Sick Day in Bed: Rest or Restless?
I always figured the internet’s advice on being sick was pretty simple. Lie down. Don’t move. Sleep it off like you’re serving a sentence. Google it and you get the…
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…
A Bed Without a Headboard: Bare but Fine?
I own four headboards right now, and not one of them is attached to a bed. There’s an iron one, curled at the top like a fern about to unfurl,…
Two Chandeliers, One Room: Grand or Gaudy?
Carla stopped dead in my dining room doorway last spring, took one look up, and said, “Isla. Why are there two chandeliers in here. Did one multiply.” She wasn’t wrong…
Chimineas on a Deck: Put Something Fireproof Under It
I logged it, obviously, because that is the kind of person I am: fourteen googles for “can you put a chiminea on a deck” between September and January, four of…
Mismatched Nightstands: Charming or Chaotic?
My sister walked into my bedroom, stopped in the doorway, and said, “Did you run out of money halfway through buying furniture?” She was looking at the two nightstands flanking…
Gazebo Fire Pit Debate: Does a Roof Change Everything?
My friend Dana sent me a photo at eleven at night of her brand new ten by twelve gazebo with a fire pit table already glowing away underneath it, captioned…
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…
Fire Pits in a Neighborhood: The Rules Nobody Reads
My neighbor Dale texted me a photo of my own backyard, taken from his kitchen window, no caption, just the picture, at 9:47 on a Tuesday night. Smoke was drifting…
Two Mirrors in a Bedroom
I currently own three mirrors in my bedroom, which is one more than I own opinions I’m willing to defend at a dinner party, and somehow still feels like the…