A look back at our favorite projects from the year, large and small.
In This Post
The Year of Gratitude
Our word for 2024 was ‘gratitude‘. We did everything in our power to focus on appreciating our family and the life we’ve built; The big things, the small things and everything in between. We focused on our physical and mental health, our family and our business. And we tried our damnedest to not take any of it for granted. We accomplished a lot and made tons of progress on our Red House project and beyond. We’re grateful for the year’s opportunities, collaborations and successes. We even screwed up a few times, but we learned from our mistakes and we’re grateful for the lessons. These are our top 10 favorite projects of the year, in no particular order.
1| Our New Look
Early this year we launched a completely revamped version of this very blog! A year in the making, the new YBH website has served as a spot to not only document our renovation and DIY projects, but to offer a look back with room-by-room transformations and house tours. We’ve also absolutely LOVED spending time with all of you in your spaces on our virtual design consultations. It’s such a fun way for us to interact and offer insight into the spaces you all call home.
See the original post here, in which we share the story of the rebrand, new features, and everything the new website has to offer.
2| The Red House Bathroom
Very early this year, we called the main Red House bathroom complete! It somehow turned out even better than we’d imagined and was officially the first fully completed room in the home. We worked with our favorite contractor, a few of our very favorite partner brands and threw in a healthy dose of DIY to bring this space to life. The massive window still blows our minds and we love the shifting view throughout the changing Michigan seasons.
3| Our Moody Bedroom Makeover
The primary bedroom in our Chicago home was among the first projects we finished in the home and we enjoyed it for the better part of a decade. It needed a freshening up and we’re in our red era at the moment, so we hit it with moody paint and dark wood and we’ve never been more comfortable in this cozy space!
See the full bedroom refresh here, and the mood board here.
4| Walnut Paneled Ceiling Reveal
The Red House’s ceiling/roof debacle was one for the ages! The short story goes like this: The back half of the home’s kitchen had an 8″ drop in the ceiling and we didn’t know why. In order to determine if we could raise it up to level with the rest of the home’s ceiling, we cut an exploratory hole in the drywall to have a peek. Then we discovered mold. Lots and lots of mold. We knew we’d be replacing the roof anyway, and it turned out to be comparatively cost effective to rip the top of the house off, re-frame the roof and vault the ceiling through the main common area. The change gained us two feet of ceiling height and became a focal point of the entire home. We clad the ceiling and the feature walls with walnut plank flooring and it was one of the best decisions we’ve made!
5| Front Porch Refresh with Sectional
Our Chicago front porch got a space-maximizing makeover early this summer and we’ve loved every minute of it! Big, useable front porches are not a very common thing here in Chicago, so we cherish ours and the unique perspective it brings. We spent the summer working and lounging from the front porch and loved watching the world go by and chatting with neighbors.
6| The Red House Kitchen Reveal
We realize that we’ve said this before and we’ll potentially say it again, but the Red House’s kitchen just might be our finest work. Depending on how the math checks out, this is at least our 10th kitchen renovation and we’ve put nearly every kitchen lesson we’ve learned into this one. The scale, proportions, tones and features have all been carefully considered and we relish every moment in the space.
The runner up (and would-be #11) on the list was the custom range hood with DIY roman clay finish! It’s one of the focal points of the space, but we kept it subtle and natural so it doesn’t distract from any of the space’s other features.
7| DIY Dresser-to-Credenza
We love big months-long room renovations, but it’s also incredibly fun to go back to our roots from time to time with a good old fashioned IKEA hack! Sometimes, there simply isn’t the right piece of furniture for a space so you have to make it yourself. This red credenza for our Chicago dining room/daytime office was constructed from shallow kitchen cabinets and it’s suiting our needs perfectly.
See the step-by-step tutorial here.
8| The Red House Half Bath Reveal
This so-small-it’s-hard-to-photograph bathroom was a fun one that added loads of functionality to the Red House. Carved out from space we borrowed from the adjacent bathroom (See #2 above!), this tiny 3′ x 5′ powerhouse is small on space but absolutely huge on character!
9| From Playroom to Creative Center
Our ever-shifting second floor open space is in a configuration that is working incredibly well for our family! We’ve hosted friends and family multiple times and all of the kids have found the space to be intuitive and engaging. This past weekend, Lucy and her friends disappeared upstairs for literal hours and re-emerged proudly with multiple collaborative art projects.
See the vibrant room refresh here!
10| A Cincinnati Kitchen Makeover
One of our favorite job perks is being able to help friends and family with their own design dilemmas! This year, we were fortunate enough to work with some incredible partners to give my parents’ Cincinnati kitchen a much-needed refresh. The new space reflects their style and personalties much better than the version they moved into when they purchased the home. We’re looking forward to spending time in the space over the holidays!
See how we transformed this room with simple upgrades, and get the look here!
As Always, Thank You
We appreciate each and every one of you that has come this far (literally in reading to the end of this this post and figuratively on our home renovation journey) with us! We couldn’t do what we do without you. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for following along, engaging with us and our partner brands and helping us to support our family with this strange, wonderful business that we’ve built.
Happy holidays from the Vargo family to you and yours!
Kim, Scott – your projects are always amazing and I so appreciate that you share them with the world. Thank you and happy holidays!
Thank you soooo much for being here!!!
I loved seeing the Red House come together and Scott’s parents kitchen – such an impactful difference! Congrats on another great year!
Thank you so much!
Love seeing the progress. Nice work! Wishing you a happy and healthy New Year.
Your year of gratitude and the amazing transformations you’ve shared have really inspired me! I recently tackled a home project of my own and even rented a dumpster to make it happen. Seeing all the progress you’ve made, especially with the Red House, motivates me to keep going—thank you for the inspiration! Wishing you both a wonderful 2025!