Home decor blogger, Brooke Christen, aka Nesting With Grace, created a way to hang lighting without any electricity. Better known as the magic light trick, you can easily add light anywhere in your home, instantly making a place in your room look custom. The best part? You don’t have to hard-wire anything and you do not need an outlet. Perfect for fall and winter, you can easily cozy up any corner in your home....

Much of the decor has been DIYed by Trambadia. Naturally creative, he sees empty rooms as blank canvases to express himself— perhaps best exemplified by a meticulous, swirling tree-of-life mural in the guest bedroom that he hand-painted. This creativity is largely informed by Trambadia’s South Asian roots. His parents immigrated to the U.S. in the 1970s, and he became fascinated with all things India from a young age. Now, he carries on ancient legacies of craftsmanship from the subcontinent in fresh ways across the ocean in America, where he lives with his wife and two children....

To celebrate the season, we’ve scoured the oh-so-adorable options at one of our favorite stores: Anthropologie. Anthro may not come top of mind when it comes to holiday decor shopping, but it should. They sell a slew of charming holiday home items, from ornaments to garlands to pillows, and we’ve narrowed down 12 of our favorites that you’ll want to add to your cart immediately. 

Her unique style meshes the two sides of her background: European and African. Born and brought up in Germany, Tagba was surrounded by airy and streamlined interiors, though she became fascinated with African design when she moved into her current home. Now, the space combines Scandinavian-Esque minimalism with traditional West African decor— as stark white walls are punctuated by warrior portraits and handwoven baskets. Ahead, Tagba shares more about her favorite DIYs, love of the sun, and patient design approach....

In This Episode Alessia has some really cool varieties in her collection of over 200 plants. And you can tell she loves them. She loves them so much that when they’re not doing well she yells at them to do better. “I’m having an argument with myself and the plants but I guess it’s just myself," she quips. She’s got a great sense of humor and shared an amazing story about her Thai Constellation....

Start out Right You’ll enjoy the job more if you get everything together at the start. Organize a tool station in the middle of the area you’ll be working in. Gather together your paint, brushes, rollers, hammers, screwdrivers, plastic bags, plastic wrap, rags, paint can opener, and drop cloths. Plan a Day for Prep Don’t try to get everything done in one day. Use the day before painting day to gather furniture in the center of the room, patch cracks and holes, put blue painter’s tape around doors and windows, and cover wall and ceiling light fixtures (light bulbs removed, of course!...

Should You or Shouldn’t You? Aside from the more obvious reasons—you’re renting or otherwise unable to change the carpet, your carpet is showing signs of wear in areas that you would like to cover up, etc.—do it if you want to! Area rugs are a wonderful way of bringing new life into a space. They can add a pop of color or texture in a way that doesn’t require a total room overhaul....

Applications for Fly Ash Fly ash can be used as prime material in many cement-based products, such as poured concrete, concrete block, and brick. One of the most common uses of fly ash is in Portland cement concrete pavement or PCC pavement. Road construction projects using PCC can use a great deal of concrete, and substituting fly ash provides significant economic benefits. Fly ash has also been used for embankment and mine fill, and it has increasingly gained acceptance by the Federal Highway Administration....

Valspar’s 2023 Colors of the Year These dozen shades and hues weren’t pulled at random, each one was purposefully picked. Sue Kim, Valspar color marketing manager, notes that all of them tie back to how often we look to nature for comfort and respite. “We are not looking to escape but consciously doing what is needed to future-proof and build our place of safety, comfort, and joy—and doing so with these 12 colors,” she explains....

The whole idea of products like the VAVA Top-Fill Humidifier is to add moisture to the air in your home. Dry air—such as that produced by air conditioning—is quite irritating to your respiratory system and skin, and it can lead to respiratory issues, dry eyes, cracked lips, and more. When you have a humidifier in your home, it can help to reduce these symptoms and let you live a bit more comfortably....

Most homeowners have an instinctive wish to prune away these strange, disfiguring growths, which is precisely the right impulse to follow. In practical terms, watersprouts can be considered the above-ground version of the suckering shoots that sometimes pop up around the base of trees and shrubs. And like those in-ground suckers, watersprouts should be pruned away—unless you want to try your hand as using them in grafting. What Are Watersprouts Watersprouts are the growth shoots originating from growth nodes either on the surface or buried in the old wood of a plant....

Scroll down for the best cloth napkins you can buy today. These mid-weight napkins are made of yarn-died, sustainably sourced cotton and have a nice subtle texture. Like other 100 percent cotton products, the material is prone to wrinkling. However, the texture of these napkins helps mask this effect. The fabric feels durable but not stiff, and it held up well in the laundry. Unlike most other cloth napkins, washing them in warm water is recommended (as opposed to a cold cycle), which helps dissolve food residues and remove stains....

The Many Definitions of a Weed A variety of definitions of the term exist. Many of them allude to a kernel of truth that we can agree on but then go too far and lose our support. The most pervasive definition is that a weed is “a plant growing in the wrong place,” which can mean either of two things, depending on the speaker: One, it dares to grow in a place where humans live or go about their daily business, as opposed to a wild place where it is out of the way....

Different Types of Variegation Variegated foliage is less commonly tricolored (or even quadricolored, as in the case of the aptly named Agave lophantha ‘Quadricolor,’ which bears four colors on one leaf). Examples of plants that bear leaves containing three colors are Harriet Waldman’ Japanese maple tree (Acer palmatum), Arctic kiwi vine (Actinidia kolomikta ‘Arctic Beauty), ‘Tricolor’ sage (Salvia officinalis), and the Tricolor beech tree (Fagus sylvatica ‘Roseomarginata’). Another interesting twist in the tale of variegation is that the two colors found on a plant’s leaves can change according to the season....

Davenport, the Sofa The use of the term “davenport” for a large upholstered sofa began around 1900 when the Cambridge, Massachusetts, furniture manufacturer A.H. Davenport Co. created a boxy sofa, now iconic. The term can also mean a sleeper sofa. Regional Use What’s the difference between a davenport and a sofa or couch? It depends on what part of the country you ask. The term davenport is rarely used today except regionally, where it has limited use as a synonym for “couch....

Most loggias are part of a house and are distinguished by arches and columns. If the term is used to describe an outdoor area of a house that is not a historical landmark, it’s probably just serving as a glamorous word for a patio, porch, or balcony thought up by a real estate agent or creative committee of a home and garden tour. But that doesn’t mean homes that aren’t historical can’t have loggias in some form or another....

First developed in 1882, a chemist discovered that cooking foods containing oxalic acid, like rhubarb, spinach, turnip greens, in a tarnished metal pan left the utensil clean and untarnished. He formulated a powdered cleaning product and sold it to barkeepers to polish the brass rails that surrounded the bar. The company has been in continuous operation since that time. What Are the Ingredients in Bar Keepers Friend? Feldspar (mild abrasive) Linear Sodium Dodecyl Benzene Sulfonate (surfactant) Oxalic Acid (rust remover)...

The “bocce” in bocce ball is the plural for the Italian word that means “bowl,” and the sport is similar to British lawn bowling. The balls used in bocce ball and croquet also share some similarities; however, regulation bocce balls are larger and heavier. Bocce rules are fairly straightforward, and people of all ages and skill levels can play the game. Plus, you can use just about any patch of level ground as a bocce ball court....

Any laundry detergent or laundry product like stain removers, boosters, and fabric softeners with the HE symbol are formulated to be used in high-efficiency washing machines like front load washers as well as top load washers that require a low-sudsing detergent. High-efficiency washers use much less water than older standard washers. The HE detergents are developed as low-sudsing and quick-dispersing cleaners for use in low-water volume machines. The HE detergents are specially formulated to hold soil in suspension in that lower volume of water, so it is not re-deposited onto clean clothes....