five things we learned last week
Bright ideas we gathered from your comments.
1. Ikea’s Ektorp sofa has its faults, but it sure is comfy. Emilie wanted your opinions on Ikea’s Ektorp sofa. While two readers caution that the pillows are slippery, both can recommend it for comfort. Says TR Wexler, “Overall, it quickly became a lumpy mess, but this may be our fault? Comfy for naps, though!” While Anya says, “I’ve had LOTS of guests sleep on it. All have said how surprised they were at how comfortable it is.” Read and answer more reader questions here.
2. You didn’t sacrifice your decor for your kids — much. We asked how having kids changed your decor, and most of you said it really didn’t. Cassie says, “We have padded ottomans instead of coffee tables and our bookselves now house toy bins. When we have a party with all adult guests, we hide the really big toys.” The coffee table seemed to be the most affected item. As Daffodil says, “We quit using the nice-looking coffee table in our living room and instead used the serviceable-but-not-that-pretty coffee table from my husband’s bachelor days. It has been banged on with blocks, colored on, drooled on — and our son is only 16 months old!”
3. If you want cool, affordable pet furniture, try Ikea Hacker. Liz tells us, “Ikea Hacker has several pet furniture ideas — most recently, a decent-looking dog crate.” (She also cautions that you read the comments on the Ikea Hacker crate post as there’s some debate over its safety, but it seems to us that adding a couple bigger holes to the crate would be pretty easy.) Some of our readers have other questions — do you have any answers?
4. Don’t twist the biscuit cutter! You loved Erica P.’s biscuit recipe, and added some tips of your own. Says Anne Margaret, “A little known biscuit fact (straight from high school Home Ec class): don’t twist your cutter when cutting out biscuits. it makes the tops go wonky and slanted, instead of the tall, proud biscuits you deserve!” We love it! Start baking here.
5. ABC Home is a great place for jewelry. Cherlyn enthuses about ABC Home, “It really IS my favorite store in New York (and that’s saying something)! I always buy at least one piece of jewelry (yes, jewelry!) there on annual visits to NYC. They have great one-of-a-kind scarves, accessories, baby gifts…I could go on and on.” (Editor’s note: Mary T. knows Cherlyn personally, and can attest that her sense of style is second-to-none!) Read about ABC Home’s new green oasis here.
