Young House Love

Home Decorating & DIY Tutorials

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Photo Booths And Boards & Battens

So March is kinda on the way out already, but before we get too giddy for spring (who am I kidding, we’re all hyper for nicer weather) we’re taking uno momento to look back at February. We’ve learned that stopping to appreciate our accomplishments is key when it comes to keeping our momentum up, and February was a month full of travel-detox, hallway-upgrades, and big-girl-room-projects. So here’s a recap of the shortest month o’ the year (plus a peek at something new at the end) in our usual yearbook superlative style. And if you want to look even further back, we’ve got each month of the last two years summarized right here (in 25 posts instead of 840).

Thriftiest: I’d say this goes to all of you – well, at least to the 200+ of you who participated in our random little Macklemore Thrift Shop Challenge. It was quite entertaining to see all of the hilarious things you guys found with only twenty dollars in your pocket.

Macklemore Twenty

Most Well-Trained: We’ve gotta hand it to Clara, who seems to be picking up some of her mother’s instincts when it comes to fabric. She actually helped choose this fabric, so we brought it home and made it into curtains for her big girl room.

Curtains 10 After Full Room

Most Inspiring: Our trip to the Jonathan Adler store in Georgetown, which was a feast for our color-loving eyes. And while we didn’t buy anything on that trip, we came home with lots of ideas – including a few thoughts for how we might makeover some secondhand finds in the future.

Adler Mugs

Most Confusing: Our post on using chalk paint for the first time (to paint the backs of Clara’s chairs) created a little confusion in the comment section since we hadn’t been clearer that chalk paint is different than chalkboard paint. Thank goodness we could jam a quick update into the post to explain that chalk paint is just a different type of paint formula (like oil-based paint or milk paint) but it isn’t meant to be written on with actual chalk (although we hear you can do that if you don’t wax it).

Table 13 After Close Up

The Worst: Nope, there’s no word missing on the end of that title. The simple description of “The Worst” goes to me, for accidentally locking our rental car keys in the trunk when we were on our west coast book tour stop in Portland. Fortunately, as you can read in this recap, the rest of the trip was thankfully lots of fun.

Portland Locked Out Of Car

Biggest Help: Clara, who once again broke out her drill skills when it came to installing our post card ledges on the wall in her big girl room. Feels like it won’t be too long ’til I’m the one lending a hand for her DIY projects.

Postcad 10 After From Side

Least Remorseful: This post about buyer’s remorse explained how we make all kinds of mistakes in the decorating process (um, our dining room chairs?) but we try not to let them hold us back from moving forward. You know what they say about “if at first you don’t succeed…”

Chair Changes

Most Thrilling: As you can tell from my expression, this label most certainly applies to when we tried out various shades in Clara’s big girl room. We took four of them for a spin (in a The Voice-ish parody that we called The Shade) and finally settled on our one true shade-love. Clearly, a good time was had by all.

ClaraLight 4Four Chevron

Most Last Minute: The Valentines that we whipped together for Clara’s preschool V-day exchange. Fortunately, Target had the hook-up and (with the addition of a little homemade poem) we were able to send Clara off with something cute for 16 kids in under $7.

Vday4

Most Transparent: This floating frame, which Sherry created by adapting a regular frame with just a few supplies that we had on hand.

Floating 5 Final

Most Delayed Satisfaction: Hanging these bird cages in Clara’s big girl room as a playful art installation of sorts. Why delayed? We bought that big birdcage at a thrift store in the end of 2011, just knowing we’d find a spot for it someday.

Birdcages Final Shot

Most Influential: Sherry, who is clearly trying to get our daughter hooked on ceramic animals as soon as possible. And in this case it’s literally hooks (from Anthropologie) that hold some of her hair accessories.

Animals Hooks 4 Girafe Detail

Most Quotable: I could give this award to Clara most months (like this and this) – and for this particular round I’m giving it to her for the moment in this season’s Pinterest Challenge video where she just couldn’t hold in her craving for a marshmallow any longer.

Most Awesomely Awkward: The bathroom at this restaurant in New York, which we shared as part of our final book tour recap that covers NYC, Charlotte, and Atlanta. Why is it so awesome? Because it’s a unisex bathroom with a photobooth in it. Why is it so awkward? Because five minutes of picture-processing turned us into weird bathroom loiterers.

NYC The Smith Bathroom

Most Playful: This goes to the closet in Clara’s big girl room which – since she still has most of her clothes in her nursery – can act as a secret little toy & game zone for the time being. Of course that was after we cleared out all of the clutter that was in there and brought in a few new goodies.

Closet Done6

Cutest Couple: This is a tie between me + Jeremy Bower and Sherry + Katie Bower. During our trip to visit them in Atlanta last month, Jer and I took the kids to the playground while the girls grabbed some sweet antique store scores. And while our bromance bloomed during a guys movie night, the ladies stayed up late doing some spontaneous crafting.

Crafting3

Biggest Basketcase: Sherry, who got her maniacal laugh on at the start of this post, after adding a dipped detail to the toy baskets in Clara’s big girl room (and knocking off a few other things on the ol’ to-do list in there).

Basket Detail Right

Longest List: Our updated tally of what’s been done and what still has to be done around our house. It’s refreshing to see lots of rooms coming together, but just as exciting to think about the spaces – like our carport and our front porch – that have lots of potential for further improvement (can’t wait to box out those porch columns and add a pergola to the carport). This post also has links to just about every project that we’ve done in every room, so if you want to catch up on the history of any part of our house this is the post for you.

FrntDr After Whole Porch

Longest List (Runner Up): The just-shy-of-650 projects linked up at the bottom of the Pinterest Challenge post. That’s a lot of pinspired projects to peruse, people. Well done.

Superlatives Pinterest

Cheapest-Slash-Biggest Upgrade: The board & batten that we added to our hallway as part of this season’s Pinterest Challenge which majorly transformed the narrow space, for just $57 bucks. Why did we wait so long to do this?

BatNew Frame Hallway

Most Likely To Give Burt Wonderstone A Run For His Money: These paper tulips from West Elm that Clara gave Sherry for her birthday which magically turned into real tulips overnight, courtesy of moi. Alakazam! Double flower power for the lady-wife.

Birthday Flowers

So, what did you guys pack into those 28 days of February? Were you on planes and in cars for a while and then freakishly happy to be home? That’s probably a good description of our month. Did you guys do anything especially fun? Exciting? Dramatic? Marshmallow related?

Comments

  1. Henna says

    HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHERRY! So, I thought you actually might enjoy this…appealing to your Jersey roots and all, ha.

    Um, I leopard printed easter eggs this year. YEP, LEOPARD Easter eggs, don’t usually hear that combination of words…but they’re awesome.

    Enjoy: http://hennablossom.com/?p=809

    PS I’m dying to see how the fireplace turns out…we have a similar situation going on and I never have any idea which way to go!

    Reply

  4. Laurie says

    You probably already know this, but Jonathan Adler is coming to JcPenney’s. My office building is across from the mail and I have to walk through everyday to get to the food court. Woo hoo.

    Reply

  5. JC says

    Are you guys at YHL very religious? I know you’re not Mormons lol. How do you guys feel about the LGBT community – just curious because of the rumors of John being gay. I know John is a runner but do you guys workout/exercise regularly and/or follow diets, cleaning eating or anything? Any plans for baby #2? I know there are always rumors about Sherry being prego. How do you decide what to tell the world and what not to – I thought you guys weren’t going to blog about training? I enjoy personal post btw. I also miss Sherry writing. Do you know if your old house gets tourists or special attention because of YHL? Any new blogs you’d recommend? Anyways, I love the YHL approach to blogging. Your site is well designed, well maintained, and therefore super user friendly.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We’re Christians, my husband is a straight man (Clara is our child, we made her together, haha!) and we would love to be blessed with a future child although I’m not currently pregnant. I feel like I get asked that every day and explain that I’m not but then another question pops up. I used to get annoyed for John about complete strangers deciding that he’s gay (do they want to be in our bedroom and watch or something? haha! have they ever even met us?) but if you put George Clooney’s name into google it says that too, so I think the internet is just a strange place :)

      xo
      s

    • April says

      Wow – Sherry that was a very gracious response! I’m not sure I would have been so…diplomatic.

    • Roo // NiceGirlNotes says

      This has to be the biggest troll I’ve ever seen on the internet ever.

      I’m seriously surprised this isn’t a spam comment hyperlinked to a website offering Lexapro and iPad deals.

    • Jess @ Crunchy Hot Mama says

      Yeah, I thought it was spam, too.

      Um, I’ve only met you guys 3 times but I DARN sure know John is not gay. In fact, John and my hubby are a lot alike (he’s not gay either). Sherry, if AND when you have #2 (it’s none of our biz), we will all be excited and happy for your growing family,. Please don’t let people like this ruin your day or birthday. As I’ve said before, you two are the sweetest, most gracious couples I’ve ever met, and anyone would be lucky to know you two :D Sending you a virtual hug (#4)!

      This person needs to troll elsewhere!

    • Katie says

      Wow…just…wow! I honestly ready this thinking it was a sarcastic comment about all of your readers wanting to know every little detail about your life (I’m guilty too!). I was waiting for the big joke at the end but it never came!

    • lees says

      Wait, John and Sherry did you write the “JC” comment above? I’m thinking maybe you wrote it to be funny since these might be a lot of questions you might get all the time, and you can answer them all in one shot….I could be wrong though.
      I just read it and instantly thought–i think they wrote this. My cousin told me she sometimes does this on her blog when people ask tons of the same questions all the time. She’ll write in as a commentor and then answer the question to make a point. haha.

    • Laura says

      OMG…sorry, but my mouth was hanging open as I read this. Don’t worry Sherry, John reminds me of my husband a lot (at least superficially, clearly, I don’t know you that well), in the sense that he’s attentive and thoughtful, takes care of himself, and generally dresses well. He has definitely had some well-meaning dudes try to pick him up, but he takes it as a compliment.

  6. Rosemary says

    That most awesomely awkward bathroom at The Smith is just a few blocks from my house and is ALWAYS awkward – but that’s why they provide the awkward shoe shine chairs, so you can wait and make friends!

    INSIDE TIP: there’s also a tiny peep hole at eye level at the bottom of the stairs and tiny videos of burlesque ladies play. Weird but true!

    Reply

  7. Diane @ Vintage Zest says

    I love these recaps! I love that picture of the dining room chairs and all of the different versions. That’s exactly what goes through my head when I try to update one of my projects. Usually, I get stuck after one repurposing, but this totally inspires me to re-repurpose!

    Reply

  8. Tracy says

    Am I missing something? I can’t see ANYTHING linked up for the pinterest challenge post. On all the other editions, I can see the buttons at the bottom, but not this one. What am I doing wrong?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Hmm, maybe if your computer has a pop up blocker or some sort of spamware/malware software running it might be blocking them? We didn’t do anything differently this time- so sorry they’re incognito!

      xo
      s

  11. Hannah says

    I swear I’m not checking out John’s butt (I’m dying with embarrasment as I type this but if I don’t ask then I’ll never know right?) but I was wondering where you get a majority of your pants from? You look like you’re the same build as my hubby and I’m always on the lookout for nice fitting pants/jeans for him. Thanks! And again I promise I’m not ogling. :D

    Reply

  13. Jess @ Crunchy Hot Mama says

    Ha! I must have read over the part where John locked the keys in your rental. It made me think about our trip in Napa, for a friend’s wedding, a few years ago. Someone mistakenly took my hubby’s suit coat with our rental car keys in it after the reception. We were staying about 30″ away from Napa and had to wait for the backup key (from the rental co.) to come alllll the way from San Fran to pop the lock, so we could finally go back to our hotel. Needless to say it was a looong night/early morning!

    You were just making memories, John ;)

    Reply

    • heather says

      My keys got locked in my car at the town hall because….my dog stepped on the lock button. We live in a small town so my keys were in the car while I ran in. Luckily this lesson was learned previously by her doing it once before so I had at least the window down far enough that I could reach in. Lesson has definitely been learned since then in that I NEVER leave my keys in the car and shut the door if the dogs are in there! The first time it ever happened we had to coax her to pretty much keep moving around/dancing around the car until she stepped on it again. *palm on forehead*

    • Jess @ Crunchy Hot Mama says

      That’s the lesson my MIL taught me when my daughter was born (in the summer). Now, I always leave the window down enough so I can unlock it SHOULD something happen in that split second. The Texas summers are brutal and you don’t want to mess around with locking a kid or baby in the car.

    • Brandy says

      On the day my parents were taking me home from the hospital after I was born, my dad was getting into the elevator with my three siblings to go get the car and dropped the car keys down the elevator shaft…they were on a big keychain with lots of other keys but they somehow found their way to the tiny opening between the doors and floor. It was also a Sunday so of course the elevator maintenance man was not there. Needless to say my mom was less than pleased but it’s a funny story now! A neighbor had to come and drive everyone home and my dad finally got the keys back the next day!

  17. heather says

    I have such a foggy head. I read the sentence as, “We’ve learned that SHOPPING to appreciate our accomplishments is key when it comes to keeping our momentum up…” and my brain didn’t correct it because there was a photo of Sherry holding up a Jackson.

    I think it’s time to go home and take more cold medicine.

    Reply

  18. Jennie says

    Well, John, I’ve heard of worse … My husband once INSISTED we had a nearly full tank of gas (in a car with a broken gas gauge, mind you). Next thing I know, we are sitting at the side of a (very) remote country road … waiting for AAA with a gas rescue. :)

    You guys got so much done … Congrats on all your hard work and thanks for always taking us along for the ride!

    Reply

  20. Riva says

    I had to re-read the last part about the flowers approximately 5 times before I understood it was 2 separate sets of flowers, and not some sort of magical paper flower that transformed into a real flower after being put in water or something (we got a Petsmart gift card last week and the carrier it was attached to apparently turns into wildflowers if you plant it, so this is not the most far-fetched of confused ideas I’ve ever had.) Very pretty on both counts and hope Sherry’s birthday was very very happy!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Hahahahah! Isn’t John the best? I’m a lucky lady. His momma taught him well. And his three sisters probably had something to do with it too :)

      xo
      s

  21. Krista says

    Until this post, I thought you painted the back of the chairs with chalkboard paint…. which I found odd, but did not comment. I mean do your thing, you guys are having fun. Ahhh… but chalk paint… I might have to look in to this.

    Reply

  22. Julie says

    Sherry, what’s your take on the West Elm paper flowers (aside from it being a sweet gift)? I was thinking about picking some up but I wasn’t sure if in person they looked cheap or too much like silk flowers. Should I pull the trigger?

    Reply

    • Brandy says

      My husband bought me some of the West Elm paper flowers a few months ago for our one year anniversary (traditional gift is paper for the first anniversary) and I thought it was very sweet. They look great and I have them out always so I can enjoy them!

  23. Chelsea from Sap + Sea says

    “The Worst” If it makes you feel any less silly, I did the exact same thing with a rental…. except I was in FL with my boyfriends family and everyone’s bags were in the trunk… haha yupp, needless to say his family loves me! hehe

    Reply

  24. SarahN says

    Is the tile a little yellow tinged? In some of the last photos, it seemed that way compared to the white brick paint.

    Oh and I was confused as Riva re:flower magic, but I’m sorted now!!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Haha, so funny about the magic flowers! As for the marble, I think all marble has some warm and cool undertones (a bit of ivory sometimes mixed in with the gray veining) but it’s mostly shiny and white so it feels like it’ll fit right in with a white mantel (we’ve seen it paired with them quite a lot, so I think it’s like how you can mix a room full of white with a jute rug and it won’t clash since it’s just a neutral layered with another neutral).

      xo
      s

  27. Kim says

    Quick question about trim – I know that yall use off the shelf white for most of your trim, but for the board/batten you used BM decorator’s white left over from the office cabinets. What are your plans for the crown moulding and future trim now that you are into BM paint? Was just looking at designer favorites for trim and there are so many BM options that I got overwhelmed! Was wondering if there is a big difference between the BM options like decorator’s white/white dove or if yall are just going to stick with off the shelf white. Thanks!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Oddly enough they seem similar enough to the eye but the Decorators White is super scrubbable and great for high traffic areas like the hall since it’s that Advance paint (thick and beat-on-able, haha!) so I’d love to keep using that wherever we want the extra durability :)

      xo,
      s

  29. Andrew Moyer says

    Very random, and a little inappropriate, but under “Most last minute,” I read it as “Target had the hook-up and (with the addition of a little homemade PORN)”…I laughed and had to share!

    Also, John, your expression is my EXACT face when I’m getting s frame to be in “JUST” the right place for the wifey.

    Reply

  30. Angel says

    You need to add that beautiful board and batten hallway to your house tour! I think it might be my favorite part of your house know, which I know is very weird. Probably just cause its new. I will have a new favorite thing next week (fireplace?).

    Reply

  31. Heather Flint says

    I still crack up when I see the picture of John under the “most thrilled” category. Sooo funny!! I get that look all the time from the fiance. The last time was a few days ago when I brought home a phonograph from an antique store. While buying it and the whole way home I kept telling myself that this was not a good idea and that he was probably not going to like it, but I literally could not stop myself, haha!!! When the dealer showed me that it actually worked and came with a record, I knew there was no denying it. When fiance walked into the house, I switched it on and was crazily dancing around the living room with the blaring and scratchy polka music playing. His look was priceless! LOL!!!

    Reply

  33. Lindsay says

    I spent my February ready us ready set–GO to move from Seoul to Hawaii;) We spent it lovin our Korean city and soaking up the Anish Kapoor exhibit, going to wacky theme cafes and organizing our life;) I absolutely ADORED the video of your darling daughter and lil man friend!

    Reply

  36. Hummingbirdgirl says

    Wow You are so pretty girl with such a lovely style. I love colors and try the best I can to make my life colorful.

    I discovered Your blog today and I absolutely Loved it so I stayed here as Your proud follower via bloglovin…

    OFF Course
    Have a nice day sweetie

    Reply

  38. Karin K says

    I don’t know why, after following you guys for YEARS now, I only just realized that John is one very tall guy. You should call yourself $uperhigh. Get it? Superfly? Aw, you’re probably too young.

    Reply

  39. Kristi says

    My two-year-old is a marshmallow fanatic too! We’ve recently discovered Dandies, amazingly awesome vegan marshmallows. We’re not vegan but they are the BEST marshmallows I’ve ever tasted.

    Reply

  41. Heather says

    I am seeing you guys more and more lately, and I love it. I just opened up my April Cooking Light and there was one of your awesome lights featured with some other fabulous green stuff. It was my favorite item and it made me smile when I read where it was from. I stumbled across your blog a while back while looking for reviews on a Karl and have been addicted ever since. So many great ideas and you make it seem so do-able. Thank you for the potty training post too, new motivation to try a big-boy-chonies-only weekend with my little guy!

    Reply

  43. Kate says

    So I’m curious about the purpose of these month summaries? Since it is posts that were just posted? Happy belated birthday!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Thanks Kate! Basically, they allow us to summarize two years of projects in 25 posts instead of 840. So they make it a lot easier to find a link to a project in our archives, and they help people who may have missed something. They also keep our momentum up so we can keep on going! When you DIY for five years straight, it’s important to take a moment to appreciate what you’ve accomplished to keep from burning out :)

      xo
      s

  44. Jacqueline says

    I really enjoy reading your posts and seeing all your creative decorations and inventions. It inspires me and helps me to be more creative. Keep up the good work. It is fun and you are really talented.

    Reply

  45. Brooke says

    Wasn’t sure where to post this, but I was searching for “whole house color schemes” on Google and came across this site:

    http://mandcointeriors.com/our-interiors/

    Not to be a narc, but did you know this person is using pictures of your house and claiming it’s her design? She has pictures of your house color scheme on a different page of the site, too. I’m a frequent reader so I recognized them. :) I know you guys are generous, but it just seemed a little shady to me so I thought I’d let you know…

    Reply

  46. Rachel R says

    I LOVE the board and batten in the hallway…looks amazing with the blue walls and white trim. Are you still thinking about staining the floors a darker shade? Because that would look A-mazing!

    Keep up the great work!

    Reply

  47. Jessica says

    My hubby and I LOVE The Smith. On a recent trip to NY we went for both brunch and late night dinner/drinks. We took advantage of the photobooth, of course.

    Reply

  48. Gabrielle Martin says

    It took a tonsillectomy, but I finally sat down and read your whole book! It was awesome. :) And now I can see that so many book projects went into clara’s big girl room. I don’t know why I’m telling you this, you already know. But I want to know that you know that I know…. Maybe too much post-tonsillectomy pain medication? I love you guys!

    Reply

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