Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors

Decor

5 of our Favorite House Purchases to Date

June 12, 2013
Let's say these are our favorite functional purchases, and not necessarily the ones we love just because they look good, like the Clare Elsaesser print in our bedroom.  Completely different post.  The pieces we wouldn't want to live without again.  Ready?
First, the Ikea shoe cabinet by our front door.  I can't tell you how many times we have sung its praises.  We brag about this thing. Our shoes were, literally, lost beforehand.  Constantly.  It's been a lifesaver and we can stuff an embarrassing amount of shoes in it.

The next one is kind of something we didn't expect to be such a game changer, but we're so happy we decided to upgrade our old front door.  The new front door with windows lets in a lot of light in a pretty cramped inside space (see above photo), allows us to see out very easily and yes, looks good.  Most everybody in our neighborhood has a solid front door, so ours is really distinguished, and well the red helps too.  But for $200--why wouldn't you!?

Our Lounge sofa from Crate & Barrel has been worth every penny already--and it was kind of a lot of pennies. Chris and I are both really tall (6'4" and 6' respectively) and to slouch relax with our butts far from the edge of the couch--that's something.  We can also pile a ton of people on this couch and I guess, if it ever came to it, we could use it as an extra bed because if you take the back cushions off, it's as wide (maybe wider?) than a twin-sized mattress. It also cleans up like a dream.  Greta was Mowgli (from Jungle Book) for Halloween and the black hair spray got all over this couch and it wiped right off.  Can't recommend this one enough.

Open shelving is more of an idea than an actual object, although we got ours at Ikea, but we wouldn't want to live without it again.  Not an obsessive amount of shelves or ones just for looks, but these three shelves function so well for us in our kitchen.  Especially placed over the corner of our peninsula where a cabinet was hard to open and reach in to grab stuff. Three cheers for open shelving. F'real.
And while we're in the kitchen, our Blendtec blender has been a work horse for us. We use it every morning and it never complains or moans.  We got it last August and we're already over 300 smoothies--it even keeps track! I've heard good things about the Vitamix, but I can only vouch for the Blendtec. Amazing.
So, that's five purchases we wouldn't want to live without.  What do you love/know you can rely on?
filed under: 
— Hide Comments
+ ShowComments
What do you think?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    1. Yes! I can't believe I forgot that one. Although a lot of our new kitchen appliances we're in love with--a deep single sink, our touch faucet, the counter-depth fridge with an alarm and bottom freezer and yes, our double oven. What did we do before that!? Don't love the dishwasher. :/

  1. We are going to be in the market for a new sofa soon, and I've always your C&B one. We're about half the height of you guys (haha), but that just means it'll be extra ooshy cushy. Might have to look into it - a good sofa is worth the investment!

  2. Interesting that two out of five of these items are from Ikea. We are moving to a new house tomorrow with a lot of empty space to fill and I'm debating an Ikea trip (it's two hours away). I've only been once and I was a little overwhelmed by the crowds and a little underwhelmed by the quality, but I might just have to give them another chance.

    1. Isn't that funny? Some stuff is not the best quality, but some things, like their Hemnes collection (where the shoe cabinet reigns from) is solid wood--we have a few Ikea things sprinkled around the house so it doesn't scream "Ikea!" You can't beat the prices.

  3. I just bought a Vitamix last night after going through a ridiculous number of blenders in the last three years (green smoothies every morning FTW!). Blendtec was a very close runner up, but got edged out after comparing reviews on Amazon.

    I could live without pretty much everything in our house except our LG washer & dryer. I love those little workhorses. Oh, and our framed Kramer print in the guest room. Makes me smile everytime I go in.

  4. I really love our SleepNumber mattress. It was definitely a splurge (kind of hilarious because the bed itself is from IKEA) but sooooo worth it. We both sleep so much better now.

    Our toaster oven comes in second. I'm the laziest cook ever, so throwing stuff in there has been awesome.

  5. I want that couch SO badly you have no idea. It looks so amazing. Our blender struggles and moans. That Blendex sounds pretty life changing!

    Ummmm things I can't live without? My new double stroller. It's amazing and life changing. All of our furniture pieces are all on their way out so I've never been too attached to them. I'd be happy tossing all of our stuff and starting over, but I'm sure when we look back and we're on our last piece of cheap/student budget furniture I'll be like, "baaaaaabe, we bought this when we were in Rexburg!!!!!!!" and want to keep it.

  6. We have the same Ikea shoe cabinet in our entry, which is also our kitchen, and we love it too! It is so much better than the basket we had before. We are still looking for a mirror to put above it, but are hopeful we'll find one soon.

What We're

Loving

Right Now

What We're

Loving

Right Now

Looking for our favorite things? A place to shop our home room by room, or just catch up on what Julia's wearing / loving right now? Browse the CLJ shop
Shop All

Love Stories

Love Where You Live

In an industry that often feels designed to make you discontent, we want this to be place you come for inspiration, ideas, and encouragement to make the space you're already in feel like home.
Read All Posts
let's break this thing up

BROWSE BY CATEGORY

01

Portfolio

Befores, afters, mood boards, plans, failures, wins. We’ve done a lot of projects, and they’re all here.
read more
02

Projects

We have a long-standing relationship with DIY, and love rolling our sleeves up and making it happen.
read more
03

Design

Even when you don’t want to rip down a wall, you can make that space in your home better. Right now.
read more
hello world!

looking for inspiration?

Cleaning & Organization

My Storage Hack for Organizing Christmas Decorations

Every year when I pack up the decorations after Christmas, I collect all of the garlands together in one box, I get all the candlesticks together in another box, and all my nativity sets go into their own box. We label the boxes "garlands," "candles," "nativity sets,"...which seems great until you remember that you have […]
Chris Cooks

Cranberry-Glazed Ham

What do you make for Christmas dinner? Sometimes we'll do a prime rib or a roast turkey, but this year, I'm going all out with a Christmas ham that just looks festive. For this recipe, I made a cranberry-orange glaze with some warm winter spices that takes this ham to the next level. Oh and […]
Product Tests

Product Test: Portable Phone Chargers

Raise your hand if you panic when your phone's low battery notification turns on? (Just me??) There's nothing worse when I'm out on a fun holiday outing taking video memories of my family, and I see that red light. Or I'm traveling and stuck in the airport on a layover...it gives me anxiety! I've tried […]
Lifestyle

Ask Julia: Holiday Hosting Help!

I put out a call on Insta to see if anyone needed help with holiday hosting, and I had so many great replies. There were some questions that popped up multiple times too, so I compiled this Q&A to hopefully help you prep for a smooth and stress-free hosting season. It can feel intimidating to […]
Learn With Us
Want to do what we do? Get the tools, mentorship, and training to be a Good Influencer professionally.
Learn More
Looking for Something?

SEARCH THE BLOG

We've been doing this since 2009 and we've posted a whopping 24145+ blog posts and counting. You might need a little help searching, huh?

Can We Send You Our Love Letter?

Another way for us to stay in touch! Joining our weekly newsletter gives you access to exclusive content, never-before-seen photos, your questions answered, and our favorite DIYs. Sign up below!

hello world!
Follow Along on Instagram
Welcome to our online community where we've posted home, DIY, style, renovations, and family since '09. Renovating our #cljmoderncottage in Idaho and headed for new adventures in Raleigh, NC. #cljfam #cljtransformations
© 2024 Chris Loves Julia, LLC
PRIVACY POLICYTERMS & CONDITIONSAFFILIATE DISCLAIMERSITE CREDITCOMMUNITY GUIDELINES