This week, Katie and TJ take you behind the scenes of how we create our monthly comic strip, Nailed It. They review of few of their faves, share the stories that led to their creation, and discuss how they collaborate with local artists.

You can find all of our comic strips here:

https://www.designedhappy.com/blog/category/nailed-it

And if you want to see the comic before everyone else, subscribe to the Designed Happy newsletter here:

https://www.designedhappy.com/subscribe.html

Happy Valentine's Day! We hope you had a wonderful day celebrating. This week Katie and TJ talk about trust - how to earn it, when it's at its most fragile, and if you can regain it. They also discuss how they each celebrate Valentine's day, and TJ shares a balsamic glaze story gone wrong.

Katie and TJ think back to when Kat had TJ design a kitchen around a sink. Katie wants to know what kinds of other things clients have designed around, and well, things got a bit weird by the end. And to give credit to the comic TJ couldn't remember, here is the clip: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/xqcSILeOwhA

In this week's episode, Katie and TJ discuss how words change over time, and how a word like Custom, used to mean something different than it does today. They talk about why that's important, a word to use instead, and pecan pies for people with silk scarves.

In this episode Katie and TJ review the 2026 trend predictions made by HOUZZ. Do we love them all? No. But do we love most of them? Also no. We'll give them this - we have our finger's crossed for a couple of them. Also, Katie's about to have a great year, and TJ explains door doors (not a typo). Check out the HOUZZ predictions here:

https://pro.houzz.com/pro-learn/blog/sneak-peek-houzz-reveals-11-of-the-top-home-design-predictions-for-2026

After months of teasing it and building anticipation, it's finally time to review The Fit Score. Katie and TJ breakdown what this tool is, how to use it, and why it exists. They also talk about re-re-recording, and something about a horse and Perrier where you get to hear the punchline but not the setup.

This week, Katie and TJ have a special guest! Industry pro, lifelong remodeler, and TJ's friend, Steve Scholl, joins the podcast. We talk about why having a good relationship with your contractor is so important, what a good relationship looks like, and what "running to trouble" means.

We're so excited to introduce a new series on our show. It's called 'Happy Home Stories.' In it, we talk with one of our clients about what it's really like to remodel - not the HGTV made-for-TV version remodeling - the real life, what happens when things don't go the way you planned, and how do you work through it. This week, Katie and TJ talk to Nick about his whole-home remodel in Fairfax. They discuss the tool Nick used to mentally process design options (it's not what you think it is), some of the surprises he encountered during construction, what he learned about the process and himself, and what he would do differently next time. Thank you so much to Nick for being a great client, and being willing to talk about his process openly.

Feathers will be ruffled and boats will be rocked! Gears might even be ground!! Katie and TJ discuss why Price Per Square Foot is such a common way to talk about remodeling and new construction pricing, and why it is completely misleading. Then they discuss a better alternative, before sneaking a Harry Connick Jr reference in just when you thought the episode was over.

Katie and TJ welcome Jake Jackson-Wolf to the show. Jake is the owner of b'well Counseling Services and is a licensed therapist. Katie, TJ, and Jake debate whether podcast guests should have entry music, reminisce about the 2011 DC earthquake, and discuss why remodeling is hard on relationships. Jake offers wisdom and advice to help you keep your relationship strong. To learn more about Jake and b'well visit: https://www.bwellcounselingservices.com/