Last month, we let you know that DCist would be getting a facelift, part of some changes to the look and feel around the Gothamist network of blogs. Those of you who have moseyed over to Gothamist over the past few weeks have a good idea of what to expect: a redesigned home page with a enhanced focus on featured stories and images and better performance from site elements like photo galleries, among other improvements. We’re pretty excited about the new duds, and I’m pleased to announce that the redesign will arrive at DCist this weekend.

In order to ease the transition into what we’re calling “pretty” view, the default view when you visit DCist will remain the standard blog format, with some notable aesthetic upgrades. Sometime around the beginning of April, the “pretty” mode will become the default view — of course, unlike some other recent, high-profile revamps, we will continue to offer the blog format. Our hope is that you’ll give the new mode a shot, but we completely understand if you want to keep reading our front page the same way that you have for the past six-plus years.

And, as always, after you check it out over the weekend, we’d love to know what you think.