Where I Would Shop for Table Lamps
I was standing in my living room at eleven at night, barefoot on the rug, holding a lamp up against the wall like I was trying to guess its weight.…
Pendant Lights in a Bathroom: Where They Can and Cannot Go
I once dragged a genuinely beautiful milk glass schoolhouse pendant halfway across three counties, got it home, and hung it directly over my clawfoot tub before I’d thought through a…
Covering a Lampshade With Fabric: Pretty or Risky?
My cousin walked into my dining room, took one look at the lamp on the sideboard, and said, “Isla. Did you just wrap that lampshade in a dish towel?” It…
Do Wall Sconces Really Need a Dimmer?
I was sitting on the kitchen floor at seven o’clock on a Tuesday, cross-legged, peeling packing tape off a box of mismatched wine glasses I definitely didn’t need, when I…
Sides of a TV Stand: Lamps, Plants and Storage
I own fourteen things right now whose entire job in life is to sit on either side of my TV stand and look like they didn’t cost anything, when at…
Light Switches in Bathrooms: Why All the Fuss?
I was brushing my teeth in the dark last Tuesday. Not because the power was out, not because I’m going through some sort of aesthetic phase involving candles, but because…
End Table With No Lamp: What to Put There Instead
I counted the actual number one Tuesday in February, out of boredom, because the heat was doing that thing where it clunks on but doesn’t actually arrive anywhere near the…
Wall Colors for Rooms With Light Brown Tile
I’m sitting on my kitchen floor at eleven at night holding four paint chips up against my bathroom tile, phone propped against the cabinet filming because apparently I can’t do…
Outdoor Lighting Temperature: What to Pick for the Yard
I checked my porch light app the other night, out of boredom more than anything, and it turns out I’ve adjusted my outdoor lighting temperature eleven times since April. Eleven.…
Wall Colors for Rooms With Light Brown Furniture
Someone told me once that light brown furniture is the beige of the wood world, safe, forgettable, impossible to actually mess up because it goes with everything and therefore goes…