blogiversary

Posted on by Lauren Zerbey

It’s true, chezerbey the blog is one year old. (Ok, disclaimer – we were on blogger before but it was basically a glorified flickr account.) We switched over to wordpress last year and bought chezerbey.com. It was a huge jump from the old layout, but there are a few things I’d like to do during year two:

1. Revamp the blog – I like wordpress and the “vigilance” theme, but it’s not quite how I want it. I figured out how to change the default text font to century gothic, but I’d like the images to be bigger and for the navigation to be different. I don’t need anything fancy but I do want more customization. Is there a training wheels version out there or do I just need to jump into the big scary world of CSS? I also want to totally change how the site is organized. Since we had been in the house for 3 years when I started this version of the blog, I did a lot of “back blogging”. I think the pages for each room are too long and start out with the crappy, before photos which probably doesn’t entice people to read on.

2.  Figure out a good way to show “inspiration photos” – I’d like a part of the site to be photos that we find inspiring or just awesome. I want to be able to right-click on an image and magically send it to a collector that will automatically link the image to its source. Is this Tumblr? Is this even possible?

3. Learn to use my camera better – Kyle and my fam pitched in last Christmas and got me a Canon Rebel XSi DSLR. I love it, but there is still so much to learn. I also want a wide-angle lens. And a tripod. I could also polish my Photoshop skills. Most of what I know is based on assembling architectural graphics and not for editing photos.

4. Blog more – while there has been a lot happening at chezerbey this year, there has not been a lot of time for blogging. As the big stuff finishes up and we transition to smaller, more manageable projects, we hope to do more posts that go from start to end and that include resources and costs.

Finally, thanks to all the readers and bloggers out there! We are constantly inspired by what people out there are doing and love that there is a forum to share both the high-fives and the headaches of homeownership. It’s been fun to hear people’s comments and feedback and often times reassures us that what we’re doing is not completely crazy.

So here’s to year two and making the rendering above a reality! Can’t wait!

 

 

92 thoughts on “blogiversary”

  1. Hey guys! I’m a freelance wordpress-dev (who has a terribly boring wordpress theme! ha!) and I’ve been following y’all for a few months now. It’s exciting to see the transformation.
    By way of helping you achieve your goals, I can offer some suggestions. You mention a new menu format; WordPress 3.0 (with certain themes) allows for custom menu-creation under the “Appearance” section. With it, you can add in full categories or hide pages, basically make the menu be anything you want (1,2,3 or 100-level deep!)
    You also mentioned a “Hey I like this photo” side-blog. If you give s’more detail, or wanna talk about it with me more, I might be able to help you find a plugin that does what you’re after. If you’re referring to right-clicking on, say, an apartmenttherapy.com photo, that might be a browser-plugin. There’s things like delicious.com which you can save a bookmark to, and then have WordPress pull-in.. Unless you wish to save the photo, flickr it, and then WP can pull that in too.. Lots of options. Feel free to eml me!

  2. I’ve been following the site for a long time (and hope to some day do something similar with my current home) and work on a lot of WordPress projects.

    If you can visualize what you are looking for in photoshop or just on paper, I would code it up into a theme for you.

  3. Congrats! You’re doing a great job on the house and the blog! If it isn’t way too much trouble, would you mind sharing how you switched the font? I’ve looked into this but haven’t been able to figure it out!

  6. We are working towards a wordpress revamp right now and its a mess…

    I gotta say I love Tumblr. Links back, works great and super easy to stash away inspirational images.

    Keep it up and congrats!

  7. Awesome, thanks! I’m slated for jury duty this week so maybe I’ll have a little time to kill and figure it out…

  8. Ok Dan, I’m not sure if this will work, but I’ve copied text from the last post in HTML format below. Try copying this into your post (under the “HTML” tab) and see if that works. You can see in the code where it says “Century Gothic”. Basically, everytime I create a new post I copy some HTML text from an old post and go from there. There is probably an easier way to do this, but it seems to work and isn’t too annoying. Let me know if you have problems though…I can poke around a bit more and see how I did it initially.

    It’s true, chezerbey the blog is one year old. (Ok, disclaimer – we were on blogger before but it was basically a glorified flickr account.) We switched over to wordpress last year and bought chezerbey.com. It was a huge jump from the old layout, but there are a few things I’d like to do during year two:

  9. Argh, that didn’t work. I’ll forward you the e-mail that was sent to me on how to do it.

  11. Yay congrats on your blogiversary! Your blog is already awesome but I can’t wait to see what you do with it. I’ve been working on my photography skills too (moving from Auto to Manual mode) and I highly recommend a book called “Understanding Your Exposure.” As far as your Photoshopping skills what are you looking to do exactly? I’ll admit I’m much better at photoshopping a picture than taking a good one. ; ) There are lots of websites, blogs, and videos for photoshopping but it depends on what version you have and what you’re looking to do. A simple explanation of the tools and some free actions could do the trick. Or you could mix both and start shooting in RAW and use a RAW conversion software where you can fix all of your photos from a similar shot at once… So many possibilities.

  13. Thanks Robin, I’ll have to check out that book! I know the basic photoshop tools, but I don’t really use actions that often so maybe I should look more into that. I’m working with an ancient copy of Photoshop, so maybe upgrading is a good place to start. I’d love some CS4 in my life…but not sure it will be in the budget anytime soon!

  14. The blog already looks terrific — and your progress on the house is awesome and inspiring! Your shared organizational skills and perfectionism leave me (someone with a less organized and less perfectionist spouse) quite envious.

    Can I ask you to do a post on how you mastered Sketchup? I’ve fiddled around with it and find the learning curve pretty steep. Did you just use the Google tutorials, or did you have another source? Any tips on climbing that curve?

    Love the updates, even on electrical progress. Thanks for sharing all the nitty gritty and the setbacks, along with the spectacular results.

  15. The rendering of your kitchen & photo from the same perspective are my favorite! I love seeing plans come to life.

  16. EJ215,

    thanks, re: the sketchup really it’s something we’ve learned over the years as architects. Here are some other sketchup models I’ve done recently. http://www.balanceassociates.com/currentwork.html

    I would suggest checking the sketchup forum whenever you have questions, I always try to use simple materials of a similar palette, mostly muted. There are also some lighting plugins such as kerkythea that I’ve experiemented with but they just take too much time. I like sketchup because it’s fast and easily updatable. The single biggest point I would have for you is to build in groups, whenever you build something that you don’t want to stick to everything else, make it a group or a component. There’s nothing worse that building a model where all the items are stuck to each other.

  17. Love your work-in progress kitchen. I’m re-doing my whole house. Not as much as you, but enough to make us a little crazy. Hope to see more of your home in the future.

  19. So this might be a long silly question but here it goes….
    [Im a senior in highschool and trying to figure out my future. x)]
    Did you enjoy studying architecture? Was it everything you expected it to be?
    I’ve been really looking into it lately because I LOVE art and design, and I love math.
    So I though architecture would be the best way to combine it!
    Would there be any pointers you would give someone looking to go into architecture?

    Thanks so much!

    (p.s. – your blog inspires me SOOO much!)

  20. I’ve been following (and enjoying) your blog for quite a while, but my question is Pinterest-related. I’ve noticed that you’ve “pinned” clothing. I guess that surprised me, because that’s a subject I haven’t seen on your blog. But I like your fashion “pins”! I’m just curious if you are interested in fashion from a pragmatic, “what should I wear,” perspective, from a design perspective, or both?

  22. We recently took your Seattle food suggestions while on vacation up there 2 weeks ago.. Bastille was fantastic! Do y’all have any other city-guides?

  24. Congratulations and happy anniversary! I love, love, love your blog and I don’t really want it to change. You Zerbey’s are totally awesome and such an inspiration. I can’t wait to see what you do next!

  25. How did you choose your house when house-shopping? Was it neighborhood first, then house? Which neighborhood did you choose? What were your criteria in choosing a house/neighborhood? Basically, what was the before-remodel process like?

  26. Happy Blogiversary! Chezerbey is one of my favorite blogs. You and Kyle are inspirations to all first-time homeowners out there. Kudos to you. You rock.

  27. Congratulations on 2 yrs of house exhibitionism. I’ve had you guys in my reader for a while, now, but I don’t think I’ve commented on anything. I really enjoyed the drainage digging post this week; thanks for that one. I’ve also really liked the deck series. And the sliding door was a personal favorite.. I think that’s the post that made me start following.

    Here’s my question… what’s the project that you most want to do but suspect you never will? (cost prohibitive, etc)

    Our 1-yr blogiversary is coming up; I think I’ll have to borrow your idea of commemorating it. 🙂

  28. Hi Lauren
    I’ve been reading your blog for a while, and I have enjoyed it a lot. I love the inspiration, the resources page is awesome, and your posts are full of information for those of us who are reno-challenged. I especially loved your follow-up post on your kitchen, for example.

    One of the things that keeps me coming back to your blog is that, for the most part, it concentrates on one thing. Other blogs post inspirational photos etc, and I for one find that those are the blogs I don’t go back to as often, so I guess I’m hoping yours doesn’t change too much!

  29. I just wanted to say something response to your goal of blogging more. I stopped reading a home makeover blog not too long ago because I felt like sometimes they were blogging just to blog. One thing that I love about your posts is that even though they don’t happen that often, the content is really good, each and every time. Please don’t sacrifice quality of posts for more posts!

  30. Congratulations on your anniversary – thank you for sharing yourself with all of us. I hadn’t realized I have been reading your blog since the beginning (or very close to the beginning). I don’t really have any questions, other than can you bottle up some of your motivation mojo for the rest of us? You guys are such an inspiration (although my butt is still stuck firmly on my chair and not out working on all the house projects that need to be done!). Keep up the great work!

  31. Happy second blogiversary! Although I am a relatively new reader I am in awe of the motivation you two have had to take on such huge-huge projects & am loving the results!

    Keep up the good work!

  32. I was going to say that also. I love this blog and sometimes wish that you posted more. But, then I also get tired of people who are just throwing up a blog because they think their readers are expecting it. Your blog always looks very well thought out. Even though I sometimes wish it was updated more frequently, I also totally love the fact that when you do update, they are awesome posts!

    I’m also tired of some of my fav bloggers who are always doing *link parties*. I’d be sad to see those here. Or the constant give-aways.

    I wish you well. I love the fact that both you & your husband contribute.

  33. I totally hear you, thanks for the feedback! We’ve resisted giveaways and similar things (not b/c we don’t like free stuff, but most of the time they aren’t products that we would normally use). Ideally, I’d like to post 2x a week, which seems like a good, round number. =)

  34. Thanks Steven, definitely appreciate the thoughts. My ideal blogging schedule would be 2x a week or so – nothing too crazy. =) We really enjoy blogging, but know that the quality would suffer if we tried to do more than that, since it usually takes a couple of hours to put together a post (which includes taking and editing photos, writing, proof reading, etc.) and we’re doing this on top of working full time, working on the house, etc.

  35. Thanks Anne, it’s really great to hear people weigh in on this. I agree with you on the inspirational photos content – I subscribe to several but I’m often overwhelmed with the content. I think that’s why I like Pinterest – it’s conneced to the blog w/o being in your face. I think our design-related posts would be more about specific products (like outdoor firepits) or something we’ve come across (like an idea, detail, book, etc.) that people might be interested in. Or maybe more behind-the-scenes posts on how we tackle something. Who knows…we’ll see!

  36. I definitely understand! There have been times where I’m about to post a photo that I’ve taken, and then decide not to at the last minute, just because it would only be to fulfill my “1 or 2 posts a week” quota.

    I think the issue arises in particular when you’re trying to keep the readership up for advertising purposes. I would assume that without that distraction, it’s easier to focus on the quality of the posts. The good news is the quality of work that you guys do is excellent, so you’re already off to a good start before you even begin your blog post. 🙂

  37. I’m with Anne, Steven and scotdog98 – don’t change a thing! “Keep it simple” is always a good rule to go by. Your blogs are thoughtful and full of valuable information about the process you and the house are going through. (We would always love more Bailey pics of course!!) You have a great blog – Happy blogiversary!!
    P.S. Bailey will come around – when I got a second puppy (I know, different than getting a kitten), but my older dog looked like the world was going to end but after a few weeks they were best buddies, I’m sure Felix and Bailey will be best buds (or at least tolerate one another) in no time

  39. I’ve been *dying* to know more about the art work (wall hanging?) in your bathroom! I love it but can’t find any information about it on your blog.

  40. Happy Blogiversary and congrats on 2 years! My question would be about what kind of architecture you guys do for daily life — schools, malls, prisons? Are you workaholics like all the other architects in my office? It seems like for those of us with creative careers where hours are billed, there can be a tendency to work longer and longer hours. How do you come home from a day of work and have the energy to do all this planning, design and hard work on your own house? It’s kind of the shomaker’s children have no shoes kind of conundrum. I’d love to hear your take on it.

  41. A belated Happy Blogiversary! Questions… Anything that you would do differently if you had the chance? Favorite spot in the house? Do you know the name of your bed? I have the same one and for the life of me can’t remember it.
    Thanks for sharing! I love love your house.

  43. Happy Blogiversary! I have turned to your blog on many a house project as it helps inspire me when the dust, mess, and doubt overwhelm me. It shows me all the hard work will be worth it in the end.
    I’m assuming that you tend to do all the work yourselves when it comes to overhauling your house bit by bit judging from your backgrounds. You do a fantastic job of showing before, during, and after shots as well as layout of your house which helps those of us who are visually inclined. I wonder if you might be able to provide timelines on the duration of some of your projects and if it’s not too personal, approximate costs of some of your projects. I own a 100 yr old craftsman and have pondered some of the very renovations you both took on but I have been hesitant to embark upon as I know budgets can get out of hand quickly when trying to just get a job done.
    Thank you for all the time and thoughtfulness you put into your blog, it truly shines through.

  44. I’m really enjoying your blog. I’d love to know the gap between your island unit and your kitchen counters? Also why are you digging around the foundations are you underpinning or damp proofing?

  45. Hi Laura, are you asking about the dimension between the island and kitchen? If so, it’s about 36″. As for the digging – we are adding footing drains and waterproofing out foundation wall so we don’t get any water in our basement (it’s an unfinished space now, but we plan on finishing it out in the future).

  47. […] Last year, we revisited the goals made in 2010 and updated those for the coming year. After the craziness of 2010 and the first part of 2011 (when we completely gutted and remodeled most of the main floor), we were looking forward to slowing down a bit and taking on some smaller projects. Well, we were off to a good start but with a baby on the way we suddenly found ourselves creating a nursery, finishing the basement (albeit partially) and revamping our front yard. Oops. […]

  50. Q&A: What types of reference materials do you and Kyle use when doing all of the insanely unique skill work required to renovate your house largely by hand? I mean, I can’t imagine they teach you how to do ALL of this stuff in architect school… do they?

  53. Hi Lauren! Funny you should mention that you need exciting stuff to read in your nursing downtime these days… cuz your blog is my absolute favourite to read when I’m having my morning coffee (I vote for you in all the online competitions you enter, and I’m scandalized and incensed if you don’t win every top prize!)

    Congrats on Avery, and happy blogiversary! Each day when I head over to Google Reader, I’m always hoping you’ve posted something new, and I’m frequently rewarded for hoping. You and Kyle keep so productive and busy! You two are a huge inspiration to me!

    Ok, enough gushing. Just know that there are complete strangers out there (in wintry Alberta) to whom you are an inspiration and a household name. Thanks for reaching out with your blog – I’ve learned a lot – and keep up all the good work!

  56. You guys have an absolutely amazing blog (and house). Easily one of my favorites, and every time my wife and I look for inspiration, we check to see what you did first! It’s always great to read about ex-pats from Oklahoma (I grew up in Broken Arrow).

    Keep up the wonderful work (and congrats on Avery)!

    Nathan

  58. Congratulations! The new look is great! I knew it was Anna’s work from the second I saw it. Yay Zerbey’s! You guys are awesome, thanks for keeping it going and letting us come along!

  59. Omygosh, I don’t take change well, lol! Give me a minute . . . . I did notice no facebook link – that is how I follow most of my blogs.

  60. Happy blogsday ! I love your house and the fact that it doesn’t look like most of the houses you see on blogs ! Keep up with the good work 🙂

  62. I absolutely love your house, especially the colour palette!
    And I dream of having an office like Kyle’s – love atticks!
    There’s only one thing I would change: The sofa! I’de turn it towards the window and tv!

    Hope you’ll be around for at least another 4 years!

    Love, Ana

  65. Amen to some wood trim! Another certain (very popular) blog with a new house is painting all their wood trim. Ours had already been painted so keeping it wasn’t an option, but at least we still have the original mid-century wood bedroom doors! 😉

  66. Well, all of our wood (except the exposed joists in the living room) is new. 🙂 The old stuff was all painted and in bad shape.

  67. Thanks Ana, we did consider rotating the couch but it’s too big – because the circulation from the door to the dining area cuts at a diagonal across the space it made it difficult to put any furniture there (the chaise portion is about as far out as we can go!).

  68. Congrats on your Anniversary! LOVE your house so much and am loving the Studio Zerbey updates. Can’t wait to hear how working with Method Homes goes. I’m obessed with their designs and would love to do one of my own. Can’t wait to see what you gus work on next in your home too!

    On a strange note, I’m also in Seattle and have been thinking of buying the same fridge you have since I saw yours. Do you have plans for it when you upgrade to a larger size? If not, I’m very interested in purchasing it from you. Yes, really. 🙂

  69. Lauren love your pictures. I only wish my place looked as organized and clean. My kids are grown but I do have a dog and 2 cats. Is that a good excuse? lol. Anyways, I really got a chuckle with Bailey’s picture. What a face. So cute. And did you notice the reflection on the cabinet front? For a minute, I thought you had two dogs!

  70. I came across your blog right about the time that Avery was born. As a faithful reader but never before a commenter, this is a good time to say a few things.
    1. Congratulations! Your baby is so precious and beautiful. Seeing her picture brings a smile to my face.
    2. Thank you! Once I got caught up in your renovation story, I had to go back into the archives and read it all from the beginning. Not only was it fascinating to see the transformation of your home, it has inspired me to persevere on my own projects. Yes, there are days when you want to cry at what you have bitten off, but when it’s done it is amazing! Thanks for helping me get to the amazing part.
    3. You guys are so talented! I was never a fan of modern before. Through reading the blog, I have developed an appreciation for the cleanness (is that a word?) and simplicity of the look. I’m becoming a fan.
    Once again, thanks! Looking forward to reading about upcoming projects.

  74. Happy Blogiversary indeed! I just love your house. It is so beautiful without being anything more than you need – it’s such an inspiration.

  77. I think Bailey was not only photo-bombing, but putting in a shameless plug for sympathy. And I was just wondering the other day about “the bedroom project”, but thought maybe you were planning it as more of an indoor/fall undertaking.

  78. Happy anniversary Lauren! What a year of changes, indeed. It’s funny how easy it is to put your own bedroom on the back burner, isn’t it? I wonder if you ever thought of swapping bedrooms with Avery. Hers seems much bigger!
    May I ask about the watercolour in the photo with the sketch of Bailey? It’s lovely.

  79. Yeah, we’ve just been so busy with summer activities and work, I’m sure we’ll get the itch once the rain and darkness return. 🙂

  80. Thanks Katia, the bedrooms are both approximately the same size – I think hers just seems bigger because it doesn’t have a full wardrobe on one wall or a giant bed. 🙂 The watercolor was a wedding gift from one of our architecture professors. I really should get a proper frame for it – now that we’ve been married nearly 8 years!

  81. Congratulations and happy blogiversary. I have been reading your blog before Avery was born. But today is a special day and I just wanna say that I love your style: pretty clean and modern. I even got a C table inspired at yours. I really love your baby girl. She remind me my first niece, so gorgeus and happy. And I love your dog, Bailey looks so friendly with your little girl. Finally, I can’t wait to see the basement upgrades and the future projects. Greetings from Mexico!

  82. Happy Blogiversary! Phew what a year, kids changes everything, in the best ways mostly, maybe sleep on morning weekend would be good! I always wonder how you do so far from your family, our family has been so usefull to take our kids while we power through major projects on weekends. I love your house and your whit, it is always so fun to read you!

  83. Happy blogiversary!

    I have enjoyed following every second of your renovations, family adventures and Studio Zerbey projects. I absolutely love your home and the thoughtful personal touches and am always inspired when I click over. Can’t wait for Alt!

  84. I always enjoy your blog and seeing all the changes you make to your home. I have to ask how do you keep Avery from falling down the cellar stairs? And surely she’s attempting to climb to the loft?

  85. Hi Stephanie – we have a baby gate at the top of the stairs to the basement. As for the loft ladder, she actually isn’t trying to climb it (yet!). We know we’ll need to do something eventually but are still trying to come up with a solution we like.

  87. Thanks Mariane, we definitely wish we were closer to family sometimes. It does make it harder to get stuff done so we mostly do things while she’s asleep. 🙂

  89. Great blog, from my home city to boot. Keep it up. I love your work and how you balance the work-family-blog triangle.

  90. Congratulations! I enjoy your blog and how you integrate your family and professional life into your entries. Your ideas inspire me to try out things. Isn’t it great that we can always return things….that’s why it’s so helpful to hear about local stores. Hope year five is a banner one!

  91. I love the spotted pouf! Nice twist against the dark sofa.

    Are those filled with foam, or are they more of a like a square bean bag? Here in the Philippines, where I’m from, they’re a good footrest compared to the conventional ones because we tend to be shorter people.

Leave a Reply