Living

Picture Light vs Illuminated Frame: What to Choose

A picture frame light is the small change that makes the biggest difference after dark: one small lamp over a painting or print and the whole wall changes after dark. Here is how I would choose one, from battery lights to brass, plus a few frames and prints worth lighting.

Satin Vs Eggshell Paint: Which Sheen Fits Each Room?

Satin vs eggshell paint is really a question about light: how much the wall reflects, how much it forgives and how easily it wipes clean. Here is how I would choose, and how the same idea carries into the objects and bedding in a room.

Criss Cross Applesauce Chair: Wide-Seat Picks to Buy

A criss cross applesauce chair has a seat wide enough to sit cross-legged, and once you have tried one it is hard to go back. Here are the ones I like, plus swivel chairs and floor cushions for the same habit.

Gifts for Homebodies

Gifts for homebodies should make staying in feel like the plan rather than the fallback. This edit starts with a good robe and a candle, then adds a jewelry box disguised as a coffee table book, slippers and a throw worth fighting over. Everything here is meant to be used on a slow evening at home.

Side Table Shapes That Fit A Sofa

Round, drum or nesting: the shape of a side table decides whether it works next to your sofa. Start with the arm height, then pick the outline.

L Shaped Sectional With Chaise: How to Choose and Place One

An L shaped sectional with chaise can make a living room feel generous or take it over, and the difference is almost always placement. I compare chaise, modular and corner styles and tell you to tape it on the floor first.

FUNBOY Pool Floats: The Best Picks Right Now

FUNBOY is the Venice Beach family business that turned pool floats into something closer to functional art. I will admit a giant inflatable swan makes me happier than most things I could name, and this edit is about the rest of the flock.

KINTO Home Accessories: A Shopper's Guide

KINTO is the Japanese tableware house from Hikone, Shiga that makes quiet, useful objects for coffee, water and the table. I like things that can stay out on the counter because they are good to look at and good to hold.

Paddywax Candles: What I'd Actually Buy

Paddywax is a candle company that started in an Atlanta kitchen in 1996 and still treats the jar as half the point. I like the way a candle here turns into a little object for the room long after the wax is gone.

Voluspa Candles: The Scents Worth Burning First

Voluspa is a California fragrance house that began in a Costa Mesa kitchen in 1999 and still makes its candles in Irvine. I love how seriously it takes the glass, the wax and the idea that every room needs its own scent.

MALIN+GOETZ Candles: A Guide to Signature Scents

MALIN+GOETZ is the New York apothecary that makes candles, skincare and fragrance for every skin type and every gender. I like it because the whole shelf feels calm, and this edit is about building a few small rituals from sink to bedside table.

Verve Culture Kitchen Gifts: A Better Way to Give

Verve Culture is a women-run kitchen and home brand from Steamboat Springs, built by a mother and daughter who wanted objects with a maker behind them. I like it for glassware, juicers and games that get used, not displayed.

The Ceremony Club Wedding Albums: What to Keep

The Ceremony Club is the sisters' label that began with custom wedding newspapers in 2022 and now makes albums and boxes for the memories that outlast a party. I like it because it asks which moments you want to see again, and then gives them somewhere to live.

UGG Home Throws: The Pieces Worth the Price

UGG Home takes the California comfort story behind the sheepskin boot and carries it into throws, pet beds and a travel set. I like it for texture that does the work, with no pressure to make every corner match.

Vaisselle Tableware: Pieces for Playful Tables

Vaisselle is the tableware label Léa Zana started during the 2020 lockdown, and it is the most cheerful thing I have looked at all week. Hand-painted bowls, gingham dispensers and floral vases for a table that feels collected, never matched.

Sophie Lou Jacobsen: Crystal-Embellished Glassware for Cocktails

Sophie Lou Jacobsen makes glassware that turns the everyday pour into a small piece of theater. The French-American designer established her New York studio in 2019 with a focus on objects of use, drawing on industrial design and a fascination with how people interact with things. Wobbly stems, colored details and crystal embellishment keep these pieces functional without making them behave.

Diptyque: The Paris Shop Behind the Candles and Perfumes

Diptyque opened in Paris in 1961 as a shop for fabric and travel finds, then made its first three candles in 1963 and its first eau de toilette in 1968. A guide to the classic candles, from Baies and Figuier to Feu de Bois and Santal, plus how to choose between a candle, a diffuser and a scent for skin.

Laguna~B Murano Glasses: Venetian Glassware Since 1994

Laguna~B Murano glasses began in Venice in 1994, when Marie Brandolini reinterpreted the informal glasses Murano masters made. I go through the Goto and Margherite styles.

Vases, Candles, And Decorative Objects

Vases, candles and decorative objects: 12 pieces for the home, priced from 30 to 325 dollars. I picked them from The Favorites, and all are in stock now.

Kitchen With Subway Tile Backsplash: How to Choose the Tile

A kitchen subway tile backsplash is the safest choice in design, which is exactly why it is worth doing thoughtfully. Here is how I would choose the tile, the finish and the layout, including options for renters.

Can You Sit on a Storage Ottoman: Yes, It Is Also a Table

Yes, you can sit on a storage ottoman: it works as a footrest, a coffee table and an extra seat, with room inside to hide the throws. I went through round, rectangular and tufted storage ottomans so you can pick the shape that fits your room.

Deep Cloud Couch: Modular and Curved Sofas for Sinking In

A cloud couch started as one famous white sofa in 2015, and this edit sorts the overstuffed sofas, the modular sectionals and the curved, rounded shapes. I go through seat depth, cushions and scale, with a note on measuring your doorway.

Average Price of a Candle: What a Good Scented One Costs

The average price of a candle worth buying runs fifty to a hundred and thirty dollars in a small format, roughly a dollar a gram of wax. I go from small formats to the large pours and holders, and where the money really goes.

SIX THE RESIDENCE: Velvet, Jacquard and Bouclé Poufs

SIX THE RESIDENCE is a furniture brand launched during the pandemic by a team that had supplied bespoke pieces to restaurants, bars and hotels. I go through its velvet, jacquard and bouclé poufs, and why the extra seat or footrest matters most.