Young House Love

Home Decorating & DIY Tutorials

Posts by Sherry Petersik

Sherry Petersik is one half of the duo behind the award-winning home improvement and do-it-yourself design blog, Young House Love. Together, she and her husband John have renovated seven homes, published two New York Times Bestselling books, and designed products sold in Target and Home Depot. They are currently enjoying their downsized home on Florida's Gulf Coast with their two kids and their dog, Penny.

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Oh Baby, We’ve Got A New Gig At BabyCenter

Back even before I knew for sure that I was prego I used to peruse BabyCenter for articles about “early signs.” And once I had a test in my hand that confirmed that I was in fact “with-bean,” John and I immediately logged on to find out when Baby P would be due. While there, I also signed up for emails about our baby’s weekly growth (which I used to read aloud to John every time they landed in my inbox) and joined a message board to converse with thousands of other expectant May moms. After Clara arrived I started receiving emails about her development outside of the womb (which I continue to read aloud

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Our Take On 8 Controversial Decorating Issues

We’ll start this post off by saying that when it comes to decorating your house, we believe there are no right answers. Rules are meant to be broken and feathering your nest is definitely one of the most subjective and personal things you’ll ever do. Our mantra has always been “just do what you love” so you end up coming home to a house that makes you smile. But what if you don’t know what you love? Just look at rooms in magazines and online and find out what tickles your fancy and use it as a springboard to take your house to the next level. Or stare at your favordominite painting or even a

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Seven Cheap Ways To Update A Room

Is it weird that John read my headline in passing and used it as an opportunity for a comedic performance? A few “room-crisping” suggestions from him? 1) Flambé it. 2) Put crunchy noodles on the floor. 3) Starch it. Funny guy. Anyway, here are seven super affordable and easy ways to freshen up any space. They might seem simple and straightforward, but it’s amazing what a difference these little tweaks can really make. So if you don’t have the energy (or the money) for a full scale room makeover, these might be just the thing to give you a new look in a snap. 1. Paint your trim with crisp white semi-gloss paint. Whether you’re

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Getting Our Home’s Water Tested

Right around the time we announced that we were expecting there were a number of friends and family members who also revealed that they had a bun in the oven… and people always joked that there must be something in the water. The ironic thing is that ever since that bad joke popped up a few dozen times many months ago I’ve been wondering: what IS in my tap water anyway? Then I recently caught the end of a Dr. Oz show where he was talking about lead in your water- and when he mentioned that pregnant & nursing women need to be careful when drinking from pipes in older homes which could have lead

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Building An Amazing DIY Ottoman

You guys may remember Kara from Kara Paslay Designs thanks to the amazing house crashing tour that she took us on a while back. And when she sent over some photographs of a stunning ottoman that she DIYed, we begged her to treat us to an exclusive little YHL tutorial. And- oh happy day!- she was game. So without further ado, we’ll hand this post over to Kara so she can take you through the process of making your very own version of the lovely (and surprisingly doable) ottoman that she whipped up. Gorgeous, eh? Hello YHL readers! I am so excited that John and Sherry have invited me to share the details about my

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Organizing Baby Gear

Since the day that we announced there was a bun in my oven, we’ve been getting comments and emails to request details about how our house is changing thanks to our growing family. And now that Clara is two months old (time flies!) we decided that it was high time we took some candid photos to show exactly how our home has changed thanks to all of the baby gear that we’ve accumulated thus far (and yes, we know it’ll only grow from here, so stay tuned to see how we deal with everything else as we go). The following photos weren’t edited or cleaned up in any way- they’re actual snapshots. And you know

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How To Use Paint & Accent Colors In A Room

I recently found myself flipping through old copies of BHG and I came across one of my favorite little quote roundups ever in the February issue. It was actually an article all about “choosing, using, and loving color” and you know that paint is pretty much my BFF so it’s no surprise that I had earmarked the page and even circled a few of my favorite quotes. So when I recently rediscovered my earmarked and circled page o’ quotes, I thought I’d share the wealth and pass along all the great little tidbits that BHG amassed for that little article of yore (because frankly, we couldn’t agree more). They communicated so many things that we

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Our Favorite Tabletop Accessories

We actually get this question pretty often so we thought it was about time that we broke down what home decor objects we find ourselves grabbing all the time when it comes to adding style to a dining or console table and even a fireplace mantel or the kitchen counter. So without further ado, a roundup of foolproof tabletop classics: 1. A cake stand. This handy accessory can be used to create charming dining centerpieces (topped with everything from fruit to holiday decor) or even a sweet display on your kitchen counter (with fresh cupcakes or even a collection of ceramic faux fruit). Find it on the cheap at: Marshall’s, TJ Maxx, Target, World Market

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14 DIY Anniversary Gift Ideas

This post is a little compilation of sorts, with a few never before seen items tossed in for fun. We’re rounding up a slew of personalized and meaningful momentos that we’ve sprinkled throughout our house to remind us of special days gone by. Because you gotta keep the romance alive at home, right? Some of them are homemade DIY projects while others are just things we decided to display (that we previously had tucked away in a closet or drawer). And the good news is that none of them are very hard to do (or hard to swing, for those on a budget). Hooray for easy and sweet home accessories that feel oh so customized

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Wedding Week III: It’s Baaaaaack

Yup, our third annual Wedding Week is upon us thanks to our upcoming anniversary this Wednesday. And it’s hard to believe that yet another year has flown by, especially since our DIY backyard wedding (held right here at Casa Petersik on 7.7.07) still feels like it was yesterday. Of course most of you have already read all about our wedding by clicking that tab under our blog header, and we’ve used Wedding Week I and Wedding Week II to describe things like our courtship, our engagement, and our honeymoon in detail. We even divulged home related DIY projects, like how I dyed my wedding dress… …and how we commemorated our nuptials with a shadow box

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Squeezing In Playroom Into Our Office

As if our 10′ x 10.5′ home office / guest bedroom didn’t have enough requirements (must accommodate two bloggers 50+ hours a week and sleep two people comfortably every now and then all while keeping our paper clutter tucked out of sight) we ambitiously decided to force yet another function on the space: playroom. We wish we could dedicate an entire room to that playroom title, but with three small bedrooms – one serving as the master, another as the nursery, and the third one being this room – we had to face the music and make it work a la Tim Gunn. So we decided that along with making a lot of rug space

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Picking The Right Paint Finish

Picking the perfect paint finish is all about learning the pros and cons of each one and then exercising your right to choose. In other words, it’s one part knowledge and one part personal preference. Here’s a little rundown of paint finish possibilities along with a few facts about each one to help you hone in on the one that’s right for you. Flat paint: This is a great choice for hiding imperfections in your walls and it’s by far the easiest to touch up. The cons are that many people say that it shows more wear than its more wipe-able counterparts (like eggshell, satin, semi-gloss, and gloss) but we have found that with a

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