Sofa Beds: Two Jobs Done Well or Badly?
I’m on my knees on the floor of what my mortgage paperwork optimistically calls a “second bedroom,” measuring the gap between the window and the closet door with a tape…
Throw Pillows in the Washer: What Actually Survives
I pull four throw pillows off my couch every single night, set them on the armchair like I’m clearing a job site before the crew shows up, and about twice…
Mattress Toppers and Washing Machines: Read the Label First
I’ve had four mattress toppers go through this house in about six years, and three of them ended up curbside because I treated a washing machine like it was a…
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…
The Right Moment to Buy a New Mattress
I’m on the floor of my own bedroom at six in the morning with a tape measure, trying to figure out if a platform bed I’m building is going to…
Do You Need a Topper, or Is It a Bandage?
I was stripping the bed on a Sunday, good sheets in one hand, a sock I’d apparently lost since April in the other, when I got as far as the…
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…
Sleeping Right on the Mattress, Sheets Optional
I keep a mental tally of how many nights a year I sleep on a bare mattress, and the number is higher than I’d admit to most people. Somewhere around…
Propping Up a Baby Mattress: What Parents Wonder About
I was standing in a nursery that wasn’t mine, at eleven at night, holding a phone flashlight between my teeth and trying to get a level app to read flat…
My Dog and the Pillow Situation
I was folding laundry on the couch, the kind of task where you’re only half paying attention, and out of the corner of my eye I watched my dog Biscuit…