We’ve been doing a lot of thinking about what our lives will look like in a few weeks, a few months, and even a few years with the impending arrival of the littlest Petersik. And a big part of that process included wondering about how we’d keep up with this blog once there was a tiny (yet huuuuge) responsibility around here to be cared for and coddled. So we put our heads together and concocted a few new strategies for making time for everything: each other, our baby, this blog, and of course our main man Burger.
We’re still as dedicated as ever to keeping this home improvement adventure going since we’ve had the fortune of taking this hobby/passion of ours and turning into a full-time job for Sherry. And at the risk of not saying this before I forget: THANK YOU for encouraging, supporting and humoring us on a daily basis so that could happen (read how Sherry went from hobbyist to full time blogger here).
But with a newborn on the way, we’re not delusional. We know how much time and effort that will take. Caring for Baby P alone could be a full time job for Sherry so we knew that maintaining our two-post-a-day habit and coordinating weekly giveaways, all while taking on consistent DIY projects would be a stretch. So we came to a major decision (not without a ton of careful consideration and number crunching of course). The verdict? We’re charging forward with Young House Love full force- and in order to keep things going we’ll be bringing on a second full-time employee (to help with both baby and blog duties). Any guesses as to who it could be?
I know, some of you are probably crossing your fingers that it’s Burger – he is quite a hard worker…
But it’s actually… me! That’s right, once Baby P comes along I’ll be saying a sad goodbye to my time as an 8-to-6 advertising geek and hello to full time fatherhood & bloggerdom. And for that, I feel incredibly blessed. So again: THANK YOU. It’s not like I don’t already work about 20+ hours a week on top of my full time job when it comes to keeping this blog going, but with all the time that we’ll gain with me being at home during the day we’re certain that we can better juggle the blog, the baby, and the rest of our lives. In fact we have big plans for YHL when I come on full time, so stay tuned for even more action around here in the coming months…
And what does my new role as a full time father/blogger really mean? Of course the obvious: I’ll be around to tag team both the care for our beanette and the blog with Sherry, seven days a week. So we can nurture each of them as one big (hopefully very happy) family. But it also means that we’ve got another major room makeover on our to-do list. That’s right, Casa Petersik is getting a bona fide two-person home office!
For now, all of my night and weekend work on our blog has been done at the dining room table, while Sherry remains parked at her nook in the den. But if I’m going to be around all day, we know we’ll need a more permanent space so we can reclaim the dining table and keep the room-to-room shouting to a minimum. Plus there really is something to be said for a designated work space to help delineate work and play zones, which we know will be very important when it comes to maintaining that fragile and oh-so-important work/life balance.
So if you haven’t already figured it out by process of elimination, the new office will be taking over our current guest bedroom. And with the nursery having given our other guest bedroom the boot already, we have to keep this office 100% guest friendly as well (yup, that means it must sleep at least two people as it always has). But it also has to accommodate two working bloggers, their wee one, and their playful nine pound pooch. Not to mention store all sorts of paperwork without looking too corporate for our guests when they come to stay. Oh yes, we’ll be walking quite a delicate line in there (all while trying to squeeze every last ounce of function out of the tiny 10′ x 10.5′ space).
Oh and did we mention that we’d also like to see it multitask as a playroom of sorts for Baby P since she’ll obviously be hanging out in there as we do our blogging thang? We didn’t? Well add that to the list. So stay tuned for the play by play as we attempt to fully reconfigure this soon-to-be triple duty room into a space for work, play, and overnight guests. It’s sure to be a doozie, but we wouldn’t have it any other way.
And we’d love to hear any tips that you guys have when it comes to designing a home office, working from home without losing your mind, or just generally creating a room that has two or three separate functions. Share and share alike.
amelia says
congrats! as a daily YHL reader I must say this is super exciting :-) Good luck with the transition – i think you guys made a great choice for your new family.
Kari says
Best. Post. Ever.
I cannot wait to see what life has in store for the two of you!! You guys rock my DIY socks off. If it weren’t for you I would’ve never tackled refinishing my desk or installing hardwood floors on my own. You’re an inspiration in so many ways and now you’re moving on to the entrepreneurial dream and for that, I couldn’t be more proud of you!!
Someday I’ll get to walk in your shoes, I hope!!
Isn’t it awesome to spend so much time of your life on something you love so dearly?! Everyone should have a job they adore so much. Maybe then we’d have world peace?
heather s. says
I had a feeling this was coming. Didn’t y’all recently buy a sleeper sofa?!? I figured it would be moved into the current guest bedroom or else in the den but now that you said that the current guest bedroom will remain a place for guests to crash, I’m guessing it will move in there.
Congrats on you both being home full-time!
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Heather S,
Shhh, wait for the reveal! That’s a Facebook secret, haha.
xo,
s
p.s. To anyone who doesn’t follow us on Facebook, it really is a great way to get the scoop even before it hits the blog. We’d love to see you over there!
Chrissy Henry says
OMG I am so excited!!
I can only imagine the wonderful blogging that is going to be going on now that you both will be working on it full time. Oh the possibilities ;)
Congrats as well!!
Emily says
Nice! Congratulations! Yes, that makes more sense as to why the one car will still work for your family! :)
Rachel says
Congratulations and best of luck to you both. You truly deserve all your success! Every weekday when 10 am and 2 pm roll around I can’t wait to check your site and get some fab inspiration. You guys inspire me all the time to make my home a more welcoming space on a tight budget. Again congrats!
Meredith says
I was REALLY afraid you were heading for “so we’re cutting down to one post a day/scaling back/something else not happy” but this is EXCELLENT. And I LOVE your major room makeover posts, so I’m excited to see what will happen. (I seem to really like whatever you post on Tuesday mornings; when I got to my desk this morning I was even like “oh, it’s Tuesday, that’s an extra-good YHL day!” Is that bad?)
Brigid says
I was starting to brace myself for an announcement that YHL was going on a hiatus (whether temporary or permanent) and it made me sad. I’m so glad I was wrong! Not only because that the blog will stay up and running, but that you’ve been able to figure out a situation that works best for your growing family. I wish you nothing but love, luck and happiness with all of the changes coming your way very, very soon soon :)
danika says
Oh my goodness! Congratulations – I’m so thrilled for you! This happy news almost had me in tears (blame my pregnancy hormones)! So glad John won’t be missing out on seeing Baby P grow up. Love your blog, and look forward to what the future brings for your family!
Amanda says
This is great, you guys! I was so nervous to read your post, I thought you might be going in the opposite direction, but then I thought, ‘how could you?!’. You are such an inspiration and I wish you all the best!
meghan says
Congratulations – on many fronts!
My boyfriend and I share a fairly small office space (it’s meant to be a bedroom). We each have desks and two BIG dogs – 70 lb Labrador Retrievers that hang out with us. We don’t get sick of each other, even in such proximity. Our situation sounds a bit like your comment above – we eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner together, work together, work out together, and play together. Still not sick of each other yet. =)
Good luck and I can’t wait to see what you come up with as far as utilizing and maximizing the space. I’m sure it will be as fabulous as always.
Claire says
It is always inspiring to see people fully commit to something they have a passion for and make a living at it as well. It is great model for me and my husband as we try and shift careers and location! Thanks! I really enjoy your blog, your hard work really shows.
Meg says
That’s awesome news and what a sweet deal to be able to both work from home once the baby arrives!
I’m also SO excited to see how you set up a guest bedroom/workspace/playspace in there! Our spare bedroom is pretty much the exact same size and I would love to be able to keep our guest bedroom and office once our baby arrives.
We have a small 3 bedroom ranch — we’ve been using the tiniest room as our office, the biggest room as our master and the other bedroom was going to be our nursery… but if you guys can somehow swing the guest room/office all in one room, then maybe we won’t have to loose the guest room option either! I’ve just been stumped on how to make it all fit!
So I’m hoping for some serious inspiration from you guys! ;)
Leigh says
Congratulations! That’s definitely a life-changing decision and wonderful for your little one on the way.
I can’t wait to see what you guys do with the guest room/home office/play room. I love how you keep changing things around so your house always works for you. One question, how did you decide how you would use each room? We’ve been looking at buying a new place and all of them have a family room, a living room and a dining room. Of course, with all the flooding here in Nashville, we’ve added new criteria to our list – must be on a higher elevation and away from the rivers.
Holly West says
I am so excited for you guys! My husband and I have worked from home together for over five years now and we love it. Our work areas are separate because this works well for us but a few years back I redesigned our guest room to successfully function as a jewelry studio/guest room. After much deliberation on on the bed we decided on a plain trundle that easily transforms into a king. I can’t wait to see what you guys come up with.
Natalie says
This is great news!! We love all of the clever posts that are so packed full of information and typically have a comic twist. Congratulations on being such excellent planners to allow this transition during such an important time, with Little P on her way.. You will NEVER regret being home with her, you will never say to yourself “I wish I would have worked more.” I speak for all of your “followers” when I say, you both are doing amazing things to inspire us, and we have enjoyed SO much watching you guys transition into parenthood. Very cool news!
Praying everyday for the safe delivery of your daughter.
(I am an L&D nurse :) )
With joy,
Natalie
Brittany says
This is quite exciting! I know that y’all are beyond thrilled to be able to both be home with Baby P. Can’t wait to see the room re-do!
Alison says
Congratulatoins! I can’t wait to see your new space. I have a room that we are working on in July to serve all of the same three functions: office, guest sleeping and play room. It’s an odd space and I have been working on mood boards for a while. I can’t wait to see what you come up with for the room!
Lindsay says
Congratulations!! What an amazing decision. I had my first baby this past December, and went back to work in March after 3 glorious months off for maternity leave. I was back for 6 days when I realized that working at the office just wasn’t for me anymore! I have a small graphic design business going on the side anyway, so I decided to make that my full-time gig, all from home. It’s been wonderful and I only wish my husband could work here, too. I’m not sure how a Paramedic could make a living working from home, but I’m determined to figure it out :)
One thing I found helpful is to set office hours. I check my email all the time, but after 7pm (when my husband gets home from work), I don’t respond unless it’s urgent. I made this decision after I felt like I was ALWAYS at the office and TOO available. I’m always here if someone needs me but very few people do at that time of night :)
I highly recommend a swing (we have the Brentwood, it’s very pretty!), an activity mat and an exersaucer. All wonderful things that my little one enjoys to play in by my side when I have to answer an email or finish a quick project when he’s awake.
Best of luck to you all!
YoungHouseLove says
Lindsay- Great advice! Thanks so much for sharing it.
Leigh- We just sort of let our needs dictate what each room should be. We always think it’s a big mistake to just use a room as it was used by the previous homeowner, since everyone has different ways that they live. That’s why it made more sense for us to convert our formal dining room into a guest bedroom (which allowed us to gain an entire wall of storage/work space in our kitchen by closing off a door) and move our dining table into our looong living room for a more open-living concept. It totally works for us! And by the same token, evolving our bedrooms into rooms that we need (a nursery, an office, etc) really makes our house work better for us. Just think long and hard about what you really want and need from your house and then just make simple switches and tweaks to get there!
Dannielle- To be honest, I loved my job as a freelance copywriter. But I really think the thing that allowed me to find so much work was my NYC past (I worked for a large agency with clients like GMC, Got Milk, Johnson & Johnson, etc) so my portfolio and prior experience really helped me gain people’s confidence. I mostly worked with NY and LA clients from here in Virginia, so the hours were a bit challenging with my west coast clients, but I really can’t complain. Although to be truthful I’m not sure how much work there is to be found without such a thorough background in advertising from a metropolitan agency. I was just super lucky to start out my career with such a bang which allowed me to go freelance with it at an early age. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Lisa says
This is just such awesome news. What a dream life you guys lead: impending wee one, adorable pup, gorgeous home, and you get to hang out with all of those things all day long blogging about things you love! How incredibly awesome! (I’m jealous!)
Lisa says
I’m so excited to see this! My husband and I are both huge computer nerds, so we have some serious computer equipment. The baby is taking the guest room, and we don’t know what to do with our office. We thought a futon at first, but we don’t have room with the furniture that’s in there now. I’m so excited to see how you guys handle it!
Dannielle says
CONGRATULATIONS!! That is such great news and I wish you guys nothing but the best!! It seems that you guys were smart about all your options, reading from the replies to the comments. It’s amazing to have that much determination and head on your shoulders. I’m glad that you guys are living the dream and it’s a blessing for both of you to manage baby and blog. Think you scared us all that you would be gone! I don’t know what I’d do either without YHL!
Sherry – I had a quick question for you. It’s a tad bit unrelated but I was reading the replies you had written back to people and was wondering about something. You said you were a freelance copywriter. Did you enjoy doing that? Was it easy for you to find work? I am tapping into the idea of doing that part time and was wondering how it worked out for you then. Thanks a bunch! :)
Laura says
What a big step! Congratulations…I can’t wait to see what you do with the third bedroom. If you need to practice, you can come do the spare bedroom my house first!
Christin says
Congrats! That’s so exciting! One thing I love about reading your blog is how much you 2 are really a team and how the baby in the way is and will be taken care of and loved by both parents. It’s refreshing to know of other couples who look at parenting as a joint effort and not just the main duty of just the mom or just the dad. Good for you guys! And how wonderful that John is able to come home to be a full-time blogger as well. That’s just awesome. Can’t wait to see how you turn that guest bedroom into the office/guest space/playroom etc! Thanks for sharing your lives and inspiration with all of us strangers out here on the web rooting you on! :)
CasaCullen says
yay y’all! those special memories with both of you at home with sweet angel baby can never be re-gained! so many father’s would GIVE their left arm for this opportunity…truly a blessing and something that i love to hear! a huge congrats from the clan over at CasaCullen! we’re so happy for ALL FOUR OF YOU! xo
Lauryn says
Yay!! This is so awesome. Congratulations to you both! I cant wait to see what goes into the room!
Rebecca says
Will this allow you to take on more mood boards for clients or are you going to play it by ear?
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Rebecca,
We’re definitely going to play it by ear, but you can always check the note above the “Buy Now” button which states the next day that we’ll be taking on boards and the number of them that we’ll be taking on. We’re sure in the bleary-eyed early days with a newborn around we certainly won’t be taking on any extra work, but once we get our bearings it might allow us to help more people- so that would be awesome!
xo,
s
Miranda says
Congratulations! How amazing to have two stay-at-home parents!
Kellie R says
Congratulations! I am so happy for your family!
Sarah (fellow 07/07 anniversary-er!) says
That’s wonderful news! The three weeks my husband stayed off work after our daughter was born in March were amazing, and I’d love to have him here full time. You’re both so lucky. Hope the birth goes super-smoothly!
Barbara says
What a hopeful news!
I strongly believe in your business idea.
So please consider me as your accountant when the YHL web kingdom will land here in Italy.
Please notice I didn’t say IF, but WHEN!
Buona fortuna John with your almost-new job!
Sherry please be a nice boss to your new employee ;-))
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, thanks Barbara! You’re too kind!
xo,
s
Janelle says
Hey, this is great! Congratulatons:)
This is going to be my favorite redo yet. We have the same type of room in our house. A 10×10 room that is sewing room, guest room, and play area. I cannot wait to see what you two do!!! Seriously, I can’t. This little room in our house has kept me up at night trying to figure out ways to eek space out of it!!!
-Janelle
.:karen:. says
Good stuff! Very happy for you and I will look forward to the room transformation with eager eyeballs. I keep thinking that I wanted to try and snag your services for ideas in turning our basement into a two-person office/playroom/family room so maybe I can get some inspiration this way too.
Erin C. says
That is so wonderful and exciting that you can both be home with eachother and your little one! Congrats!
Melissa Arlena says
Congrats on doing so well with the blog that you guys are able to stay home with Baby P! I’m very excited to see the office makeover as right now I share an office with my husband and my photography business stuff is everywhere. I can’t wait to see what you guys come up with! Very excited for your awesome success and can’t wait to see what you guys add to the mix on the blog :)
Joanne says
Congratulations on this exciting decision! My husband and I have dreams of doing the same in the not-so-distant future, so you are an inspiration!
Mike at The Big Stick says
So awesome that you guys can do this. As a fellow blogger with traffic not anywhere in the same universe as you guys, I am so impressed with what you have done. Always encouraging to hear about the bloggers that get to make their hobby a career.
As for the office, I know you guys are familiar with Lifehacker (which is actually how I became one of your few male readers). They have a regular feature with photos of people’s offices, usually home offices. This recent one seems perfect for you guys (with your own personal style additions). Slim profile and made for two.
http://lifehacker.com/5527310/workspace-for-two-green-walls-and-hidden-cables-+-gallery
Congrats and much luck.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for the link Mike. Inspiring indeed!
xo,
s
Wendy says
So awesome for you guys. You will have a great time and can’t wait to see the new room.
cara says
I am so happy that you can get your blog to be so successful that you can do that. Such hard work went into this, and a great product resulted. Love it! I can’t wait to see little P. :-)
Jenn says
CONGRATULATIONS! this is wonderful news for all involved. isn’t the internet so cool for creating opportunities like this for families? you are blessed and brave! hope it’s a wonderful time of transition!
Jen says
Couldn’t be more thrilled for you guys! Anything not to take away my daily fix of YHL! :)
You guys are so very fortunate to have such an amazing opportunity to grow together in your happy place! Congratulations for all you have achieved!
xoxo!
Val says
I LOVE your blog & your story of how it grew. Good luck! Not to get too personal…but are you buying health insurance individually now? My husband started his company and I was home with the kids and health insurance was a big issue for us. Just wondering how you “conquered” that. It started to get too expensive to buy individually and ultimately resulted in me having to go back to work. I basically work for the health coverage now. Best wishes to you & the growing family!
Val says
Sorry…just read the first page of comments, disregard my previous health care question!!
Patti says
Yay!! I’m so happy for you all! All your hard work is paying off, I can’t wait to see what you have in store for us!
Kelsi says
CONGRATS! That is so awesome!!!! You both are very blessed to be able to work from home with the little one. Not very many moms can say that they get to stay at home with the little one while rakin’ in some dough, let alone both parents! I WISH I was able to… Apparently your home has blessed you in more ways than you thought it would. Exciting!
Sandra says
Congratulations! You guys will make it work they same way you have been able to juggle multiple things in the past. I know this is a bit more different, but you’ve never let a challenge get the best of you. I am confident that you will be exceptional parents and I look forward to reading more updates about the little bean and the rest of the fam! Much love to you guys!
Cate says
YAY!! That’s so exciting! I’m so happy that you two have made it possible to follow your dreams like this!
Julie says
Holy cow, guys! This is awesome! What a fabulous opportunity for you. I’m sure it will be so great for Beanette to have Mommy AND Daddy at home with her, and be great for your marriage, besides! I’m just the teensiest bit envious, but more happy for you than anything!
And I guess this “solves” the one car situation…
Lynn Soon says
So incredibly excited for the two of you – what a grand adventure you are on!!! Baby P is one lucky lil beanette.
Lara says
Yay! I’m so excited for you guys! You may want to consider some noise cancelling headphones in case one of you is working and the other is tending your beanette and she won’t quiet down. My bestie’s in a similar situation with both her and her hubby working at home, and she says her Bose headphones are a lifesaver.
YoungHouseLove says
Such a great idea! We’ll definitely look into some of those!
xo,
s