Harold's Renovation Blog: #40: Going On Vacation For “Research”

This week we’re sharing how a recent weekend getaway to a small cottage turned into a reconnaissance mission for our own vacation rental project. Plus, finding ceiling lights that look good together but aren’t too matchy can be tough. We struggled with it ourselves until we learned to rely on one simple trick for keeping our home’s light fixtures in check – without robbing them of all interest and personality. We’re breaking that down this week, along with what pro decorators say guys should never have in their homes. We also herald a new painting tool that I’m obsessed with… and it turns out Sherry’s really bad at something that most people can do without even trying.

You can download this episode from iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, and TuneIn Radio – or listen to it below! Then use this page to check out any links, notes, or photos that we referenced. Note: If you’re reading in a feed reader, you might have to click through to the post to see the player.

What’s New

Here’s a quick link-y rundown of our Charlottesville weekend trip:
- Our pretty 700 sf Airbnb cottage
- Breakfasts at Keevil & Keevil and Brazos Tacos
- Dinners at Citizen Burger and Oakhart Social
- Visit to IX Art Park (it’s right next to Brazos)
You may have already seen the picture above of the Airbnb we stayed at on Instagram, but here are a few other shots that we grabbed with our iPhone (the good camera stayed at home!).

And here’s the “Love Butt” sculpture at that art park we mentioned. We’re nothing if not classy tourists.

Updates

Here’s the podcast episode (#31) and the blog post where we talk about picking our “pinch” beach house color
These are the “life-changing” jeans that Sherry can’t stop raving about (and stockpiling)
And here’s our podcast episode (#33) about float tanks & Questlove’s Instagram about ’em

That’s Embarrassing

Here’s our original podcast episode (#36) that references Sherry’s lack of bath-taking.
And if you’re curious, we finally ordered another “good” drain plug so both bathrooms can have one. #tinyvictory

What’s Not

Here’s Elle Decor’s 16 Things A Man Should Never EVER Have In His Home (read that like a southern lady for 5 extra points)
And if you missed our original chat about the women’s list that had us doing a bit of eye-rolling, it’s in Episode #37

Listener’s Call

dining chandelier / kitchen pendant / similar end chair / blue dining chairs / stools / blinds

You can visit our Shop Our House page to see all the lights we have throughout our house (and find out where they’re from). Our most recent house tour videos might also come in handy to see how they look as you walk through the house.
Here’s a look at the mistake we made in our pre-renovated kitchen. We chose three lights that looked good together on paper, hung ’em up, but slowly realized the two oversized ones were fighting for attention in there (there are a couple of good shots at the end of this post).
Sherry started to make her lighting mood boards for these show notes and got a little carried away. So we’re going to drop them into a full blog post for you guys asap. Stay tuned! Here’s a preview of one that incorporates a glass globe fixture, like our caller mentioned (it’s a sconce and not a pendant, but you can see how it relates to the other items): 1 / 2 / 3 / 4

We’re Digging

You can see in the snapshot above how the concave roller (10-pack or 2-pack) hugs the curved furniture leg better than a traditional foam roller. And the lack of a plastic end nub (you can’t see it in the convex one, but it’s right under the foam and scrapes if you push too hard) also makes the convex one pretty great.
Here’s our new favorite book, The Kind Worth Killing, for anyone who likes books like Gone Girl or The Girl on the Train. Bonus points for this one because it involves a renovation.

Psst- Looking for something we’ve dug in a past episode, but don’t remember which show notes to click into? Well, here’s a master list of everything we’ve been digging from all past episodes.