Decorating is deeply personal. Everyone has design choices they love and others that make them feel uncomfortable — twitchy, annoyed, or simply out of sorts. In this post we share the small things we avoid in our own home, from a particular furniture arrangement to an overused color combo. We also list a variety of places to find original art at a range of price points, give an update about our beloved chihuahua, and reveal a simple new trick for catching typos. Plus: the final word in the ongoing debate about which computer bag John should get. It’s all part of the charm of Drunk House Love.

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What’s New

• We bought a painting at Homearama from a painter named Rita Driscoll (Yellow Door Art RVA). The piece felt right for the space and added an instant personal touch.
• Sherry found several small, budget-friendly art pieces that excited her — affordable art can be a quick way to fill walls and make a room feel finished.
• Sherry also framed a few favorite pages torn from a recent issue of Real Simple, a fast and inexpensive way to create custom wall art that feels current and layered.
• If you’re in the “fill the walls” stage and want inexpensive ideas, we talked about accessible art options in a previous episode (Episode #17) and shared a simple mood board of items we liked.
• We commissioned a custom portrait from a talented local artist a while back and rounded up several favorite art sources in that post — it’s a great resource if you’re looking for unique, commissionable pieces.
• Finally, a quick update about Burger: this is a pre-surgery photo where you can see the eye mass that needed removal. We’ll share a clearer photo once he’s recovered and feeling more like his old self.

Updates

• After many recommendations, I chose the eBag Professional Slim Laptop Bag in Heathered Grey with an orange interior. It’s sleek, travel-friendly, and has pockets that keep everything organized — I’ll post a photo of it on the road when we take our next trip.

• Another brand that came up repeatedly in recommendations was Timbuk2, which makes several solid laptop backpacks and messenger bags.
• For anyone nostalgic about Jansport, they’ve introduced sleeker laptop-friendly options that are worth a look.

What’s Not

• We missed that the show “Love Yurts” is already airing, so we’re catching up. If you’re interested in casting calls for home shows, you can find casting pages that list opportunities for different programs.
• For repeat daydreams about backyard pools, we mentioned Modpools and shared a short video overview — they’re an interesting modern option if you’re considering a compact heated pool.

Design Neuroses

• Sherry has a small but firm neurosis about lining up books and frames flush with the edge of a surface rather than letting them sit at an angle. The result is a tidy, intentional look that reads as curated rather than haphazard.
• We shared a photo of the breakfast nook at our beach house to illustrate how a well-placed pendant can change the perception of a doorway — picture a light centered in that passage for balance.

• We also talked about kitchen layout choices, showing why we positioned appliances the way we did so they wouldn’t be visible straight from the front door — a small planning detail that makes the entry feel calmer.

• One practical design favorite: our go-to LED bulb that emits a soft, warm white light that’s easy on the eyes and works well in most rooms.

We’re Digging

• Sherry recommends several Liane Moriarty novels — What Alice Forgot and The Husband’s Secret are personal favorites, with Truly Madly Guilty and The Last Anniversary on the to-read list. If you liked our previous “book club” pick, these are in a similar emotional, page-turning vein.
• For typo cleanup and quick proofreading, we’ve been using Grammarly. It’s helpful as either a browser extension or a quick copy-and-paste check for drafts before publishing.

If you want a single place to browse everything we’ve recommended across past episodes, we maintain a master list of all our “We’re Digging” picks that’s easy to scan for past favorites.

Thanks to Thomas Avenue Ceramics for sponsoring this episode. They offer beautiful tile and ship directly to your door — Sherry selected ten favorites from their collection that we’ve highlighted. Check their site for current collections and availability.

Thanks for listening and reading — we appreciate you joining us on this little design-obsessed journey.

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