Update: Aaaand less than 12 hours later we’re back with an update on the bottom of the post for ya. Smooth, right?
Hey there! Long time no see.
The break has been great. Admittedly a little weird, but really reinvigorating. So we’re immensely thankful not only for your support and kind comments, but also for helping put words to some of the things that we had been feeling for some time. And while the last month hasn’t been enough time to fill in all of the blanks about our future (heck, when are life’s blanks ever clearly filled in?) it has made one thing pretty obvious to us: after seven awesome years of sharing our home and our life, it’s time for our next adventure.
This blog has been a staple in our lives for 80+ months, tagging along for all but three months of our marriage and our entire existence as parents. So we thought it would be nearly impossible to click off that urge to over-share this past month (we expected our blogging spark to come back with a vengeance). But maybe it’s us getting older, the kids getting bigger, or a general shift in life priorities – but it actually felt just right. So this break has given us the clarity (and the guts, I guess) to move on… and hopefully move the needle on that life balance we’ve been talking about for so long.
We won’t go as far as to declare this the end of Young House Love or our blogging days. Who knows, maybe somewhere down the line (when the kids are both in school?) we’ll get that burning in our bellies again – perhaps here or in a completely different capacity. We don’t know what the future holds, but we know that the most amazing things have happened to us when we’ve stretched waaay out of our comfort zone – as much as that sounds like advice you’d find on an inspirational kitten poster.
We plan to keep the blog archives available for as long as we can, and will be freezing comments soon, but we won’t be completely dropping off the planet. Some completed product designs with Liberty Hardware and Shades of Light may pop up, and our second book will come out on September 22nd, 2015. Those folks have all been amazingly supportive of our decision, for which we’re incredibly thankful.
Speaking of which – “Thank you” doesn’t come close to expressing how grateful we are for getting to share our weird little world with you guys for so long. We have nothing but love and gratitude for this whole experience – and for you. (*This is probably where we should fade up on that Dirty Dancing song*)
But let’s not say “goodbye” let’s just say “see you on another time.”
Peace, love, and ceramic animals,
John & Sherry
PS: We did randomly snap a few fresh photos for the House Tour page over the break (some of the rooms were pretty outdated). Feel free to give the dining room’s blue trim the side eye for us (yes, it’s still there!).
Update: The same few questions kept popping up in the comments (we just can’t quit you). As for the “what are your new jobs” thing, we’ve mentioned in a few previous posts that we left the door open in our past professions (advertising/copywriting/consulting), which we can do as freelancers from home a lot of the time, while switching off on the stay-at-home parent thing. We know things like the book and products we design are driven by this blog, so we can’t live off those or anything. Didn’t mean to be mysterious! As for the Facebook/Instagram questions, we’d love to pop up there from time to time to say hi. And we hope our blog archives will be up for a good long time (we use them to reference things like paint colors, so we’d never want to lose them!).
We’re also really sorry if this feels abrupt. We’ve made a few public attempts to wind down and gain balance over the years (like when we moved to this house and after Teddy’s birth) but they’ve always been at odds with our “all in” personalities, so it wasn’t until taking this break (yet another attempt to recalibrate) that we realized we felt closer to our goal. We debated lots of alternatives – drastically fewer posts / shorter posts / no comments – but nothing felt like the version of Young House Love we were excited to carry on with. And we tried to keep today’s post light and happy (the last one felt so heavy) since this truly is a moment of extreme gratitude, despite it being a difficult decision to make.
Flawless and graceful exit, eh? Right. So here we go. Ack, we suck at this! We will miss you!!
iris says
Wish you well little family…Be safe, Be happy…hope your blog archives stay around for a long while, so many ideas for my old house that I love. Goodbye
Seansmom says
Will miss taking my morning cup of tea to the computer to “visit” with you each day, but I know that life doesn’t remain constant.
Is it possible that you might be able to drop in now and then with a picture or two of any updates you’ve made on the house? Will be wondering what the kitchen and dining room will look like when they’re finally completed.
Here’s hoping life always offers you only it’s best!
Sharon - Toronto, Canada says
Good luck in your next chapter. You have inspired all of us with your design, your honesty and your decision to take on a new adventure. We should all be so lucky! Hope that you come back to us in a form that works for you and the family. All the best!!!
Shea says
First off, best of luck to you and your family on your next great adventures. Second, this post just brought out the crazy hormonal pregnant lady crying…I miss you guys already.
But seriously, you have inspired me so much this past year that I have tagged along with you. I get so many complements from family and friends on projects in my house and I just have to say “oh, I saw this on Young House Love.” You have pushed my decorating style outside of my limited box and I am forever grateful and a different person myself because of it. Hopefully we will continue to see the many adventures of Clara, Teddy and Burger on Instagram?
Best Wishes!
Jessi E says
Thank you for putting your hearts into this for so long. It’s been a pleasure to read along with you and watch your family grow. Good luck in your next adventure!
Annie says
Glad to hear you guys are moving on to your next adventure! Yes, please keep the archives up! I love rereading some of your posts for inspiration, especially the ones about simplifying your life. And there are a lot of posts I never got around to reading because, you know, life got in the way. So I’d love to slowly catch up. If you close the comments section, will you please keep your contact information available so readers can still reach out to you guys for advice? Thanks for sharing your lives with all of us all these years :).
Carla says
Sooooo…. Can you fill us in on what’s actually next?! I feel like I need more explanation, you know, because it’s my business and all :)
Good luck to you – you’ve been an inspiration to me and I thank you.
XOXO
Laura says
I will definitely miss your blog but I totally understand your reasons for moving on. Thank you of the past 80 months! It’s been so much fun watching your family grow and your houses change. I hope that every once in a while you’ll give us an update on your family just for fun but I wish you God’s blessings on your future. Take care and enjoy those two wonderful kids you have!
Holly P. says
You guys look fantastic…THANK YOU for everything, really. Will get on those archives to print screen any awesome project advice and inspiration ASAP before the are gone. Thank you again and have a great life
adventuresofkb says
Best of luck with whatever your future holds! I’ll miss following your DIY adventures — I read religiously for years — but I totally understand. Sometimes big changes are hard, but necessary :)
Ellen W. says
I haven’t even started reading yet but YESS YESSSS YESSSSSS! I am so happy you are back! I kept checking your site to see when a month had passed while crossing my fingers. I hope your break was relaxing because I REALLY missed you :)
Lisa says
Um. Good read, Ellen lol
Jenn says
P.S. I would love to see an update sometime of what you guys ended up doing with yourselves. Call it a request for closure, haha!
P.P.S. I may have shed a tear… just one… or two… is that weird?
Kamantha says
Say it isnt so!?! I have used your projects and ideas to jump start our house designs for the past 6 years and will miss this blog. But all good things must come to an end right?! So c’est la vie! Enjoy what life has in store.
Lanna Hunter says
I’ll miss “seeing” you every day. Good luck with everything. I’m glad you’ve found what makes you happy. :D
Amber H says
I hope you enjoy your next adventure and it is exactly what you need in your life. I just wanted to send computer hugs and say thank you for inspiring me and so many people around the world. You will be deeply missed. Thanks for all the “over-sharing” years, they were GREAT!
Ashley Epp says
I’m so very sad to see you leave, selfishly, but I’m so inspired to see you doing what is right for your beautiful family!! It truly is like losing a friend (the one with all the creative genes and comic relief on bad days!) Best wishes in the years to come, and if you ever end up back in any capacity, I look forward to following you again!
vanessa says
Cue sad, pouty face. But wishing you the best of luck. Hope to still seem some cute Clara & Teddy pics on Instagram!
Emily says
Well, dang. I’m a fairly new reader – maybe 9 months? – and I was so looking forward to when my husband and I buy our first house and I could finally do all the cool projects that you feature here on your blog. I know I can still do them by looking through the blog archives – which I hope you keep up for a REALLY LONG TIME!!! – but it won’t be the same. I wish you the best in your new adventures and thank you for sharing your lives with us. I can’t imagine the pressure you had on your shoulders to constantly wow your thousands and thousands of readers/fans. But do know that you have a huge number of people who really love you, are inspired by you, and will hang onto your every word should you choose to share more with us…so I hope that we will have access to your brilliance in the future. I know I’ll be buying your new book!
Sarah says
I’ve been reading since before you were pregnant with Clara and have enjoyed this blog immensely. Moving on from something that you’ve loved and has shaped your life is scary — but going with your gut is the brave thing, and the right thing. Best of luck to you all.
CB says
I really do, very honestly and selfishly, hope this is a see you later. I’m a long time fan and while the design was fun, I stayed around for your family. I hope you’ll take some time to relax and refresh and come back with a lifestyle blog. If not, then I wish you the best of luck in the future.
Julie says
I am so disappointed to see this. Had been checking in regularly to see if there was any news — but this is definitely not the news I expected or hoped to find. As others have expressed, I am selfishly very sad to see you go. It was so exciting to see you move into a new house with abundant projects last year, I feel like this story didn’t even get a chance to come to a stopping point. Never expected such an abrupt end to a blog I have enjoyed at this level.
I’ll hold out hope that, over time, some activity will return to the blog since it really has been a blast to read and follow. I completely understand the need for change and growth, and wish all the best to your family. You have been (and will be) very missed.
Corey says
Thanks for sharing so much of yourselves with us. I will miss your senses of humor and postivity. Good luck on your next adventure!
Angelica says
Wow, I was so excited to see your new post and was quickly crushed. Why not blog until your next book? Or until this house is done? I’m very sad and disappointed.
Lisa says
This is not what I was hoping for. But I do get it. You have to do what is right for you and your family. I applaud your courage for being honest about what you need, and making the choice that is right for you. Thanks for all that you’ve shared. It’s been great, and I’m really going to miss it.
Would you consider checking in just once a month, maybe show us what the dining room looks like when you’ve painted it, or how the evergreen trees along the back yard are filling in, or what brilliant Halloween costumes the kidlets will be wearing? Just a thought from a fan who selfishly doesn’t want you to disappear from her life, and is desperately searching for a way we all can have a little bit of what we want.
Regardless, best of luck in all you undertake in the future.
Jeanette says
I had a feeling this was coming and i totally understand and respect your decision.
But I was hoping for one last blogiversary, some last Q&A’s, final goodbyes and closure before you break up with us for now ;)
Still, I would like to thank you both for letting us be a part of your lives for such a long time!
I have learned, laughed, cried and done jumping jacks while following your blog for the past five years. And it has been a pleasure getting to know you, you are after all, my internet family (weither you like or not).
Good luck to all five of you. We will all be here waiting for you if you decide to come back.
Hugs, kisses and lots of love.
Nora says
Would you consider posting like, um, once a week? Just to ease us off? You have such great ideas and make it all so fun. You were my daily dose of inspiration and cheer. Cold turkey has been rough and now…the abyss. No need to wish you luck, you have the talent and drive to do it. Whatever it may be. Just, please, comeback to the inter webs now and again. We are lurk …urm…waiting for you.
annette says
Truly going to miss yall, I’m glad I had the opportunity to meet yall! Yall are truly the nicest people! I felt like I knew yall even Clara too! And now teddy I’m sad I won’t see his weekly pictures. But hopefully yall will stay on instagram. Thank you for all your inspiration and good luck on your new adventures!! Lots of hugs from texas!! Love, annette (fishnett) :)
Jaime says
Thank you both for sharing so much with all of your readers over these past few years. I have loved experiencing your journey. You guys have inspired me to take chances with DIY projects in my own home. I echo an earlier commenter in saying I also feel like I’m losing two friends! I do wish you and your family all the best in the future. While I will miss my daily visit to your site, I support your choice 100%. Good luck with this new adventure!
Denise says
I was so happy when I saw you had posted this morning but sad when I read it. Like most of your readers we wanted you to come back all rested and ready to start again at your own pace, even if that meant only posting once a week or whatever your schedule would allow. I am happy for your family though and I hope that you come back one day. I know you said you would keep the archives open for awhile and I know that it cost money to do so and so I was wondering if we the readers could donate money to keep your blog open? I know I would willingly pay an amount so I could keep coming back and reading the archives so I could find the help I needed when I needed it.
Annie says
Awwwww, I’m so sad to see you go for entirely selfish reasons. I really loved your blog, it’s hard to find bloggers out there that are so neat and organized with their projects, y’all really fulfilled my OCD needs :)
Thanks for everything, and maybe see you on another book tour?
Ugh, I’m going to miss living vicariously through your blog posts. Bye and good luck! xo
Jess says
Ok so I just checked fb for a second and your post was at the top of my page. I stopped everything and came over to find out what was going on. I am so so so sad. I feel like I’ve invested all this time in your family and now it’s just all over. It’s like having your favorite television show end abruptly with no neatly wrapped package. Haha! I’m dying to know what happens next….and I really really hope you guys will at least keep us posted on your lives from time to time. Instagram? Facebook updates? Anything, something, please!!!! You will be missed by me and after reading through some of the comments, it sounds like you will be sorely missed by all of us. I’m just going to say it because I might not have another chance….and it’s going to sound really cheesy and possibly strange lol, but you guys were an inspiration to me in so many ways….it was around the time that I found this blog that I started daydreaming at work about pursuing some of my own dreams. After 7 years of hemming and hawing around it, I officially have a thriving photography business that I love calling my “job” and will be opening my first studio space next week. It might be the cheesiest thing ever to say this to you, considering that we are perfect strangers, but thank you for giving me the inspiration I needed to make changes in my life, keep myself creative, start writing again (blogging), and pursuing my passions and my dreams. It really, truly, cheesy or not…..started with you guys. Thank you :). I wish you all nothing but the best and you can bet your bottom dollar that if I ever see you guys out anywhere, I WILL introduce myself….I still think we would be the best of friends!! (And our kids would be too) Haha! ???? good luck to you guys in your future….and stay awesome :)
Julie says
Thanks so much for all you’ve shared over the years, and heartfelt blessings for everything in your lives to come.
Dorothy says
You do you boo!
Like others, I am selfishly sad for me but happy for you. Thank you for every post and all of the hard work that has gone into this blog. And thank you even more for keeping the archives up for us!!! After all of these years of following your blog, I am finally a home owner. I used to skim through the bigger detailed projects in the past and I now go back and hang on every word. I have loved everything from your style, humor, DIY knowledge and just getting to know you and seeing what you’re up to. Thank you for sharing your lives with us! You will be greatly missed xoxo
Dorothy says
By the way, Teddy look so big!
Carrie Lea says
Even though I knew in my gut you would make this choice I’m so sad. I’ve been reading back through the archives, and I’ve just really missed you guys.
But all good things must come to an end.
I hope you at least keep up your instagram so I can see Burger and the babies. :)
Thanks for all you taught me. And the courage you gave me.
I hope you share when you do big projects, like you bathroom and kitchen too.
I’m going to stop babbling now and go have a little cry.
Carrie Lea says
Also, random: I think this would be a good time to bring back Burger’s blog. ;) I know you won’t, but I’m seriously going to miss your dog!
thesinglewayoflife says
I have loved reading your blog for over 4 years now. Thank you so much for sharing your lives with us and I wish only the best for you and your family. Thanks!
Brenna says
So sad! But totally understand! Maybe you could pop back in when you do some big updates (like the kitchen) or just say hello every few months :). Or maybe that’s just wishful thinking! Would love to see you occasionally on instagram and wish you all the best moving forward! Clara and Teddy are too cute and I’m sure growing too fast! Enjoy where life takes you next!
merry says
We will miss you guys! I’ve enjoyed every single post. I guess we will all have to get our fix when your book comes out. Keep in touch. :)
Andrea says
That wasn’t what I wanted to see! I have loved watching your homes evolve and learned so much along the way to help improve our home. I’ve also really enjoyed watching your family grow and change…something I wasn’t expecting when I started reading your blog.
I can’t understand your decision because, no, I’m not you and I don’t know what your life is like with the blog, kids, etc… But, I just can’t believe with all of the amazing opportunities you have worked for and how much this space has brought you that you just feel that o.k. with walking away. I honestly think you have been living a dream. Something that has been so inspiring…not in creating objects or improving a home…but in creating this spectacular business. Being able to give up your regular jobs in this stupid rat race of a corporate world and carving your own path, working from home and being able to be there for your kids 24/7, obviously being financially successful (I can only assume but it appears that way), etc. Just giving that all up makes me sad for you. It is something I would LOVE to be able to do!
I work in Human Resources and I am typically involved in the process when an employees decides to move on from our company and goes to another job. I can’t tell you how many times they leave and tell me the grass just isn’t greener… I hope you don’t feel the same but I can’t help but feel like you might.
I have truly enjoyed your blog and your family. I will greatly miss being inspired by you.
Marianne says
I am sad that you will no longer post on the blog. You will be missed! Good luck with all new adventures. Hopefully we will be able to follow them in some way. And THANK YOU for sharing 80 months of your life with us. Take care, Marianne.
Kathy F says
Noooooo. I just wrote how excited I was to see you back!! I hope this is a great decision for your family, but I am terribly sad. I love your posts. Your decorating style is right up my alley and your how tos make it relatively simple; of course the sweet pics of your family too. I will eagerly await the book and your future products. I hope you get the bug to write a few updates every now and then and will watch for your next incarnation……but if you should change your minds;)…..
Kathleen says
Congrats to you for making the courageous decision to move your lives in the right direction for you and your family. Who can blame you for stepping back from something that is taking you away from what you value most – your family! I will miss your blog and the inspiration for some of the projects I have done and will still do on my home. But I admire your willingness to step into your new life. I wish you many years of happiness, health and home improvement.
Lisa says
You sound relieved :) Good for you guys. You will be missed, but it seems the time is right. Huge congrats on what you accomplished. You certainly made your mark. Best of luck to all of you! :)
urbanejane1 says
Best of luck with everything. My husband and I at urbanejane.com have really been inspired by your story and are having a blast posting about our renovation exploits.
Colleen says
So long and thanks for all the fish.
Molly says
Will you be updating your Facebook/Instagram more? I miss seeing your beautiful faces!
Good luck with everything. <3
Emmelie says
longtime reader, first time commenter here. just wanted to say thank you for inspiring me – who felt for years that I was missing the decorating/home design gene – to relax and embrace the process. wishing many blessings to your precious family.
David W. says
Thank you and best wishes always! You guys will be missed.
Shell says
Wishing you guys all the best for the next adventure!
Thank you for all you have shared over the past 80 months : )
Take care,
Shell
Lorri B says
You guys have been a part of my daily life for 4 years now and I’m gonna miss ya so much! I wish you all the best for the future and I know you’ll have the time of your life in your new adventure. Kisses to your beautiful children…tears running down my cheeks now.
Jill P. says
Thank you for your post! Your daily posts are missed but it was nice for you to update your readers on the future. Good luck to you all. Can’t wait for the new book next year! Enjoy life – be happy!!! :)