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!!
Hanh says
Thank you for the inspiration and amusement so far. Good luck with the next adventure.
Laura says
I echo everyone else’s comments…feels like losing a friend! Checking the blog every morning was such a highlight of my day. Thank you for all you shared over the years and I wish you and your family all the best in the future <3
Mollee says
Aww, see you on another time. *single tear* I’ll be looking forward to Book 2, and I wish you guys all the best.
Jennie says
Thank you for your inspiration, hard work, and dedication to all of us. You will be missed terribly (insert sobbing)! Best wishes for your new adventure, I hope it brings you renewed happiness and more importantly time as a family! We only get to do this once, so we owe it to ourselves to do it right.
Elyssa G. says
I respect you both for making a tough decision for you & your family. I know I’ll miss reading your posts and seeing your ideas take shape, but I wish you both the best. Thanks for the years of DIY inspiration!
Karen says
Good for you for having the courage to move on! I’m selfishly incredibly sad. I have truly appreciated being able to peak into your lives over the past years. Both your projects and your tenacity has been a continual source of inspiration. You have never met me, but that didn’t stop me from squealing with joy when I read your pregnancy announcement about Teddy, or praying for you all this past month. Best of luck in all you do. I will miss having your updates as part of my day.
Jana H. says
Awe man, I hate to see ya’ll go. Ya’ll were the very first shelter blog I became addicted to. After I bought my first house in 2009, reading ya’ll’s DIY adventures gave me the courage to tackle a few improvements on it. Before I “met” ya’ll, I’d never been brave enough to do things like paint paneling or switch out light fixtures. I didn’t realize that painting bathroom cabinets were something that people did. And ya’ll taught me all this while also entertaining me. Seriously, as great and instructive as your projects are, it was the writing and y’all’s sparkling personalities that kept me coming back fairly compulsively. I would even be good with a once or twice a month post if ya’ll were up to it. No seriously, should I beg? ;-)
I’m sad for me that I won’t get to “see” ya’ll anymore but I totally understand the need to follow your bliss, wherever that may be. Wherever ya’ll land, I pray that it’s exactly what makes your sweet family happy. It’s so brave to give up something familiar and “safe” to find something that will ultimately make you happy. Would that I were so brave.
Best wishes for a happily ever after. I’m off to go sob into some ice cream. Break-ups are soooooo haaaaaarrrd.
Ange says
Ok, I guess I’ll say this while I still can : I’m disappointed.
You guys are walking away from a job where you get to paint a room (or anything you would’ve done in your house anyway, since you guys have said many times DIY was something you enjoyed before even starting the blog), take a picture and post it, and make money out of it. Yes, there are downsides (negative comments/feedback, criticism) but in the end, that’s an “easy” job. You got a book deal, you got to design a lighting and a hardware collection, just because seven years ago you started posting about renovating your house. Some people will work hard every day for years and get nothing out of it. You worked from home, got to spend time with your kids, when some can’t even dream of it.
If the blog really was a time suck and you didn’t want to do it all anymore, why not hire someone to moderate comments, work on the technical side of the blog, or take care of giveaways ? Post more Reader Redesign, or House Crash posts ?
If you wanted the blog to go back to being a hobby, then make it a hobby. Go back to a regular 9-5 job, but still post a few times a month. That’s what I thought you’d do after the last post, you know, come back with a new schedule or something. But you’re just walking away without considering people who’ve supported you all those years. The product lines and book you mention in the post wouldn’t be happening without the readers who’ve clicked on the blog everyday. Hopefully some readers will still be there when those things come out.
I’m guessing giving up on the blog was a choice you made a long time ago, and you were waiting for something like that comment thread to happen, otherwise you wouldn’t just make a post that basically says “Oh hey we’re back after a month of being completely MIA, BYE ! (but don’t forget we’ve got things for you to buy)”
That may seem harsh but that’s how I see it.
You are completely giving up on the blog and it just seems like you really don’t care about your readers. But yeah, in the end, it’s your decision, and hopefully you’re both okay with it and really thought it through…
Anyway… Good luck with whatever comes up next !
Abby says
But I want to see this house get finished :(
Jen says
I have to agree with everyone else, going to miss you all terribly but happy for the new adventures you have ahead of you. Weird how people you’ve never met can seem so much like family :)
Pam says
I don’t even know what your post said and I don’t care….I am just so happy to see your faces!
Donna says
Thank you for the joy you brought so many of us, and may you now receive joy in your future endeavors. God bless you and your beautiful family.
Krystle@ColorTransformedFamily says
I read your post earlier this morning and immediately was saddened and shocked. As a fellow blogger I understand needing a break and that this a very time consuming job. I also understand wanting to move on to a different career. What I don’t understand is the abrupt farewell from this post. It’s as if you have already completely moved on… which maybe you have.
But at the same time I feel like we deserve to know what’s next for you guys. We’ve spent the last eight years (four for me) of our lives getting to know you and every aspect of your home and family and now you just leave us in a cliff hanger like this. It’s as if our favorite show was canceled mid-season.
At the very lest at least let us know what the future holds for you. New careers? Will you still be active on your Young House Love social media platforms.
I really don’t even know if you will read this though because I don’t see your usual comments in the comment sections. It’s as if you dumped us a long time ago and are just now letting us know.
I do wish you well in whatever God has in store for you next. I’m sure you are enjoying all the freetime that you have hopefully given yourselves now that you aren’t blogging 24/7. We will all miss hearing about Clara and Teddy. Farewell!
Alison says
I’m so sad and I hope you know that you will be missed. I am grateful that I got to meet you at a book signing and you two are some of the coolest people ever. Props to you though for focusing on family and moving on to new adventures, that really takes a lot of strength. I guess I need to start saving all the cute ideas on your blog before they are gone. Take care and Good luck!!
Katie @ J&K Homestead says
While I was happy for you to take a month off of blogging (I know you needed it), I admit I was not expecting you to come to the conclusion to be done with it (almost) completely. I honestly burst into tears at the end of reading this post! Your blog is the FIRST blog I have ever read (a little over 5 years ago) before I hardly new what a blog was and I have followed you daily since then. You inspired me in so many ways as my husband and I bought and renovated our own house a little over 4 years ago. I even started my own blog at that time as a way to document our little home life (although it’s kinda fallen to the side as we’ve had babies since then). I feel like a the light of the DIY/Home/Family blog-osphere has been blown out. The other blogs I do follow just don’t compare to yours and won’t make up for yours being absent. I understand that over time things change and priorities shift and sacrifices have to be made for the better, but I do hope that you’ll eventually return to this blogging thing has a fun “hobby” like it once was – even with just little one paragraph/one picture updates on how things are going. This post you wrote for today seems really short given that it’s your “goodbye” post – no mention of what you’ll be doing with Facebook, Instagram etc… or what happens with all your sponsors and discount codes etc…. Will there be another goodbye post with a few more details? Please say yes. We already miss you and we love you guys. I only wish you the best as you keep moving forward. <3
Casey says
I will miss y’all. I know everyone has said this but I feel like I am losing my friends. I will always wonder what y’all are up to, what are you doing for work and how the kids are doing and what they look like as they grow. Best of luck to your future!!! I am sure that if you ever do make a comeback it will be just the same like old friends picking up right where we left off:)
Maria B. says
Heart sinking, and a little bit of crying inside while I read this. I will miss you all and most importantly your “encouragement” to DIY, especially as I tackle my own home improvements in our recently purchased home. Please don’t take down the archives – who knows when I will need to go back and reference projects I can now tackle in my own house or product “reviews” I never knew I would eventually need. (I never let my husband buy anything at Home Depot until I search your website first! :)) Good luck on your next adventure, whatever it may be. I can’t believe I’ll have to wait until the 2nd book comes out to get my next YHL fix, but so be it. Will you be returning to any social media, specifically Instagram?
Heather MacFeather says
This makes me sad too…tears welling in my eyes. I wish you all the best and thank you for sharing so much for so long. All the best xo.
Pamela says
Cute family picture! I can certainly understand your decision though I must say that you will be missed. Thanks for all that you have shared thus far and best wishes to you in your next endeavors.
Leonie says
Thank you so much for all the inspiration, for teaching us about DIY and home improvement and above all for keeping us entertained! I will miss visiting your blog (daily) so much! It was one of the first interior design/DIY blogs I started reading, and it set a very high bar for those that followed. I noticed a couple of them closing down lately and am very sad to not have that inspiration anymore. I feel a lot of the “younger” blogs, started after it transpired that it was indeed possible to monitize a blog miss the enthusiasm and courage to try new things, or express their own style instead of a style “the readers like an will get page views”. I always felt you did this the right way, and never understood the critics. So thank you again for (almost) seven wonderful years and good luck for your new adventures….And please promise us that the last of the blue trim will be gone in the end ;-)
Jen @ RamblingRenovators says
Bravo, John & Sherry. I’ve been reading along for 72 of those 80 months (I took a peek in the archives and found my first comment!) and it has been a fun, inspiring, crazy, wild ride. I’ve enjoyed watching you transform from newlyweds in your first house to parents juggling home, family, and work. You paved the way for many of us bloggers, showed us what was possible through hard work and talent, and leave the stage graciously, and at the top of your game.
While I’ll miss having you as part of my online life, I’m incredibly happy that you’ll have more time of your own offline. I hope the coming days fill you with moments that are yours and yours alone, moments unencumbered with the pressure to share and document but are restful, slow and savoured, and cherished. Yours is a talent that shines, whatever the platform, so I’ll say goodbye for now. I know we’ll hear from you again. Much love xoxo.
Mary says
Watching your growth and new adventures (including this one!) has been such an inspiration. I’m reminded that we all have the choice to make the right decision for ourselves and our family. It can often be difficult because of external pressures, so I applaud you both for having the courage to choose what’s best for you. I’m excited to see what happens next — Best wishes!!!
Ameeta says
I was sooo happy to see a new post.. And now so so sad:(
All the best for everything.
Tom M says
Family comes first. You guys are making the right call, good luck!
ps – I hope you’re becoming full time home builders, b/c that show home rocked.
pps – thanks for the ORB tips
Scott says
I know some of your don’t want to see or read critical posts but I do feel like I need to vent a bit, respectfully of course, I have been thinking about this a lot over the last few weeks.
I agree with the other posts that the departure is a little abrupt. In all honesty it actually seems a little corporate and even cold. A Tremendous loyalty and a following has been built around the brand (books, lights and products). They have invited us into their home and readers have pinned, blogged, bought and been supporting their family and their endeavors.
While I understand their reasons for the departure, it could of been done in a more gracious, celebratory, and thankful manner. It was the loyalty of the readers that made it the community that it is and John and Sherry missed the ball on paying it forward back to them.
Megan Van Leeuwen says
I teared up reading this. Probably all the pregnancy hormones. I will miss you guys so much!! Good luck with all your future projects and go enjoy your fresh start! I’ll just be obsessively copying down every single thing I love from your archives before they disappear. Thank you so much for sharing your lives these last few years!!!
Morgan says
I don’t know if it is my pregnancy hormones or what, but I would be lying if I said I didn’t get a little teary reading this. In fact I debated taking the rest of the day off and heading home to binge eat my sadness away. In all honesty, devastation aside, you guys are amazing and I wish nothing but the best for you and your family. I will be patiently waiting for the day a new blog post pops up in my feed :)
Kathleen says
NnnoooOoOOOooOooOoooo!!!!!!!
Erin @ Dwell & Tell says
My heart just sunk… I feel so sad, like a best friend just moved away and said sorry we can’t talk anymore. I will miss you!
Heather B says
I am sad to see you guys go. But understand the need to relook at things and decide a new direction. You don’t owe anybody but yourself and your family anything…
That being said… I just bought my first house and I am doing a ton of projects – painting trim, hanging curtains high and wide, hoping to restain my kitchen cabs and I find myself referencing your posts WEEKLY for info. So even though you don’t owe anyone anything. The archive of helpful instructions to be left as an awesome legacy to inspired future diyers would be gratefully welcomed… hint hint ;)
best of luck to you in your new adventures.
rebecca says
just kind of blue about the news!
designing main street says
Good for you guys! You will be missed but I think it’s great for you and your privacy to step out of the limelight for a bit. I was a little worried for your family. Best!! xoxo
AnnF says
Merci, merci, merci! Je vous souhaite bonne chance dans toutes vos aventures. And to quote Dame Vera (and thanks to Parker & Charles), “I know we’ll meet again some sunny day” : )
Angela says
Great picture of you guys! Please tell us what your future plans are! Could you post a picture every now and then? Would love to see that baby as he gets bigger! Good luck! So sad….
Lindsey says
I have been a devoted YHL fan since close to the beginning. I’ve shared my lunch break with you guys for the better part of a decade. You were the only blog that I consistently looked forward to reading. It will take a lot to fill that void. I am so sad to see you go, but I also understand. My first panic-stricken thought when I read this post was “But how will you make money!!??” and then it set in that I might never know… Because you likely won’t blog about it. And that made me even sadder. :( It was so fun that you shared so much of your lives with us. You were an inspiration in more than just DIY. I hope to get glimpses of your future adventures, whatever they may be. And if you do another book tour, please put Minneapolis on your list. I will gladly wait in line for 3 hours again to get book #2 signed. (I have brown hair and glasses – remember meeting me??) Until then, take care Petersiks. I’ll miss you!
sveavongarnier says
Wow, I didn’t expect that. Thank you for sharing your life with us! You did a great job and were always my favourite blog and probably will remain to be for a very long time. I never thought my first comment would also be my last…Good luck in all of your future endeavours!
P.S. Are you sure you don’t want to just update us once a month or so? Nah sorry, just wishful thinking :-)
Monica M. says
Wow. Speechless. Bummed. And sad. And a little frustrated too. You guys were/are still my favorite blog. This seems so abrupt. Thank you though for all you have given to us your readers: you energy, effort, and enthusiasm in sharing your projects and yourselves have been amazing. Your voices and writing will be missed. Best of luck on your new endeavors. Warmest wishes for nothing but the best for your family.
Scott says
Pretty bummed. You guys provided a lot of inspiration for us, and also some great instructions.
Still think this would work on a ‘only post when you want and what you want’ state, but I can understand your desire to do something else.
Sarah says
Wishing you the best of luck with everything! I’m sure you’ll have an amazing future, whatever it brings. Thanks for all the inspiration. Love from a that fellow 7/7 anniversary-er who hasn’t commented for ages but often grabs a quick read.
Kelly S. says
So sad here. I feel like I am loosing good friends (I know we’ve never met), but still. I will have to be honest in saying it does hurt a little. Its almost like a friend saying, “I love you, but don’t want to hang any longer. You don’t fit in my life any longer.”
Ok, so I have gotten that off my chest. Now I want to just say good luck and best wishes to you. I truly hope you find your next big thing.
Ashley says
Definitely hope you’ll share little tidbits here and there about your family! Even with all of the DIY, I read your blog mostly because I came to care about your family. Miss seeing photos of Clara, Teddy and Burger on Instagram!
Joanna A. says
I am so happy for you guys that you have come to the right decision for your family. I’m not gonna lie…I’m gonna miss you guys!! I was able to meet you both at the book signing in Boston and have been a loyal reader for many years now and you feel like friends (is that weird to say?). We chose to cloth diaper our son after reading your experience and you make home improvement projects/repairs seem totally doable with all your detailed help! I wish you nothing but the best in your future, thank you for being you and being true to why you started blogging in the first place.
Leanne says
Wow, where do I even start? Do I tell you how I loved stumbling across your blog when planning my own wedding and how I tried to convince my husband we should DIY it in our backyard? Or how I told my husband we should buy a fixer upper to practice our Reno skills? Do I share how we have cloth diapered because of how you talked about your experiences? How Sherry’s breastfeeding experiences have inspired me to push through and keep going? Do I tell you about the fond memories I have of our own ‘blue trim special’ from my childhood? How I have enjoyed your sweet, gracious nature and your blogging voices? Do I explain how privileged I feel to be part of your journey and how grateful I am that you have felt open to sharing your home? How my heart felt like it was breaking whenever I read negative comments or saw how you were being hounded and harassed with the ‘is she pregnant’ comments?
Where do I even start? I think I will go with thank you. Thank you for sharing so much of your lives with us, thank you for opening your home to us and thank you, thank you, thank you for sharing your sweet children with us. I applaud you for making a great decision for your family, and doing what is best for you guys. I can’t say I’m not sad but my excitement for your family and what your future holds is so much greater!! I wish you all the very best as we say a fond farewell and wave goodbye for now!
Cheryl says
I just want to say, “thank you.” Best wishes as you move forward into your sure to be bright future. Take care.
Maggie says
Like so many others have said, I feel like losing a friend. Silly, we know, but I’m used to checking in with you more frequently than my real friends. (Not sure what that says…). Best of luck to you and your beautiful family. I’ll be waiting for you two to pop up somewhere. Maybe just a monthly post? I’m going to go through withdrawal.
Morgan Davis says
You have been wise, compassionate, responsible, honest, classy, generous, funny, hardworking (did I mention hard-working?) and brave (and did I mention brave?) for the last 7 years. And of course creative, too. But I really think those first things are why you have inspired so many.
Personally, I have been most inspired by the way you respond to negativity. I wish you hadn’t been subjected to such scrutiny and criticism, but I think I learned more from watching the grace with which you responded to the occasional egg lobbed at you than from anything else on your website.
Thank you for making the world a little more beautiful and kind than it was before. And thank you for being true to yourselves. Sending so much happiness your way after all these years of you sending it mine.
Morgan
Holly Becker says
Sherry I wish you and your family the absolute best. I can’t say I understand this and I’m willing to bet there is a very personal back story here that you cannot share with us, but whatever that is I hope eventually all will be well again.
xo
Holly
Heather says
Please just share your dining room when it is finished?! Maybe the second floor bonus room, too?! Any chance you will share an annual family photo?! I will miss you and your blog immensely!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Christine C says
Thanks for all the wonderful years of sharing your knowledge and experiences with us. You certainly have had a more interesting job than most people do. I think we need to remember that this is what this has been for the Petersiks… it may have started as a hobby, it may not be an average 5-9 gig, but at the end of the day this blog is your job. A job that touches people and makes it feel as if we know you, but a job nonetheless. Excited to see what your new “adventure” -aka “job” to the rest of us- will be.
Melissa says
I can’t remember how I stumbled across Young House Love, but I am so glad I did. I have loved every post & am grateful you shared with us for so long. Wishing you guys well on your new chapter- I will look out for the new book :) Melissa- Tasmania, Australia.