Two Floor Lamps in the Living Room
I bought one floor lamp in 2011, decided it looked lonely on its own next to the armchair, and solved the problem by buying a second one three years later…
The Ordinary Light Switch in a Bathroom
I counted the other day, mostly out of boredom and partly because my nephew asked why I had a drawer specifically for old switch plates, and the number came to…
Rug Doctor on an Area Rug
I rent a Rug Doctor about four times a year, which sounds like nothing until you do the math on what that’s cost me since 2019, and I did the…
Indoor Fire Pits: Love the Idea, Not the Reality
I have typed “can you have a fire pit indoors” into a search bar four separate times over the past two years, always in November, always on the first night…
Not Every Light Belongs Near the Shower
Everybody’s got an opinion about bathroom lighting, and the opinion is almost always the same one: it’s complicated, it’s dangerous, don’t touch it, call someone. I spent years believing that…
Sideboard Blocking the Radiator: The Heat Problem
I was on my knees in the dining room with a tape measure, which is not a dignified position for a woman my age, but there I was, trying to…
A Fire Pit Left Out All Year
I own four fire pits. Four. I said that number out loud to my sister last month and she just looked at me the way she looks at anything she…
A Topper on a Sofa Bed: The Cheap Comfort Fix
I bought my first sofa bed in 1979, the year my husband and I moved into the house I still live in now, and for a solid decade I operated…
A Floating TV Stand, Meet the Floor
I own six floating TV stands. Not six television sets, not six living rooms that need filling, six actual console units built or marketed under that particular name, and three…
Outdoor Rugs in the Rain: Does It Really Not Matter?
I keep a rain gauge on my back porch that I never look at, but I will tell you exactly what I do look at every single time a storm…