any individual else have a love-hate relationship with renovating? I was absolutely not feeling the love when we camped out in our living/dining room while the kitchen was split apart, and we cooked our meals with a rice steamer, toaster oven and electric frying pan. Or when we ripped out a damaged ceiling, puffing clouds of plaster dust so far and large that I had to sweep the kids’ foreheads clean before I kissed them goodnight.
After one hair-raising day at work, I remember walking in for the first time on our newly redecorated living/dining room. Reclaimed brick wall. A rustic chandelier lit by two dozen candles. It wasn’t that everything was so charming and new — that struck me a few weeks later when the credit scores card statement arrived. It’s that everything was us: a fireplace built from reclaimed wood. A sofa without the normal toxic stew of finishing sprays. Bookshelves laden with addictive stories that had us turning pages late into the night. As soon as I opened the door that day, I felt my shoulders quickly loosen.
Remodeling houseandhome.com was a classic reno story. big dreams. tight budget. part comedy, part tragedy. In this case, the people made it an absolute joy: about a dozen talented staffers and interns have been working days, nights and weekends to build this terrific new site. We did it because, frankly, a month is an awfully long time to wait for each copy of house & home magazine. now you can get a daily design hit as we wait for the next issue to land with a satisfying thwack.
Your much-loved videos, articles and forums are all here. but we’ve added terrific new features too, such as the recipe Finder we (selfishly!) created to make planning dinner parties easier. and the Galleries of stunning room photos to inspire you into the wee hours. and as odd as it sounds, one of my much-loved things about the site is the Search: type in what you’re looking for, then decide what format you want. Articles? Photos? videos — or all three? as for the blogs, ours are pretty, of course, but they also do what H&H does best: connect you with inspiration and resources to make your space your own.
So please come on in, make yourself comfortable and linger a while. We hope the site makes you feel ideal at home.
Trish Snyder
Online Editorial Director
P.S. We tried to sweep up all the dust after the reno, but you know how hard that is. If you find anything that looks odd, please email us (thanks to your quick feedback, we’re working hard to sort out a few login bugs). and we’d love to know what you think — try the new comments boxes throughout the site.