Rachel Jacks

The right appliances have a huge effect on your quality of life. If you’ve ever lived in a home with broken, poorly-designed, or just rundown appliances, and then upgraded, you know what I mean. You go from annoyed every time you grab a beverage from your refrigerator, to really looking forward to opening the door. Since your fridge gets get used many times a day, those interactions really add up.

There’s no doubt that using vintage and salvaged materials is a bigger hassle than buying new materials. So why bother? If your decor leans toward a vintage look, it’s often the only choice to get the style you want. Plus, salvaged materials are usually less expensive than new, and often better quality. The practice also keeps items out of the landfill, and saves on the production and transportation of new materials, so it’s far better for the environment.

We all know that the kitchen tool drawer can get messy fast. Housing everything from uni-tasking gadgets to everyday workhorses like cooking spoons, it’s easy for them to become a tangled jumble. And since we all have different items and drawers, there’s no one organizational solution that will work for everyone. Or is there? The answer is to build your own drawer inserts. You can customize them to fit both your exact drawer dimensions and your specific needs.

When we started looking at real estate, there was never any question that my husband and I would buy an old house. We didn’t even bother looking at any that were built after 1950. We knew we wanted the style and craftsmanship of an old home. Now, a couple of years after buying a house that was built in 1912, I’ve learned a few lessons. Even though I’ve lived in older houses and buildings as a renter, actually owning an old house has its own challenges.

While you may be grateful for it in the middle of a cold winter, an ugly heater can be an eyesore that you get tired of having to decorate around. Peeling or chipping paint, the wrong color or shape, or an awkward location can all make a radiator your least favorite piece of your home. Even if you don’t have a problem with how it looks, it may just be taking up valuable real estate that could be put to better use. But, don’t despair!

Range hoods might seem like a utilitarian, boring way to spend money in a kitchen, but they can be essential for odor removal and ventilation, plus they’re often required by building codes. Upscale designer kitchens with big industrial range hoods or bespoke built-in covers prove that done right, they can be a beautiful focal point. First you need to pick out the hood, though. This guide will take you through some of the many options you may have when buying a range hood.

Ranges — which integrate both oven and cooktop into one appliance — are big purchases that impact the day-to-day functionality, style, and usability of your kitchen. They vary widely in features — and cost — so it’s worth asking yourself how you’ll actually use your new appliance, before going out and blowing your budget. Avid bakers, for example, might prioritize a convection oven, while home chefs gleefully eye a gas cooktop.

While we’ll never know the exact number of marriages that ended over fights about dirty dishes left in the sink, it’s safe to assume it’s not zero. Some of the more enlightened among us claim to love doing dishes, but for many people it’s a chore that’s avoided as much as possible. If you have the space and ability to modify your kitchen, nothing can save you from time hunched over a sink full of dirty dishes like a dishwasher (except takeout).

The holidays are here, and if the more traditional combos of red and green or blue and silver aren’t your ideal color schemes, you can still add some festivity to your decor by taking it in a more neutral, simple-chic direction. One way to do that is with strands of simple white lights. If you still want a bit of color, natural elements like greenery and branches are the perfect complement to twinkling lights.