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Our Goals for 2023

This is what we’re looking forward to taking on in the new year!

Kim and Scott in their renovated kitchen with red cabinets, black marble countertops and oak floating shelf | Our goals for 2023 | via Yellow Brick Home
sconces | shelf | espresso machine

A New Year, A New Outlook

We’re easing ourselves into the new year, with the intention of being more kind to ourselves, as we’re still recovering from a long holiday break with our almost 5-year-old (anyone else?). But in all seriousness, this year our top priority is our own mental health, which can often be overlooked for two goal-driven perfectionists. In some ways, it feels like we’re still getting used to life after multiple years of a pandemic, and I’ve struggled to find my footing amidst parenting a child, running a business and finding time to take care of myself, mentally and physically. (In fact, I just signed up for my first workout class in years! Let’s see if it sticks.)

Scott and I agree that it’s time for a shake up. On the outside, many things may look the same. You’ll still find us on the blog, in Stories and building community in our DMs. On the inside, however, we’re approaching Yellow Brick Home with a new mindset and approach to work. Owning and operating Yellow Brick Home has been the longest job I’ve held (going on 14 years now!), and as anything progresses, ruts are formed. We asked ourselves, What would it look like if we prioritized connection over more?

Connection

That’s our word of the year. Connection. Less days spent hunched over our laptops writing, more days spent on connection – with you, with each other, with friends that are family. So what does that look like? It means spending time online with our community and a return to our DIY roots. It also means stepping away when grace is needed, refilling our creative cups through down time or travel. We don’t have it all figured out right now, but we’re excited to see where we go.

And with that, surely you know we have goals for 2023, too! This is what we’re looking forward to in the new year, with connection as the glue.

1| A New Website

We revamped our website almost 4 years ago, and since then, the creator community has changed drastically in the way we share and view content online. We always want Yellow Brick Home to be an informative and inspiring home on the web, and to do so, we are rethinking the ways in which we present our content to you! My creativity has ebbed and flowed in the last handful of years, and I’ve had creativity block for longer than I’d like to admit. A new website, a new logo, a new color palette and a new way for you to interact with us is overdue, and in realizing this, I got the first pangs of excitement in far too long!

We’ll be making over the site for easier navigation to find the answers you need, in a departure from any of our past designs. We’re considering a newsletter launch, and we may have a product collaboration in the works, too! This will all take a while to get off the ground, but I have high hopes for a spring reveal.

2| A Focus on Smaller Projects

This summer will mark 10 years of living in and loving our Chicago home. We all know that a home needs constant maintenance to stay in good health, and we want to share what that looks like with you. Quick room refreshes, furniture updates and small, impactful changes are all on the agenda. Nurturing an evolving home brings us so much joy, and it allows us to see our home through a fresh set of eyes.

3| Complete the Tree House Front Yard

In late fall, we embarked on an overdue landscaping project at Tree House! It was only Phase 1, and you can read more about why and see the full plan right here. In a few short months, it will be our turn to take over! We have a lot of planting to do, mulching, and a low split-rail fence to install where the lawn meets the road. We’d also like to incorporate landscape lighting throughout the plantings and along the deck.

Progress in the front yard of our Michigan home, Tree house | via Yellow Brick Home
our Tree House landscaping project

4| More ‘Give Back’ Makeovers

LaTanya’s Give Back makeover in the spring of 2022 was, hands down, a highlight of our year. It was a whirlwind in the best way, and the friendship we made with LaTanya was a wonderful surprise that I’ll always cherish. It’s our priority to continue to support organizations that we believe in, non-profits that selflessly give back to the community. We’re already working towards our next one, and fingers crossed, this is a goal we can accomplish soon – and repeat many times over.

LaTanya sitting in her Chicago living room, with the dining room in view behind her | via Yellow Brick Home
LaTanya in her Chicago home

5| Be open to what happens next

This made our list in 2022, and it deserves a spot in 2023 as well. Connection can come with discomfort, but we’re ready for it. To do the same thing over and over will only yield the same results, and although every fiber of my being loves routine and certainty, how can we grow without being open to other possibilities? We’ll be repeating this mantra to ourselves all year long.

Thank you for being a part of our Yellow Brick Home community, for your encouragement, for sharing your DIY success stories, for giving us the space to grow. We’re looking forward to another year with you!

What are you most looking forward to in 2023? Do you have a word of the year?

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  • Theresa1.11.23 - 5:56 AM

    Please don’t adjust the archives too much. I’m catching up and only in February 2017 so far! Your archives are the easiest I have ever navigated! Love everything!ReplyCancel

    • Kim1.11.23 - 12:16 PM

      The archives aren’t going anywhere, don’t worry!ReplyCancel

  • Hannah1.11.23 - 6:04 AM

    As always, I so appreciate your perspective and priorities. We’re here for it!ReplyCancel

  • Lauren H1.11.23 - 7:27 AM

    Re: A newsletter.  I’ve noticed more and more blogs adding a newsletter to their brand.  I’ve always appreciated how open you guys are about the business of blogging.  Is there some business reason why blogs are moving to this model?  I subscribe to two newsletters and do not feel that they offer much in the way of new content.  Often it feels like a burden, just one more thing to read on top of all the other blogs I already follow.
    Re: Connection.  A suggestion, but only if it would feel authentic to you to do so: I would love to see more casual posts with informal pictures of rooms around the house from favorite times of day, showing how you live in them.  While a house may be lovely, a house becomes a home through the way we live in them.  For example, maybe a snapshot of the dining room either before or after you sit down for a meal.  It doesn’t have to be stylized, just those small moments in a home that make us sigh because of the simple beauty of living.  Even if you just include these pictures as part of a Friday post as a way to wish readers a happy weekend.  I’m sure I am not alone in feeling like you have become dear friends through the glimpses into your life that you have already shared.  I know you already do Friday linkups periodically but for me personally I could take or leave a long laundry list of links.  I’d rather just see you link one to three things that you were loving that week — in the way you’d gush about something remarkable to a best friend.
    p.s. One past post that has always stuck with me was when Kim shared about her struggles with infertility.  No pressure to get deep or overshare more than you feel comfortable but just to say that while many of us may have landed here initially for the house content, we have stayed for YOU!  Love you guys.  Keep up the amazing work.ReplyCancel

    • Rachel1.11.23 - 10:27 AM

      Re: newsletters, I agree and am also curious to know what the reason is, besides for diversifying the location of the content, off of Instagram or blogs. ReplyCancel

      • RC1.11.23 - 11:07 AM

        Since my job is in marketing / design, I’ll comment in on this… Websites and newsletters are the only vehicles in the digital business world that the content creators own and can have full creative control over. Otherwise if/how people see your content is at the algorithm of the host services: Instagram, Google, Youtube, etc. and it changes all the time. Remember when Reels on Instagram weren’t a thing? Or Youtube Shorts didn’t exist? It’s smart to make sure you are fully connecting with your audience by maximizing both your website and newsletter.ReplyCancel

        • Kim1.11.23 - 12:14 PM

          Thank you for chiming in, RC! That’s exactly our thought process. If Instagram went away tomorrow, all that content is gone. A newsletter and our website are our direct channel to connect with you on a more personal level.ReplyCancel

        • Emme1.11.23 - 3:06 PM

          I consume a lot of short-form content and I’m not always pleased with what the algorithm serves. I wonder if anyone will incorporate quickly digestible bits of content and change what a mobile site could be for the reasons you’ve givenReplyCancel

    • Kim1.11.23 - 12:16 PM

      Lauren, also meant to add: THANK YOU for your feedback and input! We’re soaking it all in.ReplyCancel

  • Michelle1.11.23 - 8:04 AM

    It’s comforting to know that I’m not the only one to experience creativity “rut” after being in a career for so long, even one where renovating your own space is your job, so thank you for sharing that. I know how quickly things seem to evolve online and even though there seem to be more cries of “put your phone down!” and “unplug” the push to be on one social media platform or another just gets more and more demanding. My blog feed gets lighter and lighter each year and it makes me sad we can’t share written content in the way that we used to or that people are more comfortable with 15 seconds of information thrown at them.  I look forward to seeing how you transform your platform and your connection with us and your City in 2023. ReplyCancel

  • Cynthia Gylov1.11.23 - 8:17 AM

    Sounds like a great year to me!ReplyCancel

  • Amanda1.11.23 - 9:00 AM

    Happy New Year! I too an still recovering from 10 unprogrammed days with an almost 5 year old.For your #2 I would love to see some small maintenance type projects? Or even tutorials for tools? You know, which side of the laser line is best to cut on on your miter saw, how to pick a drill bit for type of surface, that type of stuff. And I am really looking forward to more give back type content. It was obvious how proud y’all were of the makeover (and the connection!). ReplyCancel

    • Kim1.11.23 - 12:15 PM

      We have some fun tool content in the works (said no one, ever, haha). But really, we can’t wait to share these smaller, left behind details.ReplyCancel

  • ML1.11.23 - 9:12 AM

    Longtime reader here, and I continue to enjoy your commitment to authenticity, transparency, and evolving with different phases of life. Looking forward to seeing more give back makeovers, too!ReplyCancel

    • Kim1.11.23 - 12:15 PM

      Fingers crossed we can bring them to life! We’re working hard behind the scenes to lend a hand where we’re able.ReplyCancel

  • Jenn1.11.23 - 9:26 AM

    I really really love that you’ll be sharing the more mundane maintenance projects. That’s where we mostly are too, and it can be so hard to work up the energy to tackle the little stuff.
    Good for you guys for reexamining, and I’m looking forward to sticking around.ReplyCancel

  • RC1.11.23 - 11:03 AM

    Your DIY skills have been inspiring and the way you write is so detailed and helpful. I’m about to tile my first backsplash. I just caulked my first baseboard the other day following one of your posts. I wish some of the DIY how-tos had the videos also hosted on Youtube. Instagram videos are search to find the right one to refer to. And Youtube shorts are vertical format… I couldn’t even find the caulk one that I knew I saw but couldn’t find again. I like newsletters if they add value and have some new content. Best wishes finding what works for you and your business in 2023.ReplyCancel

    • Debbie1.13.23 - 8:37 AM

      Yes! I wanted to chime in and say we just used your stellar tutorial to install a stair runner! Love that your content doesn’t feel “sell out” like a lot of blogs I used to love. Thank you! ❤️ReplyCancel

  • Jessica1.11.23 - 12:47 PM

    Love the idea of talking about the small updates when living in a house. I have been in my house for 6 years and feel like I don’t know what I’m doing! What maintenance should I be doing? What helps keep the home healthy and stable? I pick up things here and there but feel like I’m still inept. Your advice on preparing your yard for winter for instance was really helpful. ReplyCancel

  • Jon1.11.23 - 1:09 PM

    Outdoor space is so important! We have allowed our outdoor areas ‘exist’ and haven’t utilized them better for the family/kiddos. This year that’ll change – summer 2023 will be an outdoor extravaganza! Cheers to 14 years, Kim!ReplyCancel

    • Kim1.11.23 - 1:12 PM

      It’s going to be so worth it! Cheers to 2023 spending as much time outdoors as possible. Thank you, Jon!ReplyCancel

  • Sally1.11.23 - 3:01 PM

    Great goals, thanks for sharing. ReplyCancel

  • Erin1.11.23 - 4:32 PM

    Your content is so thoughtful and considered. It is somehow totally aspirational and totally approachable at the same time. I am inspired by your creativity and authenticity. I was so excited to see you show up on instagram today.ReplyCancel

  • Halle1.11.23 - 8:34 PM

    I’ve been a reader here since 2015 or so, and I’m happy to hear that you’ll still be writing and doing smaller projects here. I don’t use social media at all, and I agree with some of the other comments that prefer long-form content (like blogs or newsletters) to short-form content like Instagram or TikTok. I love that you two continue to design beautiful things that are still attainable and DIY. Best of luck to you this year (and happy late birthday to your little goose)!ReplyCancel

    • meredith1.12.23 - 6:17 PM

      Yes to all of this. Came to make this same comment and realized it was already well said!ReplyCancel

  • JULIE1.12.23 - 10:39 PM

    I must comment because my favorite format is reading a blog post and I want to support these. I’m excited to see the new website and logo changes. I hope you’re sticking to the workout classes and find them enjoyable!ReplyCancel

  • Taj1.14.23 - 6:38 AM

    Connection is my word as well ???????????? I interpreted your weekly digest already as a newsletter. How difference would your newsletter be?ReplyCancel

    • Kim1.16.23 - 10:19 AM

      The newsletter would be a more personal approach. Think of it as a mini Weekender post delivered to your inbox!ReplyCancel

  • Laura1.15.23 - 8:21 AM

    Hello! +1 for newsletters because … I’m always reducing the % time I use Instagram. I keep hanging on because there are folks like y’all on there, but a newsletter lets me read it when it’s convenient for me instead of feeling that now-now-now faux urgency that IG stories create.
    I’m excited to see where 2023 takes you and hope that it’s fulfilling first and foremost.ReplyCancel

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Kim and Scott

We’re Kim + Scott, Chicago based content creators behind the Home + Lifestyle brand Yellow Brick Home.

Join us as we renovate and nurture vintage homes across Chicago + SW Michigan!

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