Rugs are hard. We get it. How do you know the right size and placement? Will it look good in your room? What if looks nothing like the photos online? If you have any of those thoughts, this post is for you. We’re going to dive into an especially magical rug that goes with basically any colored sofa/wall/room, but also talk generally about rug size and placement. Plus, we’ve listed a bunch of other favorite rugs, vetted by us (we bought them all with our own money & love them – no affiliation with any of ’em).

The Magic Rug

Let’s start with the magic rug. We bought this rug many years ago for one of the duplex living rooms in Cape Charles.

I’m not sure who first dubbed (in the rust color) the “magic rug,” but it all began when we realized it looked good with essentially any room, no matter the color scheme.

Continue reading Rug Sizing Tips & The “Magic Rug” That Looks Good With Everything at Young House Love.

Every year it feels like we’re the last bloggers in all of blogland to get our gift guide up (is it me or are they coming out earlier and earlier?!), but the deed is done! We just do one post with three categories (adults, kids, and under $25), so here it is. We love including small makers and Black-owned businesses as well as some tried & true items from larger companies that we’ve bought & loved (like a favorite book, family game, etc) so let’s get into it.

Gifts For Grown-Ups

Here’s what we’re loving, either firsthand items that we’ve bought and enjoyed ourselves, things we’re getting for friends & family, or items that we’re hoping to find under the tree ourselves (hint, hint John).

1. These rose gold birthstone rings feel so special and her reviews are stellar ($50)
2. I want this “Distracted By Plants” shirt & know 7 friends who’d also want it ($14)
3. Oprah put this chic Linen Wireless Charger on her fav.

Continue reading Holiday Gift Guides For Everyone On Your List (With Stuff Under $19 & Even $9) at Young House Love.

This year we got our gift guide post up a lot sooner than usual, because we’re highlighting tons of small makers and Black-owned businesses that we love, and we want to give those shops as much lead time as possible (heck, large stores seem to need more lead time than ever these days too). We also included a handful of tried & true items from larger companies that we’ve bought and loved (like a favorite tool or family game).

There’s stuff for grown-ups, kids, and a ton of budget-friendly ideas that are under $20, and even under $10 that would be great for teachers, neighbors, coworkers, or white elephant exchanges!

Gifts For Grown-Ups

Here’s what we’re loving, either firsthand items that we’ve personally bought and enjoyed – or things that we’re getting for friends & family (or hoping to find under the tree ourselves).

1. This plant lover’s doormat makes me laugh so hard ($52)
2. We’re eying this favorite daughter t-shirt for all three of John’s sisters ($24)
3. John & the kids got me two surprise mail-order plants like this for Mother’s Day (this pothos & this fern) and they’re still going strong (from $25)
4. Santa is bringing me Bobbi’s black & white earrings & I’m THRILLED ($45)
5. We own and love this wave basket which works as a large tray for magazines on a table or you can hang it on the wall as large textural art!

Continue reading Holiday Gift Guides For Everyone On Your List (With Stuff Under $15, and even $9) at Young House Love.

All week on our Instagram stories we’ve been highlighting Black-owned businesses as a way that you can get involved, vote with your dollars, and show these super deserving small businesses some love. It all started because after getting personal in this post on IG and Facebook, I came across an article that said “…over the past 30 years, the US has seen a sharp decline in independent Black-owned business, and that Black women in particular face so many obstacles getting their business ventures funded.”

That SUCKS! So after highlighting some of my favorite Black-owned shops, you guys started flooding my DMs with some of yours. Dozens of enthusiastically recommended shops quickly turned into hundreds, crossing all sorts of categories – from home and food to fashion and beauty, even things like travel, weddings, and business consulting.

We’re still trying to catch up on all of your amazing recommendations, but we’ve got over 500 of them categorized below for you to shop from whenever you’d like.

Continue reading 500+ Highly Recommended Black-Owned Businesses To Support at Young House Love.

For everyone who has been asking for the details on our new coffee table (glimpses of it have made their way into my InstaStories over the last few months – and boy did you guys notice!), I’m finally writing up all the details.

How many words can someone possibly share about the hunt for and the creation of a living room coffee table that checks every one of their oddly specific boxes, you ask? Well, settle in. I shall regale you with a tale of woe and triumph and there’s even a random not-sure-it-even-works alien joke worked in there for good measure. Plus I’ll show you exactly how to get this exact coffee table if you want to pull this same hack at your house (it is BEGINNER LEVEL EASY).

Let’s back up for a second. You know how sometimes you dream about an item that doesn’t exist and you’re like “I like this one thing but wish it had that other top or that other wood finish.” Like you want to pull a Frankenstein combo move and merge three things together?

Continue reading Our Stone-Topped Coffee Table Hack at Young House Love.

As is the tradition, I’m always the last blogger in blogland to get a gift guide up (did I mention we just got our tree up two days ago?!), but I love searching for fun gift ideas all over the interwebs (including tons of small businesses & handmade items) and smashing them all into one big post for you guys! And this is that post, so let’s get down to business. There’s stuff for grown ups, finds for kids, and a ton of budget friendly ideas that are under $25, and even $15! Hope you find something you love for someone you love… even if that someone is you (I’m totally asking Santa for a few things on this list ;)

GIFTS FOR GROWN-UPS

Here’s what we’re loving, either firsthand stuff we’ve bought ourselves and have really enjoyed – or things we’re getting for friends & family (or hoping to find under the tree). 

• 1.

Continue reading Holiday Gift Guides For Everyone On Your List (With Stuff Under $20, and even $7!) at Young House Love.

Our annual rundown of stuff you can get cheaper than we did is here. Ha! Every year we check out the Black Friday deals (which literally start earlier every year) and we pull out stuff that we bought with our own money & really really like. And we share it here so you can snag things for 20% off, 30% off, and even over 50% off! We’ll try to update this post if more codes come out (just come back and scroll to the bottom to see all the sale links & codes in one place).

Our fully upholstered bed is marked down from $949 to $572 (40%!). Ours is the Talc color, and it’s such a step up from a metal frame and so much cleaner looking without needing a bedskirt!

Our woven blinds (we have these on every downstairs window) are marked down to start from $29.99 instead of $39.99 (19% off) .

Continue reading Stuff We Own & Love That’s On Sale Right Now at Young House Love.

Since you guys have been asking how this large scale (but also, small scale – ha!) renovation has been going, I thought I’d share our second dollhouse progress. And if you missed our first tiny house makeover, you can check it out here.

Yes, this dollhouse totally reminds all of us of our own house, which has been especially fun. And our nine-year-old daughter has been acting as the general contractor, the interior designer, and the architect, which has also been a blast. From helping with painting and art to choosing colors, arranging the furniture and brainstorming future project ideas – she has been at the helm… WHICH HAS BEEN SO ENJOYABLE FOR MY HOUSE-LOVING HEART TO SEE (I’m also very happy to play the role of the dutiful assistant / budget realist – ha!).

This house will probably be in progress for the next few years as we add more furniture, and lights that really work, and maybe even a spiral staircase that leads up to the attic (squeeee!).

Continue reading Our Second Tiny House Makeover (Aka, Dollhouse Number Two) at Young House Love.