Mustard Pillows and the Colors That Sit Well With Them
I have exactly eleven pillows on my couch right now, and four of them are mustard. I counted because my wife asked why the couch looks like it’s “auditioning for…
Brown Wardrobes and the Colors That Sit Nicely Beside Them
I painted my bedroom wall the exact color of wet cardboard once. Not on purpose, obviously. I stood in the paint aisle at the hardware store on the west side…
Terracotta Sofa Pillows for a Warm, Earthy Living Room
My sister Dana walked into my living room in February, took one look at the new sofa, and said, “Ben. It’s the color of a terracotta pot. You bought a…
Orange Sofa Pillows Without the Clash
The sofa showed up on a Tuesday, and by Thursday I had genuinely convinced myself I’d made a terrible decision. Not about the sofa itself, the sofa was fine, a…
Pillows for a Blue Velvet Sofa
I bought a blue velvet sofa in a fit of confidence about eighteen months ago, cobalt, jewel toned, the kind of blue that looks incredible in a showroom and slightly…
Is Your Reading Lamp Actually Good for Reading?
My sister in law Dana walked into the living room at eight thirty on a Tuesday, looked at the lamp next to my reading chair, and said, “Ben, why are…
White Headboard Bedding, Plus How to Keep It Clean
I was stripping the bed on a Saturday morning, the way you do when you’ve finally noticed the pillowcases have gone a bit gray and you can’t remember the last…
Bud Vases: How Many You Need and What Goes in Them
I was doing the after dinner dishes on a Tuesday, plates stacked, sink full of that gray water you get when somebody’s rinsed pasta sauce off four things at once,…
Light Purple Walls Are Easier to Live With Than Youd Guess
People will argue about light purple walls like they’re arguing about school districts, real heat, genuine betrayal in their voice if you say the wrong thing, and then the actual…
Fire Pit on a Wooden Deck: What Goes Underneath
I scorched a two hundred dollar propane fire pit purchase down to a $40 embarrassment in under thirty minutes, and I want to be honest about exactly how it happened…