Surprise — the newly redesigned site launches today, and I’m thrilled to share it with you. There are a lot of updates and features to cover, but first a quick note about why this didn’t get announced sooner.
It might feel sudden, though I’m pretty sure I mentioned it once or twice in passing. The reason I kept quiet until now is simple: I wasn’t certain when we could actually go live. Jeff and I have been quietly working behind the scenes for months, and honestly I’m as surprised as you might be that it’s finally ready.
What’s new? Visually, the site has a fresh, modern look that moves the brand forward while respecting the aesthetic of past versions. Our priority was a clean, easy-to-navigate layout that helps you discover new posts and find older content quickly.
Beyond the facelift, several new features make the site’s 4,000+ pages much easier to browse and help you locate exactly what you’re looking for. I’m excited about these improvements, so let’s dive in.
#1 Easier access to DIY projects
One of the biggest challenges with the old site was keeping DIY posts organized and up to date. The previous system required manual cataloging, so updates were inconsistent. Now the DIY section updates automatically and includes dropdown filters so you can narrow searches by project type or topic. These improvements make browsing DIY content far more efficient and enjoyable.
#2 Better organization across top categories
The same improved functionality is available across our main categories, not just DIY. In addition to DIY, the site’s navigation and filtering now apply to Food, Interiors, Fashion, and Travel. That means you can choose a main category from the navigation, select a subcategory, and then refine your search with targeted dropdown options—perfect for finding, say, holiday recipes or color-focused interiors ideas.
For example, in the Food section you can filter by holiday to pull up seasonal recipes, and in Interiors you can filter by style, room, or color. These tools make exploration intuitive and fun.
#3 Mobile-friendly experience
Making the site work well on mobile was a major goal. More than half of you visit via mobile devices, so navigation, readability, and shareability needed to improve. The redesigned site is much easier to use on phones and tablets—content is readable, pages are simpler to navigate, and it’s easier to save or pin posts while browsing on the go.
#4 Featured posts section
To help surface the best content quickly, we added a featured posts slideshow near the top of the homepage. Use the arrows to move through highlighted stories; this area will be especially useful during holidays when we want to resurface timely content from past years and align with our editorial calendar.
#5 Smarter sidebar features
The sidebar now includes a most-popular posts list so you can instantly see what others are enjoying, plus a seasonally rotating sidebar slideshow that highlights timely content—organizational DIYs at the start of the year, Valentine’s Day ideas in February, and so on.
#6 Shop section
After closing the exhibition site two years ago, I missed curating shop-able lists and gallery-style product roundups. While I’ll continue to publish gift guides and fashion roundups, the new Shop page brings back a permanent gallery-style list of my picks from around the web. You’ll find it in the top navigation on the right. I’ll add new items regularly, so check back often for fresh finds.
Additional updates
There are several smaller enhancements too: larger image sizes in posts (from 550 to 600 pixels wide) and an Instagram-at-a-glance strip at the bottom of the homepage that links directly to my feed. We’re planning some Instagram-related features in the future, so stay tuned.
That covers the main changes for this launch. We couldn’t fit everything into this release, so expect more updates as we continue refining the site.
Your feedback matters
If you have feedback, suggestions, or any thoughts about the redesign, please leave a comment. I’d love to hear what you think and what you’d like to see next.