If you want to up your drinks game, we highly recommend checking out Imbibe magazine, which is devoted to all things liquid.   In every issue and online, they feature great drink recipes, reviews, and stories about the people, places, flavors, and culture of drinks around the world.

We’re so thrilled to have been included in Imbibe’s May/June 2017 issue:

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We’re thrilled to be part of Flea Market Decor magazine‘s fun and eclectic September/October 2017 issue:

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We love this outdoor entertaining scene from Better Homes & Gardens‘s June 2017 issue!

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We’ve just moved into our new house, and although we love our hardwood floors, they are kind of overwhelming.  We feel like we’re living in a showhouse, plus we’re always walking carefully since our footsteps can be heard so loudly throughout.  So we need to start thinking about rugs.  We’re looking to define specific areas, add color to some rooms, and muffle sound/bring in warmth underfoot.

Luckily, we’ve done this many times before, so we know what a change we’ll see once we add rugs.  But for those who haven’t, here’s where you start.

A rug is good for:

• Defining a specific seating area.  The area rug brings a group of furniture together.  It could help smaller rooms look more spacious and turn larger rooms into separate, usable areas.

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VACUUMING

Regular vacuuming is essential for removing deeply embedded dirt and prolonging the life of your rug.

Canister vacuums without beater bars are the optimal type of vacuum to use on rugs. Brooms and manual sweepers are also a gentle and effective way to clean rugs. Powerful bagless vacuums are not recommended, as they use high suction, which can pull out threads from the back of a rug and create “sprouts.” Read more

Area rugs can be pricey, so many of us have wondered if we can just skip the rug pad in order to save a few dollars.  Here’s the quick answer: nope. And here’s why.

Rug pads do the following:

• Prevent your rug from sliding, buckling, and wrinkling
• Protect your rug from uneven wear patterns, and keep dirt and moisture trapped between the floor and the rug from damaging the rug’s underside
• Prevent your floors, especially wood floors, from getting bits of latex backing or thread stuck into them
• Finally, vacuuming is easier with a rug pad.  And who doesn’t want to keep their floors in their best shape for years to come?

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When picking the right fiber, you have to consider things like cleanability, durability, softness, shedding, color retention, and more. In fact, sometimes synthetic fibers like polypropylene or polyester are better choices than natural fibers because they’re stain-resistant, fade-resistant, and soft. Read more

While hand knotted rugs are the most prestigious and best known, the majority of rugs in people’s homes are less expensive constructions, like hand tufted or machine-made rugs.  This will help you understand more about the main construction types, including their durability, defining characteristics, and how they’re made. Read more

The best rugs don’t just look great — they enhance and complement the entire look of your interior space. With that said, it’s interesting how the size of a rug, not just its appearance, can influence the dynamic of a room. Read more

Have you ever worried about serving your favorite wines with dinner because they could stain your tablecloths?  Or inviting your best friends’ children over for a sit-down meal because Joey is (ahem) a little messy?

Well, believe it or not, some genius scientists in Switzerland were listening, and they came up with a solution that did not involve vinyl.  And not a moment too soon.  Finally, we’ll have driverless cars on the road, so it’s high time we found a way to entertain well without worrying about stains. Read more