Beds, baskets and Airbnb: more lessons I learned in 2019

COMMENTARY actions: A quest for this mattress (a Sealy Posturepedic Plush Euro Pillowtop custom made for Fairmont Hotel), and a four-part series about the squishy mattress business, which is long on marketing and short on science. Because mattresses are an important and expensive household purchase, I went under the covers to interview makers and sellers, sleep industry experts and spine doctors to separate hype from fact. of a saucer on the ceiling, forming a dark cloud of doom overhead. A series of calls and inspections determined the worst: We needed to replace our 17-year-old asphaltshingle roof. Insurance wouldn’t cover it, and I would be eating Top Ramen for the rest of my life. What’s more, I didn’t even get to enjoy whatever gratification a new roof color might have provided. After considering a gamut of asphalt-shingle colors and talking to an architect, I chose a medium-gray shingle as close to the existing roof color as I could get. This is the definition of being an adult.

KELLI BOYD Well-made baskets are unsung heroes that can easily go from room to room and work like pieces of furniture. Use them for items you need to corral or hide: firewood, toiletries, remote controls, toilet paper, mail, towels, laundry, shoes, socks and umbrellas.