Are you wondering why Re-Nest.com left the internet?
You've come to the right place!
In this ProPaintCorner.com guide, we'll cover:
- The history of Re-Nest
- Why it's content was so well loved
- Where you can find Re-Nest now
And much more!
So, if you want to find a replacement for your favorite eco-friendly tips from Re-Nest (or you just want to know what happened to the site) keep reading below!
Re-Nest.com was a website that helped readers make eco-friendly decisions when furnishing, decorating, and refreshing their homes. Its articles covered topics such as cleaning dry paintbrushes with vinegar, creating artwork from paint chips, and selecting the best non-VOC and low-toxic interior paint. The site also had updated information on sustainable design, green living, energy-efficient products, and DIY tips.
Today, any attempts to access Re-Nest.com are met with the message: “This site can’t be reached.” What could have happened to a website that promised to “show readers how to live green in city studios, lakeside cottages, and newly built homes”?
We took some time to find out what happened to Re-Nest.com. We follow the history of the site, its mission, and how it was affected by the relaunch of its parent company, Apartment Therapy.
The History of Re-Nest.com
The story of Re-Nest.com started in 2004 when Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan established Apartment Therapy. Gillingham-Ryan, an interior designer, was nicknamed “the apartment therapist.”
Re-Nest.com was one of the four sister websites established by Apartment Therapy. An article published by Forbes.com describes Apartment therapy as a resource that had in five years “morphed into one of the most influential interior design sites on the Web.”
The content on Re-Nest.com was always linked to the idea that “A green home is a healthy, happy home.” The site also advised readers that “By managing our consumption, we can bring more life and vitality into our homes.”
Re-Nest.com’s promise to provide readers with the latest information on green news, green DIY tips, energy-efficient products, and sustainable designs seems to have resonated with many. For instance, by January 2012, the site claimed over 450,000 page views and more than 130,000 unique visits.
The Content
As soon as you start reading articles on Re-Nest.com, you will notice that the content mainly was from ordinary people doing simple things to change their living spaces.
Below are examples of the content you could find on the website.
Decluttering and Sustainable Living
When it comes to decluttering, Re-Nest.com had a broad range of content. You would find articles with tips on organizing different rooms in a house, interviews with declutter experts, and solutions for hiding clutter in a small kitchen.
Notwithstanding the helpful information and advice about sustainable living provided by Re-Nest.com, readers did not always agree with some of its suggestions.
One reader disagrees with the baking soda/tin foil cleaning method presented in an article entitled 25 DIY Green Cleaning Recipes For the Whole House!
Even though the method works, the reader notes that the chemical process will continue to corrode metal long after the metal utensil cleaned using the method is rinsed.
DIY Tips
Re-Nest.com’s DIY section provided tips for dealing with some pretty common problems.
A post entitled How To Clean Dry Paint Brushes With Vinegar advises readers, “If you’ve ever forgotten to clean your paint brushes and found them firmly encased in rock hard dry paint, this simple, chemical-free How-To could save your paint brushes and have you painting again before anyone is any wiser to your dry paint dilemma.”
The post then provides the readers with a step-by-step guide on how to boil and simmer the brush in vinegar until the paint starts to fall off.
Another paint-related article shows off mosaic art made from paint chips. The owner of the showcased piece says, “This is a mosaic I did using those Benjamin Moore paint chips you can get from hardware stores.”
He adds, “After a lot of time, patience, photoshop, and numerous trips to ACE hardware, I was finally able to finish.”
As part of its mission to encourage visitors to embrace a green lifestyle, Re-Nest.com provided ideas on how readers could choose environmentally friendly products.
For example, the site created a top 10 list of non-volatile organic compounds (VOCs). VOCs are harmful gases emitted by toxic materials used and produced in the manufacture of paint.
Redirecting to Apartment Therapy
Aiming to serve its readers better, Apartment Therapy relaunched in 2012. The owners of the site provided an idea of the reasons they decided to relaunch:
“Because family, technology and green living are integral parts of modern life, these sister sites are now absorbed into two comprehensive sites: Apartment Therapy and critically-acclaimed culinary website The Kitchn.”
As part of the relaunch, by January 2012, visitors to Re-Nest.com started being redirected to the Apartment Therapy website.
Content that used to be exclusively housed at Re-Nest.com was moved to the Green Living section of the Apartment Therapy site.
At this time, readers on Re-Nest.com were getting the message that things were changing.
A statement on the site said, “If you were an avid reader of our kids’ blog (Ohdeedoh), our tech blog (Unplggd), or our green blog (Re-Nest), you’re probably flummoxed at the sites’ apparent disappearance.” The visitors would then be redirected to the Green Living category.
Almost everyone commenting on the changes at Apartment Therapy seemed annoyed.
For example, one reader says, “I’m disappointed in the redo.” Adding, “The format before was user-friendly & something I praised the AT-Kitchn-Renest-UnPlugged sites for.” The reader then gives an idea of what is to come, “I’m not sure if I’ll be reading the content as much with the new look!”
In support of the changes, Apartment Therapy promised that it would continue “to offer its readers different ways to build their own ‘good life,’ based not just on style but on ‘lifestyle.”
What Then Happened to Re-Nest.com?
The Green Living category would continue publishing content under Apartment Therapy for some time after the relaunch. Visitors to Re-Nest.com also continued to be redirected to the Apartment Therapy site until the beginning of February 2021, when the redirect broke.
The Green Living category is still published at the Apartment Therapy site but now seems to be a hidden section under another section called Living, which itself is under another section called Life.
Consequently, you could say that the power of Re-Nest.com as an independent website started fading as soon as Apartment Therapy was relaunched in 2012.
