Show me more houses!

January 16, 2014 12:05 PM

I love reading home renovation / decoration blogs. My feedly has gone a little stale, and I'd love new ideas.

I have the sudden urge to read a bunch of home blogs cover to cover. Ideally, I want blogs that:

- Have good photography. Doesn't have to be the best photography, but at least have a decent understanding of light.
- Follow their own work in their own homes/apartment — I'm not so into posts just highlighting a cool designer they like or random etsy finds, although obviously those are fine if they're mixed in.
- Don't have a huge budget (and do a lot of work themselves) but conversely, aren't obsessed with being super, super thrifty.
- Are fun to read.
- Aren't super family-focused — obviously I don't care if there are kids and I hear about them and I love a good kid's room redesign but if a good chunk of the posts are advice on raising children, etc., I just don't care.
- Lots of DIY projects (especially serious, build-a-headboard style DIY projects, or even just good directions for completing the projects they do) is a HUGE plus
- I love reading about party planning, so if there's some of that too, it would be super cool.

I'm not interested in: Any blogs with "printables," heavily religious blogs, blogs that post a ton of mediocre themed crafts before each holiday

Essentially, I'm looking for blogs by those cool people you wish you could be friends with that have the awesome, quirky house — blogs that feel real, not sanitized.

Blogs I like a lot:

Radical Possibility
Go Haus Go
Chris Loves Julia
Little Green Notebook
Young House Love (of course)
My Little Apartment

Any and all suggestions so, so appreciated!

posted by good day merlock to Home & Garden (15 answers total)

This is a TV show and not a blog, but Restoration Home is a British home improvement show that goes way above and beyond any I've ever seen in the US. It literally has episodes is which people restore 13th century castles. Here is an example episode on youtube. I think it's an amazingly interesting show.
posted by tylerkaraszewski at 12:10 PM on January 16, 2014 [2 favorites]

I really like dans le townhouse - loads of great, inexpensive reno projects - bit of a mid-century vibe.

They've just sold their townhouse and moved to a lakehouse - should be fun to see what they do with that.
posted by the.carol.baxter.experience at 12:27 PM on January 16, 2014

Best answer: DIY Diva
Manhattan Nest
Ugly Duckling House
Yellow Brick Home
posted by rhapsodie at 12:34 PM on January 16, 2014 [1 favorite]

Best answer: My favorite is Retro Renovation. MCM sensibilities to be sure, but lots of folks contribute ideas about how they did their pink bathrooms.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 1:08 PM on January 16, 2014 [2 favorites]

Have you looked at Houzz?
posted by blue_beetle at 1:14 PM on January 16, 2014 [3 favorites]

Best answer: The Brick House- read it from the beginning to see the progression of their house, it's pretty rad.

Olive Green Window
posted by beepbeepboopboop at 1:15 PM on January 16, 2014

This is goofy but the pictures make me laugh a lot (I've done a lot of remodeling, thanks for your links!)
terriblerealestateagentphotos.com
posted by Jesse the K at 1:30 PM on January 16, 2014 [1 favorite]

Apartment Therapy is a big one, though you may have already seen and not liked it. It can be a little sanitized, but I really appreciate the focus on small spaces.

I'll also suggest, just for laughs, Unhappy Hipsters.
posted by The Michael The at 1:31 PM on January 16, 2014

Best answer: merrypad

Nalle's House

Chez Larsson (blogger just stopped updating in December, but you could look through the archives if you like her style)
posted by mbidi at 2:11 PM on January 16, 2014

Best answer: Cabin Fervor: couple renovating a foreclosed log house. House looks pretty good now but go through the archives! I think I found this througha link on Apartment Therapy.
posted by maryrussell at 2:40 PM on January 16, 2014

Best answer: I recently discovered Deuce Cities Henhouse and have been digging it.

I like Manhattan Nest a lot too. It's a pretty young guy, he originally had an apartment in NYC (obv.), but he recently bought an old but serious fixer-upper in the Hudson Valley and has been sharing that gigantic renovation project.
posted by radiomayonnaise at 2:40 PM on January 16, 2014

Designsponge
posted by iiniisfree at 2:48 PM on January 16, 2014

Best answer: Door Sixteen! Anna has an amazing sense of style, and strikes a great balance between knowing when to splurge on specific items or materials, and when to find cheaper alternatives. She has great suggestions for sturdy and classic products at places like Ikea or Target, but primarily has an eye for very well designed pieces from other retailers. I've followed many of her suggestions and they've all worked well. They are restoring a gorgeous house in Newburgh that was in serious disrepair when they purchased it. But they both work in the city, and a few years ago, started renting an apartment in Brooklyn. So you will get a sense of how she works in two very different spaces. Definitely worth looking in her archives!

Newburgh House:
+ Installing a plywood plank kitchen floor, part one.
+ Installing a plywood plank kitchen floor, part two.
+ Kitchen tile: FINISHED
+ The house kitchen: Then + now
+ Dining room storage + lighting updates.
+ Refinishing cast iron radiators, small budget edition.

Brooklyn Apartment:
+ Dealing with nasty grout & caulk in the apartment bathroom.
+ Turning an ugly backsplash into something that’s quite nice to look at (and temporary!).
+ Quick + cheap: Frameless frame.
posted by barnone at 3:23 PM on January 16, 2014 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: I marked as favorites the ones I've not seen before (I am the worst for not giving a very full list of everything in my feedly!) but all of this is amazing, so amazing. More!
posted by good day merlock at 4:18 PM on January 16, 2014

1912 Bungalow

Westview Bungalow

Both of the above are years past the "gut renovation" phase, so look at the archives for the before and after stuff.

Hooked on Houses
posted by Violet Hour at 10:16 PM on January 16, 2014