Our week took an unexpected turn when we received a last-minute invitation to appear on The Rachael Ray Show. Within 24 hours we were on a plane to New York, ready to demonstrate DIY projects in front of a live studio audience the next morning. The whole experience was a whirlwind full of funny behind-the-scenes moments (for the record: Rachael Ray was not trying to hug Sherry), and the trip was framed by two major beach house milestones: moving furniture in and spending our first night there. In these show notes we share how it all unfolded, what woke us up at 6 a.m., which IKEA pieces tested our patience, and a few favorite discoveries from the week.

Below you’ll find photos from the beach house, a summary of the TV appearance, the IKEA pieces that gave us grief, the Halloween inspiration we’re loving, and a note about Cardboard Safari, who sponsored this episode. Use this post as a quick reference for the things we mentioned on the show and in the episode.

What’s New

This week moved fast. Between the TV taping, driving up and down the stairs to move boxes, and unpacking the first round of furniture, it all felt like a blur. We shared photos and a video of the beach house earlier in a separate post, so here we’ll give a quick recap of the timeline and the most memorable moments from the week.

By the time the beach house weekend wrapped, we half-expected to wake up and find it was all a dream — the Rachael Ray Show, the packed crew, the tight green room headboard build. But it was real, hectic, and seriously fun.

Quiz / IKEA Challenges

We often get questions about which IKEA pieces are the most difficult to assemble. Several outlets and community threads have compiled lists of notorious offenders, and from our recent experience the Edland bed was the part that pushed our patience the most. We purchased the bed, then customized it later by trimming the posts to better suit our space. Another surprisingly convoluted item was the Kassett storage box; its simple appearance masks fiddly assembly details that can be time-consuming and frustrating.

The Rachael Ray Show

Our TV segment included several DIY demonstrations. On the in-studio portion we covered installing a stair runner and making an upholstered headboard. The backstage and green room prep was a bit chaotic — folding fabric, measuring runners, and fitting big projects into small spaces — but we completed both builds and had a great time sharing tips on camera.

We also captured a candid moment of Rachael between takes. Tapings can be long and tiring, so it’s understandable that energy levels ebb and flow. For reference, the stair runner we used was a blue patterned runner, and the headboard fabric was a shibori-style upholstery fabric that provided a bold, coastal vibe for the finished piece.

We’re Digging: Halloween Inspiration and Affordable Art

For Halloween inspiration, we’ve been obsessed with a particular neighborhood DIY decorator known for elaborate annual themes. Their work ranges from playful to spooky, with standout concepts like the “Eternal Rest Motel” and a memorable Sharknado display from earlier years. Their creativity is a great reminder that well-planned holiday displays can be dramatic, memorable, and community-building.

On the art and decor front, we’ve been impressed by some budget-friendly wall hangings and mirrors that look pricier than they are. Several affordable pieces have already found a home in the beach house: a glass-mounted beach photo in the back bedroom, a round gold mirror in the foyer, and a few other small accents that pull rooms together without breaking the bank. You can spot these pieces in the recent beach house photo set.

Resources and Notes

If you want to revisit the full beach house furniture post with sources for lighting, bedding, and other materials, check the beach house furniture feature we published earlier. We also maintain a master list of items we’ve highlighted across past episodes, which is useful if you’re trying to find a specific product or inspiration mentioned on the podcast.

Finally, we’d like to thank Cardboard Safari for sponsoring this episode. They offer creative, eco-friendly cardboard decor and play items; we appreciated their support and wanted to note a particular cardboard artist whose work transforms the medium into detailed, gallery-worthy pieces.

Thanks for reading and for listening. We’ll keep sharing updates from the beach house, behind-the-scenes TV stories, and the small design finds that make a house feel like home.

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