didn’t crash! Kind of a miracle, actually.

      xo,
      s

  4. Sarah says

    Love the personal touches! It feels like you guys (not in a creepy mind-in-gutter way). Thanks for everything you do for us! :)

    Reply

  5. bridget b. says

    LOVE the new layout. it looks great and definitely captures what you were going for.

    did i miss the blog post (picture above) from 8.30.11 called “nothing’s gonna stop us now”.

    Reply

  6. Michelle says

    Am I the only one not seeing the new header? Just a turquoise box with the topic tabs…Sadface. What I did see in my Google reader looks great though, just wanted to give you guys a heads up!

    Reply

  8. Lindsay B. says

    I like it! So fresh and updated.

    Speaking of updates, will you be able to talk more about your book deal/process of writing a book, or will we have to wait until it is released?

    Reply

  11. Marriah says

    I love the new site!!! Its beautiful! I also wanted to thank you for the donations to St. Jude. I’m a social worker at St. Jude in our survivor’s clinic. Every day, I get to see the amazing kids that this hospital works to heal grow up and go on to live full lives! Your donations are definitely worth every penny! Thanks so much!

    Reply

  12. change of scenery says

    LOVE the new site! It totally compliments your personal style, coming across as clean and organized but with a ton of information. I especially like the little tabs off to the right where you’ve combined similar pages of information and assembled into one handy place. Now, if only blogger would get a gadget that’s similar :)

    Again, fantastic job!

    Reply

  13. Sam Cross says

    so I opened the site and thought “what the what?!” definitely unexpected surprise hehehe!! I am diggin’ the new design, I particularly love the background and the new “buttons” for young house life and such. And John, seriously man, KUDOS, you have some mad blog-coding skills. I battle wordpress regularly and never get anything remotely as personalized and cool looking as this! so I generally give up :( In any case, congrats youngsters because this place looks awesooome!

    Reply

  18. Debbie Hadley says

    Just thought I’d leave this here: Thought the rhino was some kind of foam (think shaving cream) at first! Of course after reading through your post I was able to figure it out, but the shape is not too distinguishable (at least to a new reader like me).

    Reply

  20. Lauren says

    Congrats on the redesign. Popped in to say: Be careful and check out your new accent color on a variety of setups.

    You guys know all about PMS so just a small warning that the new accent, #d4d756, is of a ‘sensitive’ group of colors that can go from sweet/crisp to split pea soup depending on monitor.

    Reply

  21. KLL says

    I love the ‘life’ blog section. Very nice. I noticed the dates are clearly previous dates, but I didn’t miss them in the original blog did I? I’m assuming you stockpiled a few to get the life blog rolling rather than recategorizing old posts to fall under the ‘life’ tab, is that right?
    Also, just because you brought up the ‘who would read 2,000 old posts — this girl would. I’m currently reading your daily posts in addition to trying to read my way up to date. I’m currently in May 2009 and Aug. 2011 simultaneously. It makes things interesting/confusing sometimes, but it’s sort of like I picked up a book in the middle and I just have to know how it started. I know, I know…I’m a weirdo.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Yeah, we just published those over on that site for the last few weeks but didn’t share the url/link to that page so everyone else couldn’t see them until today. Well, around midnight last night actually. Haha.

      xo,
      s

  23. amanda f. says

    Love the redesign….it definitely flows with the recent projects in your new house! Very fresh and modern!

    Reply

  24. Agacz says

    Aww, you added this convenient pagination capacity thingy just a few days after I finished stalking all your archives (after hacking them with blind URL changes – I’m that clever!). Well, I guess it can serve future generations.

    Reply

  26. Ofelia says

    Wow! love the little hearts, and family pic, and colors, and design, and new buttons (especially about young house life), tags… but the house pic seems so little… But anyway, changes are good, isn’t? this looks so refresh. I like the new look. Wonderful job! Congrats!

    Reply

  27. Julie says

    For some reason I can’t see the new background on my (old, ghetto) work computer, running IE 8. It shows up on my iphone though. Weird! Doesn’t matter to me, just thought I’d give you a heads up :-)

    Reply

  28. heather says

    Sooo I just watched your FAQ video that I had never seen before (yay for video side bar!). Uhm, hilarious. I love how you two interact. I would love to see a more current one. Especially with the new house, etc.

    If there could be more questions for Burger and now Clara that would be awesome. I’d like Burger to answer the question once and for all – who really feeds him most?

    ;)

    Reply

  29. Monica says

    Oh booo.. I cannot see the header??? is it just me? I’m on my work laptop, running IE7… (yeah I know!)… but I could see your stuff before… when I get home I’m going to check on the mac.

    Reply

  32. ruthie says

    I love the new “life” category! But I’m not a huge fan of the header. Sorry guys :-( It needs more items in it to achieve the eclectic look! I’ll still be tuning in each day nevertheless :-)

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      No worries! We figure that’s one of those personal preference things. We shot a few versions with more stuff and a few with less… and ended up liking the ones in the middle (since they didn’t feel too cluttered or too overly-simple to us).

      xo,
      s

  34. Petra says

    Love it!!! I don’t have a blog yet, but was wondering if you need to pay to change the page or is it included as long as the website is under the same domain?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Nope, you usually don’t (unless you hire a designer or something). You just mess around with code to change the colors and upload images and patterns and designs to change the background, etc. It takes some time, but it’s kind of fun once you get in the zone!

      xo,
      s

  35. ashlie says

    I love the new look! Sorry if you’ve answered this already, but where are Clara’s monthly growth pictures now? I love seeing all the fabrics and how Clara gets exponentially cuter with each month!

    Reply

  36. Katrina says

    I love the patterned background – so cute how you incorporated the heart logo. I think it would make great fabric, perhaps for Clara’s photo project…

    Reply

  37. Jessica says

    Love the Young House LIFE section…..will you let us know when you post new things there, or shall we just check it out every now and then? The whole update is amazing!! Looks fabulous and definitely meshes with your new house style!

    Also, how the heck did you do such a good job cutting Clara’s hair? I took scissors to the front of my little one’s hair last night and totally butchered it…haha! The back is crazy long like Clara’s, but it has the CUTEST little curls and I just can’t bring myself to chop them off. The front was starting to get crazy, though, so I had to trim a bit. I just don’t understand how to cut it without making it look like the 1 year old herself did it. haha!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We figure we’ll just toss up random updates over there and folks can check in on them by clicking over. Maybe once every few days? There’s also a subscribe button over there for anyone who wants to check things out in reader. The reason we made it a separate area was so people who want to see it can ( by clicking over there or subscribing over there) but it won’t inundate everyone by popping up between normal YHL posts overe here (although we’ll definitely still share beefier family/Clara/Burger posts on the main site like we always have). Hope it helps!

      As for cutting Clara’s hair, I actually cut John’s. Haha. So the pixie thing in the back for her was basically the same haircut I give her dad! Poor girl. She won’t be proud of her “dad haircut” when she’s a teen.

      xo,
      s

  40. Petra says

    just a random thought, you could add another “L” as in YHL saying something like Young House Laughter or something, as a humorous page?

    Reply

  43. Lisa in Seattle says

    Oh, it’s so fresh and airy, I just want to twirl around in here!

    Don’t laugh, but on this cruddy monitor, I thought the rhino was a crumpled diaper. Ooookay… people do talk a lot about diapers here… but still relieved to learn that it’s a ceramic animal! The header works just fine for me in IE8 under Win7. Can’t wait to see it on the iPad at home!

    Thank you for not going the way of some other blogs and changing the layout to show just the first few lines of each entry and forcing us to click through for the rest. I love that each entry is complete on the main page. Also, I wish a certain other huge blog could have seen your reboot before rolling out her big redesign. I love her, but that site is a hot mess now (without the hot).

    Reply

  44. Jennifer S. says

    Oh wow! Your blog was the very first blog with which I fell in love! That old design was like an old friend, like a comfort to see when it came up.

    That said…the new design is like a new BURSST of ENERGY! I love it. Even if I hadn’t of liked it, I would still keep coming here. It’s the people inside I really love!!

    Good job, you two.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Yayyyyy! So glad! It seems to still be glitchy for some folks- so please let us know if you still can’t see it. And if you can’t- what browser are you using? Thanks!

      xo,
      s

  49. Mackenzie says

    LOVE IT! This new design definitely reflects your blogging personalities, your house and your posts. I’m especially diggin’ the color scheme and the background, which I think you should totally make into a fabric on Spoonflower.com… jus sayin’ :)

    Reply

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