The Top 10 Posts You Spent The Most Time Reading in 2023 (Spoiler: A Lot Are Personal!)

Welcome to my favorite end-of-the-year roundup post! Sure, as the editorial/creative director (It’s me, Jess) I’m partial to talking about which blog posts you all spent the most time diving into. But truly, it’s such a joy to walk down memory lane and click back into those really big and/or juicy posts that you (and me) really took the time to read and comment on. Understandably, they tend to be more personal but isn’t that what’s so great about a blog like this one? A place where you can follow along with people’s lives to see what they are up and why? So with that said, let’s see what the top 10 posts you spent the longest time on (so not necessarily the highest traffic which is always fun to see the difference:)).

10. 3 Years In The Making Then An Unexpected Move: Arlyn’s Bedroom Reveal Is A Lesson In The Beauty Of “Unfinished” Design

This beautiful and warm makeover was a long time coming, looked incredible, and ended with a heartbreak! I don’t want to give anything away but man, UNREAL. Arlyn knows how to take you along with her design process that makes you feel like you are talking to your best friend and this reveal was no expectation. If you missed this one, it’s a must-read to get the full picture of what she went through and where she is now! I am not surprised in the least that this one made the list.

9. Farmhouse Guest Bathroom Update (And How I Feel About The Tonal Grout Choice)

This bathroom is undoubtedly a room all of us are very excited to see officially revealed. But this boldly colorful space has been a little bit of a journey for Em. In this post, she goes into a big update and a choice that she may have some regret about. And not for nothing, people LOVE posts that involve grout and I get it. Grout is one of those things that tend to be a decision you don’t think about needing to make until you have to. I think was super helpful for that exact reason. Oh, and the 251 comments also probably helped the amount of time people were staying in the post:)

8. Emily Bowser’s Back Unit Backyard REVEAL, 2022 Musings, New Year Resolutions, And Other Meanderings…

Ah, our Queen of the annual “most engaged” post list. Look, Emily Edith Bowser is a COMPELLING writer because she doesn’t hold anything back. How can you not appreciate someone giving you information like the real cost of things and New Year’s resolutions?? She’s also not shortwinded which is fine by all of us because she’s so entertaining. Plus she is a wildly talented designer and stylist. This back unit backyard makeover made us all wish we could be her tenants. Go read for a great time.

7. Emily Bowser’s Kitchen REVEAL! Plus The 8 Ways She Really Maximized Her Galley Kitchen Storage

Of course, Bowser’s kitchen reveal was going to be on this list too! While this wasn’t the first makeover this kitchen had been through, it was the one Bowser had been wanting from the start. It’s SUCH a fun journey that she takes you on as well as giving so many great small space kitchen storage tips. We all love her posts!

6. Where Are We With The Farmhouse – A Big Update! With What’s To Come, What Is Changing, And How I’m Feeling About It…XX

I mean what a year it’s been with revealing the majority of the farmhouse! To think where they started versus where they are now is WILD! But this post was published in May so it was a perfect time to go room by room where Emily could talk about what she wanted to tweak, what was left to do, etc. It’s a real “inside Emily’s brain” post which is so fun to dive into.

5. What Orlando Has In Store For The Londo Lodge Kitchen And 5 Debates He Wants Your Feedback On

If you’ve been around for a minute then you know Orlando’s Yosemite homeowning journey has been A ROLLER COASTER and this kitchen might be the windiest area to date. So getting to see his design plans and weigh in on some of his debates was clearly so fun. It’s no surprise that people really took their time to dive into this post and got into the comment section.

4. The Great Livestock Debate: Which Animals Are Best For Our Farm?

OOOh baby was this comment section on fire! So aside from the exciting news that the Hendersons were thinking of getting some farm pets, people really wanted to give their opinions on what they should do. The comments are so passionate. The good news is that all the alpacas and pigs are thriving at the Henderson farm:)

3. Jess (And Her Dad, Les) Take Paris! Get All The Vintage Recs, Design Goods, And See Her Haul

I was SO excited that this post made the top three!! I knew that writing about a trip I took to see my dad in Paris wouldn’t be a global hit but was so happy that our tried and true daily readers really enjoyed it. This trip was just the most special and I always love getting to share my dad with the EHD world. I’d like to think it’s partly posts like these that set our site apart:)

2. Dreams Do Come True! The Londo Lodge Is Now A Vacation Rental (See All Of The Fun NEW Updates + Tips On Renovating With A Small Budget…)

What a fun post!! The work that Orlando has done on the Londo Lodge, with mostly his two bare hands, is UNREAL. I’m so happy that y’all really wanted to take your time to take it all in. The progress from before to now is why I think design is so amazing. Plus any Orlando post is a fun time:)

1. After A Year And A Half In Portland Here’s How It’s Going – Is It Everything We Predicted Or Expected? It’s A Long One…

Once I saw that this post was the one that y’all spent the longest time reading I thought, “Of course!”. I mean it was JUICY! But actually, I think what everyone (including myself) loved about it was that it was really honest. Big decisions are scary to make, especially when you are doing them so publicly. So answering the hard questions that she’d been asked over and over in such a real way was very special. Plus it was also nice and long as well as there being a lot of comments. A real personal blog post. What’s better?!

Well, there you have it. Did you agree with the list? Did any of your favorites not make the list? Interested in going back to any of these? I just think what makes all of these so special is how personal they are. Thank you so much for letting us be a part of your lives and reading our words.

Love you, mean it.

Opening Image Credits: Photo by Kaitlin Green | From: The HIGHLY Anticipated…Farmhouse Living Room Reveal – Let’s Get Into It:) + LOOK! MOM! I’M ON YOUTUBE!