Each little charm is sold separately but I love them all. Here’s what they say:

1. Free your heart from hatred.
2. Free your mind from worries.
3. Live simply.
4. Give more.
5. Expect less.

We were struck by how simple each “secret” is, and we couldn’t agree more. Life really is better spent free of worry, hate, and ridiculously high expectations- and somehow giving a little more always makes you smile and living with less feels so freeing. And of course those five statements got us thinking about you guys. Do you have any mantras to happiness that calm you down or lift you up? Any phrases that you use to remind yourself that every little thing is gonna be alright? Do you do something (meditate? take deep breaths? pump Miley Cyrus?) to get out of a funk or gain perspective? Spill the be happy beans.

For another phrase that really struck us, check out how we made free art from an inspirational quote.

Image courtesy of YBellaCreations.

Now we’re admittedly a bit hesitant to unveil our dirty secret, but we figured that the best way to keep this task from perpetually being scheduled for “next weekend” would be to open the door to the world and basically shame ourselves into getting ‘er done. So, without further ado (or stalling) here’s the current sad state of our two-car garage:

Yuck, we know. It’s bad. And I probably don’t need to say this, but we literally didn’t move a thing before snapping these pictures. We wanted you to see it in its full box-filled, yard-equipment-strewn and distinctly no-room-for-parking-one-car-let-alone-two glory. In fact we haven’t done significant maintenance on it since its first major clean-up last summer. The shame.

But we’re not just sharing these “befores” to force ourselves to get to work making “afters.” We also want to invite you guys to join us this weekend in giving some TLC to a neglected space in your home. Maybe your garage resembles ours? Or perhaps it’s your shed, attic, basement, closet, or even a junk drawer that’s feeling a bit chaotic? Whatever it is, let’s tackle it together this weekend… and next week we’ll regroup to share our afters (you can post ‘em on our Facebook page or send them to john [at] younghouselove [dot] com). So don’t forget to snap those before pictures up front and those after pics once the happy dance commences on the back end. Sound like a plan? We can’t wait to see your afters. Heck, we can’t wait to see ours either. Stay tuned…

And speaking of being clear, Sherry wanted me to come clean about the fact that the Hilary-Duff-inspired title of this freebie was all my doing. It’s a long story, but basically that song was once a big inside joke with some of my college friends (shout out to Quan and Sarah) so it’s forever engrained in my mind. Which is why I just couldn’t help but break it out when it was so appropriate for this giveaway (and yes, I even snuck in another lyric in my admission statement above – did ya catch it?)

But you’re probably wondering who the lucky lady or gent is who’ll soon be watching the rain fall down into their new rain barrel. Well, we plugged numbers into our trusty random.org and it spat out… Shifra. Congrats! We can’t wait to hear whether you’ll be going for the paintable Californian barrel or one of the planter-topped Cascata models. Either way, thanks in advance for recycling your rainwater with us. In fact, we’re going to be washing our car with some of our barrel water this weekend.

For everyone else, don’t forget you can also learn how to make your own DIY barrel on our How To page. And we’re just a few days away from announcing next week’s giveaway on our usual Monday schedule. So stick around (and yes, that’s a clue).

Psst, have you updated your bookmarks / reader / blogroll / outgoing links / Twitter/ Facebook yet? If you’re still heading our way using old TYH methods, they won’t last for long so don’t forget to make the switch! We’d hate to lose a single one of you freebie-lovin’ folks.

First we have these sweet little 5″ x 7″ egg prints (four for $25) that were a blast to create. I kept trying to picture what birds would emerge- the blue one is definitely a robin’s egg, but the rest were dreamed up on the fly, so who knows what could be in there!

Next we have our large and lovely sea life photo series (two for $35). At 11 x 14 inches, these babies can add a breezy touch of natural texture to any room, and we love them in everything from a white frame to a sleek chrome one or even a stately dark wood or black one.

We also added this abstract 12″ x 12″ stripe series ($20 each) which look almost museum-worthy with big white mats and clean-lined frames. We intentionally made them in a variety of colors (blue & tan, green, yellow & gray, and blue & magenta) in hopes that they’ll suit a wide range of color palettes and add texture to spare.

And this next print makes us want to raise a glass. You can celebrate your no-longer-naked kitchen walls with this festive 5″ x 7″ cork print ($15) which looks lovely in a big white mat and can be hung vertically or horizontally (above your stove? leaning on your counter? the possibilities are endless).

We snapped these black & white 8″ x 10″ prints of New York City fire escapes ($15 each, both for $25) because we knew they’d look chic and sophisticated in any setting. Look at all those moody lines and shadows!

These 12″ x 12″ textile prints ($20 each) were inspired by fabrics that we’ve been loving lately. The soft gray geometric print on top is serene and sleek while the mocha and cream ikat pattern on the bottom will add energy to any space.

And of course everyone asks us what our favorite prints are. While we love everything in our shop (they’re all our babies!), we still have a soft spot in our heart for our set of four 12″ x 12″ clean-lined botanicals ($20 each, four for $50). And we’ve heard back from tons of people who ordered them that they love them in their space too. They’re so much more detailed than we can show online, they actually have a subtle burlap texture behind the leaves, so they’re chic and intricate to boot.

So there you have it. Some old favorites and a bunch of new prints to dress up your bare walls. Feel free to swing through our shop to check out all the other things we have in there- and of course we’d love to hear your favorites!

Speaking of our shop, if you’re looking for pieces that we have in our house or products that we love (and actually use daily) check out our Amazon shop full of our favorite cleaning products, furnishings, accessories, and even TV shows that keep Casa Petersik feeling like home. Because loving what you live with is really what it’s all about.

As a daily reader, I loved how Sherry posted her solution to organizing her jewelry. I am a fan of all things large and in charge when it comes to my baubles, so here is my way of putting them all in their place:

1. Take a store bought cork message board.
2. Sand then paint the trim dark brown.
3. Find a cute fabric and cut to size, then hot glue in place.
4. Buy coordinating ribbon and cut to size horizontally.
5. Pin ribbon in place with thumbtacks.
6. Screw cup hooks at the bottom for necklaces.
7. Attach a ribbon loop to hang from and ta-da!!

So far it is working very well. All of my earrings are out for me to survey every morning and my necklaces are clump free! Thanks for all the inspiration, and keep it up! -Christy

Isn’t that super chic and functional? We love that everything’s out in plain sight and it looks like pure art. Oh and that artichoke fabric is really fun, isn’t it? Thanks so much for sending your mini makeover our way Christy!

We didn’t do much except for veg on the beach, publish posts so you guys wouldn’t think we went missing, and whip up this watermelon project. Oh and of course we did a little deal hunting by swinging through our favorite secondhand store while we were there: Beach Plum Antiques.

You’ll notice me getting my Vanna White on above (look, second picture in a row where I’m not wearing black!). The reason for the big smile and the gameshow pose? I’m standing next to the cutest little carrera marble topped table that I dug out from under a pile of stuff. It’s as if the universe hid it until I could show up and unearth it. Let me loose in a thrift store and I’m like an archeologist hot on the trail of a T-Rex femur.

We’d been looking for a small table for the sunroom for a while and this baby fit the bill. Plus we’ve never had anything marble in our house so the idea admittedly felt very swanky. But how much would the fancy pants table set us back?

What? Does that price tag really say $20? You betcha. And do you know how much we actually paid? $19 (because they only accept cash and that’s all we had on us). Again, the universe wanted us to have this table. The owner actually laughed when we approached him to buy it saying he had just marked it down from $45 the day before (and sure enough, when we peeled off the stickers after we got it home we saw that it had originally been $75, then $45, and finally $20 after sitting around for a while without getting much attention).

How this little gem of a table could go unnoticed for so long is beyond me. I mean she’s almost as cheap as an Ikea lack table and SHE’S MADE WITH CARRERA MARBLE. In mint condition no less. Just for comparison’s sake, here’s a marble table from CB2. It’s $149! And here’s a Knoll one on sale for $607! Doesn’t that make $19 sound even better? Plus our sunroom could totally use a little side table in the place of the basket below (which moved over next to the daybed where we actually use the blankets when it gets a bit breezy):

So we made the switcheroo…

Here’s a close-up for you marble loving fools (present company included- as in, me). Isn’t she a beaut? We love the ornate carved detailing around the perimeter and the legs. And although we originally toyed with the idea of painting them white (or even a soft celery green), we actually fell hard for the existing patina of the wood as soon as we put it down next to the teak chair and saw that it still worked.

By now you guys probably know that we’re much more about complementary tones, subtle texture and varied materials than anyting formulaic or overly matchy-matchy. And our new $19 side table introduced so much more interest to the whole room thanks to the marble top (yeah, we’re officially fancy), antiqued carved detailing (for luxe texture to spare), and the coordinating but not matching weathered wood tone (see how the teak chair and the bookcase on the other side of that wall are the same color but somehow this lighter piece still looks right at home between them?).

The key to achieving a mixed and layered effect that feels collected over time instead of “garage sale dorm room” is just to keep certain commonalities between the items in the space so it doesn’t look completely chaotic and unrelated. The ceramic dog (who was also quite a steal, check out that story here) and the pillow both boast the same crisp white tone, as does the top of the table (which instantly ties them together in the space). And the cream colored wall behind everything adds warmth and creates an even more layered and soft effect.

So there it is. The tale of an under-twenty-dollar-table that crossed state lines to come home with us and live next to a life-sized ceramic pooch. Have you guys found anything good at secondhand stores lately? What about garage sales? Now that it’s summer they’re popping up everywhere, so we’re wondering what you’re snagging on the cheap.

p.s. Speaking of secondhand shopping, we feel really good about our recently purchased refurbished Flip video camera (snagged on woot.com for $70 off) and our newly refurbished MacBook (from apple.com for $350 off). “Recycling” never felt so good- and they’ll both help us serve up more fun around these parts for years to come- so stay tuned…

I’ve can’t wait to hear your ideas for our living room! The style that most appeals to me is ‘eclectic’ while casual and fun are also up there on my list. Small touches of modern and glamorous could also be nice. The only large item that I know I want to replace is the white sideboard/cabinet (with something longer, even wall mounted Ikea cabinets perhaps). I think I’d like the rest (rug, round coffee table, sofa, striped chair and leather Barcalounger) to stay. But I’m open to all suggestions! I love the antique Asian panels (found on Craigslist) and would like to keep them. The modern painting can go or stay. End tables could go either way. The 2 burl wood top tables were made by an old friend of my mom’s, so I’ve been trying to think of how I might alter them to work in the space. New legs maybe? Mirror on fireplace mantle can go or stay. The wall color could change, especially if that would help the room not feel so dark. We had the brick fireplace sandblasted when we moved in (it was painted white and it gave it a softer, chippy, under the sea look). We plan to eventually add either glass doors or an insert to the fireplace. I like earthy colors and all patterns, especially a fun mix of patterns (dots, stripes, ikat, graffiti, anything!). I also love the freshness of white and would love to find ways to mix in more. Thanks!!! -Gabriella

This space is chock full of potential. Here’s the plan:

And now for the mood board breakdown.

1. Our color palette will include some deep ruby red tones found in the brick (which we’ll bring in with art and pillows for more of a balanced look), sandy tan tones to lighten things up (while complementing the brick) and a liberal dose of soft green and crisp white for an open and airy vibe. When it comes to the walls we’d love to see a soft khaki green celery color with a dash of warm gold in the undertone (Benjamin Moore’s Sesame 381). It’ll look crisp and fresh with everything from the brick to the new accessories.

2. We love the idea of hanging something airy and light above the half-wall between the living room and the hallway for a cozier and more inviting vibe (without making the room feel dark). These gorgeous (and super affordable) statement-making bamboo panels will add so much stunning texture to the entire space when they’re hung from the trim above the half-wall and snipped to graze the top of the half-wall.

3. Adding other textures to mimic the shapes and tones found in the bamboo panels that will be hung creates even more depth and interest while making the room feel more cohesive. This woven oversized basket will look great to the left of the fireplace filled with cozy birch logs for the fire. And by removing the red ottomans and placing the large basket to the left of the fireplace, this less symmetrical arrangement will create eye-pleasing interest and casually balance out the extra shelving on the top right of the mantel.

4. For the wall behind the sofa, we’d love to see each of those gorgeous existing chinese panels hung about a foot off of the floor behind each of the new matching side tables that we’ll be bringing in. They will immediately feel more balanced and then we can hang these lovely abstract prints (so affordable!) above the sofa for a wall full of interesting art in all of the tones of our color palette. A great way to work with a dominant brick fireplace is to bring in a bit of the same deep ruby color across the room so it feels more cohesive, and these prints will do it beautifully (here’s one and here’s the other).

5. These festive pillows immediately grabbed our attention when we were looking for something that was punchy and patterned to inject some more style and color into Gabriella’s room. Since she loves interesting textiles and these had every color in our color scheme we knew they’d add energy and movement to the entire room (and they’re on sale!)

6. These great soft green recycled bottles will look chic and interesting on the fireplace mantel and even the coffee table once they’re filled with items that are meaningful and interesting to Gabriella (matchboxes, corks, marbles, movie stubs, golf balls, candy, dominoes, pennies… the possibilities are endless!).

7. Subtly textured white on white sheers hung from a long rod across the entire left wall (flanking the window and the wide opening to the playroom that Gabriella would like to soften) will add drama and breezy style while mimicking the height of the bamboo curtains across the room and the floor to ceiling fireplace in the corner- it’s all about finding balance in here.

8. Here are the sleek side tables (just $55 each!) that we’d love to see on either side of the sofa with matching lamps on them (and those amazing chinese panels hung behind them) for… here it comes… more balance!

9. This incredibly chic round woven tray will really complement the round coffee table and add even more interesting texture to keep eyes moving around the room (instead of stopping on the brick fireplace).

10. We’d love to see this large fauxpiary (on sale! and you know we love fake topiaries) on the left side of the fireplace mantel to fill the bare space and offset the other side of the fireplace which has a plethora of shelves in that very spot.

11. Gabriella mentioned that she’d like a longer buffet, storage piece or even built-in Ikea cabinets along the half-wall for stashing stuff. This super long cabinet is the ultimate combination of all of those ideas since it’s a freestanding piece with legs (that Gabriella can remove) and stick along the half-wall for the appearance of a built-in (without the commitment or construction). Plus there might even be room for two on top of each other, which will really add an incredible amount of storage to the space. And if the slightly frosted glass is a bit too revealing for Gabriella, she can always line the inside of the doors with decorative paper or even fabric for a more private and customized look.

12. Here are the matching lamps that we’d love to see on the side tables flanking the sofa along with the gorgeous 8 x 8 jute rug that will solve the corner-fireplace layout that has had Gabriella stumped! Although she mentioned that she would like to keep everything in the room except for the white buffet (including her existing rug) we love that she was open to our suggestions. And because she wanted to do so many things that the rug conflicted with (bring in crisp white, add patterned pillows and textiles, and make sense of the room’s layout) we quickly realized that a round jute rug would add a ton of flow to the space while allowing us to bring in crisp white curtains and punchy patterned pillows. And for a large 8 x 8 piece the price is super reasonable.

Lastly, when it comes to the room’s layout, we’d love to see the two existing chairs placed at an angle facing the sofa on either side of the fireplace (but a few feet in front of it so their front legs can sit on the rug to ground them). This will create a cozy and balanced seating area that’s defined by the new rug. Then those lovely existing burled wood side tables (which we love just as they are) can be placed on the outside of each chair for a place to rest a book or a drink (and even more… there’s that word again… balance).

So there you have it. A living room full of eclectic and inviting style. We can’t wait to see what you guys think! And if anyone else out there is in need of a custom makeover of their very own, click here for some decorating advice on the double.

Note: Our mood boards are now posted at least three days after they’re sent to the client (so they have a chance to purchase everything before it sells out).

But back to the matter at hand. If we didn’t paint our brick house how the heck does that title make sense? Well, our sunroom was added about twenty five years after our house was built so it was tacked on in a way that it partially overlapped some of the house’s existing brick exterior (which then became interior brick in the sunroom. See, here I am (on the first day that we laid eyes on our house, incidentally) modeling in front of the sunroom:

But after a while we realized that painting the brick wall inside the sunroom to match the soft tan color on the rest of the walls would  immediately make the room feel more cohesive and balanced. So we whipped out some exterior latex paint (since our sunroom isn’t temperature controlled) and got her done. Other than using an exterior paint, we followed the exact same brick-painting tips that we outlined here, so be sure to check them out for the play by play. And here’s the result:

At first we worried whether seeing the same unpainted brick just beyond the glass door to the left of the wall would be weird, but looking back we realize it looked weird before, when the random brick wall carried over a few feet into our sunroom.

Now the days of pre-painted brick are long forgotten. But we do have another mini-update to share regarding this very spot…

…so stay tuned over the next few days to see what we did (hint: it’s not a baby).

p.s. psst, have you updated your bookmarks / reader / blogroll / outgoing links / Twitter/ Facebook yet? If you’re still heading our way using old TYH methods, they won’t last for long so don’t forget to make the switch! We’d hate to lose a single one of you DIY-lovin’ dudes and dames.

By now you all probably know that we try to make the best out of a seemingly bad situation. So when someone tries to rain on your parade, what do we say? Catch it in a rain barrel and put that H2O to good use!

Which is why we’re super excited to bring you this week’s giveaway sponsored by The Rain Barrel Company. They sell a range of pro-sustainability products (composters, etc.) and this week they’re offering up one of their namesake products to one lucky reader…

Yup it’s a fancy pre-made professional rain barrel which means you all can jump on the collect-your-own-rainwater bandwagon with us without even having to go barrel diving like I did. After all, who isn’t down with saving the planet and money on their water bill? Oh and you can learn more about these amazing pre-made rain barrels on the Rain Barrel Company website since the winner gets their pick of the bunch:

• PRIZE:  One of the three rain barrels (and stand) show above (either the Californian, Mocha Cascata or Terra Cotta Cascata, valued at $183 – $337 a pop!)
• TO ENTER: Comment on this post with the words “RAIN ON ME!” and…
• BONUS QUESTION: Tell us your favorite way to make the most of a rainy day. Do you catch a movie? Curl up with a book (or blog)? Or just sit and dream about filling up a rain barrel?
• GIVEAWAY CLOSES: Thursday, July 16, 2009 at 8pm EST
• NUMBER OF WINNERS: One and only one
• PRIZE SHIPS: USA and Canada
• THE USUAL STUFF: One entry per e-mail address is permitted. The winner will be selected using random.org and announced on Thursday. Good luck!

PS: Anyone catch the subtle Hilary Duff / Laguna Beach theme song reference in the title? Yeah, um, me neither..

Get more info on our freebies at our Giveaway FAQs page. Images courtesy of The Rain Barrel Company.

Psst, have you updated your bookmarks / reader / blogroll / outgoing links / Twitter/ Facebook yet? If you’re still heading our way using old TYH methods, they won’t last for long so don’t forget to make the switch! We’d hate to lose a single one of you freebie-lovin’ folks.

#1. A Young House Love Nursery: If people could get pregnant by popular demand, Sherry and I might just be having octuplets. And since so many of our readers were crossing their fingers that our big announcement would be a baby, we figured it was high time we did a nursery makeover, even if it’s not in our house. My sister Emily (check out her amazing casa right here) is due in October and she recruited us months ago to majorly transform her empty bedroom into a nursery for her little one on the way. We are both geeky-excited about it. With a before like this you know it’s going to be dramatic:

Yes, there’s an awesome track door leading into one side of the room (the other side is accessible through a regular doorway) so there are already some pretty amazing features to work with. Is it weird that before pictures actually make our mouth water? It’s pavlovian. And as for expanding our little family, it’s not in the works yet but it’s certainly something we look forward to in the next year or so.

#2. Videos, Baby: We’ve already ordered some video equipment to make it quick and easy to wax poetic whenever the mood strikes. And we also have a little TV appearance coming up so that should be fun/potentially-embarrassing.

#3. Our House’s History: We never knew you guys were so curious about our house’s original owners until we started receiving quite a few emails and comments asking if we’ve ever heard from them. Well guess what? Last week we heard from them. The original owners who lived here for almost forty five years contacted us after coming across our blog through a friend. Oh the tales they told. And we can’t wait to spill all the dirty details about our humble house’s past. Let’s just say there we plenty of new discoveries. And speaking of discoveries, here’s an old post about how we found some pretty amazing things under our old cabinets when we redid our kitchen (the bottom one is a childhood drawing by the woman who contacted us from back when she was five years old!):

#4. The Usual Suspects: Of course we have more Reader Redesigns, Burning Questions, House Crashing adventures, Design Dilemmas, before & afters, DIY projects, follow-up posts (how do we like our new bed a month later? how’s our edible garden doing?), Fab Freebies, and a slew of tutorials (hanging art, painting paneling) on our list. So keep an eye out for that stuff coming down the pipeline to a computer screen near you.

#5. Another Katie Bower Play Date: Ever since we visited Katie and her husband Jeremy over at All Bower Power to crash their house and make a fun little video, the people (you, our dear readers) have clamored for more. And we like to give the people what they want. So we already have a meet-up on our schedule…

#6. Some Bathroom & Basement Action: So many of you were hoping that our big announcement was a total basement or bathroom makeover that it got us even more excited to take on both of those major projects. We can’t promise a finished product anytime soon, but we’re formulating a plan and hope to kick things into gear in the near future (we’re just saving our pennies for a little while). And we know you’re all about instant gratification but time flies when you’re busy enjoying items 1-5 on this list, right? Until we “break ground” (literally) on both of those projects, we’ll leave you with a picture of our dank, dark, and oh-no-you-di’int basement. We can’t wait to get to work.

So that’s what’s cookin’ here at Young House Love. Who’s hungry? Anything else you’d like to see in the coming weeks or months? Consider this a suggestion box of sorts.

p.s. psst, have you updated your bookmarks / reader / blogroll / outgoing links / Twitter/ Facebook yet? If you’re still heading our way using old TYH methods, they won’t last for long so don’t forget to make the switch! We’d hate to lose a single one of you lovely people.