NICETOWN’s Thermal Insulated Blackout Curtains take on the task of blocking light in 20 different colors. Blackout curtains keep light, and often heat, out so if you are bothered by bright lights during the day or are trying to insulate your home for better energy efficiency, they can be useful for you. But some curtains look like painter’s tarps and smell even worse, so it’s a matter of finding a pair that look great but also provide the darkness you need for better sleep....

In other regions, the slow-growing Norfolk Island pine is often grown as a living Christmas tree, frequently decorated with ribbons or ornaments. All too often, the tree is discarded after the holiday season, but it can easily be kept as a permanent foliage plant indoors or planted outdoors when it warms up in the spring. If growing Norfolk Island pine indoors, use a potting mix that is porous, sandy, and slightly acidic....

The toilet paper shortage of 2020 brought bidets into the spotlight in the U.S., but these underside-washing basins are standard in other parts of the world. Often, bidets are a plumbing fixture, separate from toilets installed securely to the bathroom floor alongside a toilet bowl. While that may be the ideal setup, not everyone has the extra space or budget for this significant plumbing job. That’s where the Omigo Element Bidet Attachment comes in....

Storing fine jewelry (or anything else that’s small and holds value, sentimental or otherwise) isn’t as straightforward as it seems. You want to store your small items safely, of course, in a manner that protects them from getting lost, accumulating dust, or otherwise suffering damage. But you also want to keep your small items accessible, so you can wear or use them whenever you want. Finally, you want your smaller trinkets—particularly if they’re beautiful or striking—on display: You’ve collected these items, and it’s a bit of a waste to not keep them in a visible spot....

Whether you’d call yourself clumsy or not, it’s likely that you’ve stained at least a couple pieces of clothing in recent weeks. Whether it was with red wine, ketchup, or dirty puddle water, it’s always a frustrating experience. Keeping a stain remover in your laundry room is one way to combat errant stains. OxiClean’s Versatile Stain Remover claims that it can handle not only clothes, but other surfaces, too. To see if the formula was as much of a powerhouse as advertising would lead us to believe, we picked up a box of the powder and got to testing....

Even though you still cannot paint your home when rainwater is coursing down the siding, what about in-between conditions, such as when it is humid? If so, what is the maximum humidity that is acceptable before you risk paint failure? Optimum and Maximum Humidity Levels For Painting Optimum Humidity: 40- to 50-percent The best humidity levels for exterior painting tend to be in the 40- to 50-percent range. While it seems reasonable to assume that more dry conditions help paint cure better, this is not true....

In appearance, this perennial ornamental grass combines drama, grace, and even humor. Growing in clumps, the papyrus plant extends a tall reedy stem as much as 8 feet tall, atop which perches a clump of umbrella-like grassy rays. The plant is undeniably elegant, but with eccentric touch that makes it look like it belongs in a Dr. Seuss book. Papyrus is a dramatic plant that looks great in big, simple containers....

If you haven’t experienced much luck with flowering houseplants, you will appreciate that the Peperomia sports ornamental foliage. Its leaves can be textured or smooth in red, green, gray, or purple; variegated, marbled, or solid; large, heart-shaped, or tiny. Plants in the Peperomia genus can look so different from one to the next that it’s difficult to discern if they are even related. All Peperomia plants are low maintenance, slow-growing, and can be planted all year long....

Laminate flooring falls in the latter camp. If inexpertly installed, laminate flooring will be a disaster in high-moisture environments. If installed according to manufacturer instructions, laminate flooring has, at least, a decent chance of standing up against the water. Delaminate is the main problem. Slowly the image layer and wear layer begin to de-laminate from the top of the board. Because laminate is a dense fiberboard, it can take days to dry....

In the past, you were likely to see rows of funeral wreaths in the visitation room. Now, however, there might be a couple of wreaths, but you’ll see more casual flower arrangements, live plants, and cards showing that a charitable donation was made in honor of the deceased. After someone passes away, whether it’s a friend, family member, or the loved one of a friend or family member, you may still want to send flowers, even if you make a donation in the person’s honor....

Within the quartz category, one brand stands out: Cambria. Cambria has been around for over two decades now, and many of the original counters are still going strong—a testament to the long-lasting quality of quartz. What Cambria Quartz Countertop Is Cambria is a leading brand name for quartz countertop material and is the only quartz countertop made entirely in the U.S. Also called engineered stone or quartz stone, quartz countertops are made with natural quartz stone crystals combined with resins and pigments to create a stone-like material that offers some practical and aesthetic benefits over natural stone....

While red dye might not pose the dangers some worry it could, colorless nectar will provide the nutrition and sustenance needed for healthy hummingbirds without any potential added risk. Attracting Hummingbirds Without Red Dye Many commercial hummingbird nectars, both powdered mixes and liquid concentrates, include red dye. Because hummingbirds are attracted to red, the dye is useful as a sales point for backyard birding consumers, and red nectar stands out on store shelves more effectively than clear bottles....

Cicero gets the credit for saying, “A room without books is like a body without a soul.” This expression may sound like fridge magnet poetry, but stylistically, bookcases filled with books and mementos can breathe life into a room. The classic 5-Shelf Bookcase from Sauder offers enough space for your unread philosophy textbooks and your complete set of well-thumbed and bunny-eared Star Trek paperback fan fiction—all at a reasonable price point....

For spot cleaning and quick spruce ups, a cordless stick vacuum is a great alternative to a full-size vacuum. Without the hassle of a cord, you can move easily from room to room. While most cordless stick vacuums are less powerful than upright or canister vacuums, the manufacturers of the Shark Freestyle Pro Cordless Vacuum say it can pick us as much as a full-size model. I used this vacuum on various surfaces throughout my home....

We turned to the experts to explain how this handy guideline works. What Is the Triangle Rule? Ashley Baker, Senior Interior Designer at Vesta, is a huge fan of the triangle rule. She even posted this handy guide on her personal design Instagram feed, explaining what it all entails. The gist: things looked best when clustered in small groups that are arranged to create a multi-level triangular shape. Connor Prestwood, Interior Designer at Dowsing & Reynolds, agrees....

This list of shrubs that bloom on old wood is not exhaustive. Instead, the goal has been to include many of the most commonly grown flowering (deciduous) bushes in the northern U.S. and southern Canada. While it is reassuring to consult such lists, you do not need them if you just remember the general rule of thumb: Shrubs that bloom in spring flower on old wood and should be pruned just after those blooms fade....