Mattress Protectors and the Dryer: Mind the Waterproof Layer
Somebody asked me last week, over text, completely out of nowhere, “can you put a mattress protector in the dryer or does it melt.” That was the whole message. No…
Repainting Wardrobe Doors: What Paint Holds Up?
My wardrobe doors get touched, grabbed, kicked open, and slammed shut somewhere around forty times a day in this house. I actually counted once, out of boredom during a rare…
Is a Tempur Mattress Worth the Price Tag?
I used to be the guy who bought a “memory foam mattress” off a flash sale site for $340, bragged about it to anyone who’d listen, and then quietly returned…
Turn It or Leave It Alone? Mattress Advice Is a Mess
I currently own six mattresses. Not because I’m running a boutique inn out of my house in Indianapolis, but because that’s just what happens when you’ve got a master bed,…
Flipping a Mattress: Habit or Real Advice?
I own seven mattresses right now. Seven. I did the math the other day while flipping through old receipts for something completely unrelated to this, and I sat there in…
Top of a Headboard: Yes or No?
My sister in law Dana walked into the guest room last spring, stopped dead in the doorway, and said, “Ben. There’s nothing up there. It looks like you’re mid eviction.”…
Footstool Colors for a Teal Sofa
Everyone told me a teal sofa was going to be the hardest piece of furniture I’d ever own to build a room around. My sister in law said it, my…
Curtains for Light Brown Walls
I own fourteen curtain panels right now. Fourteen. I counted them properly the other day while I was hunting for a specific rust colored pair that had gone missing between…
Keeping a Bird Bath From Becoming a Mosquito Problem
My sister in law walked into my backyard in July, took one look at the bird bath on the patio, and said, “Ben, why does your yard smell like a…
Floating TV Stand: What Goes Underneath
I own three floating TV stands. Three. Across two houses and one truly regrettable rental in between, I have mounted three separate slabs of wood to three separate walls, and…