Kristie Pryor

I still remember the first cold evening I spent in my apartment without a fireplace, the kind of drafty night where you wrap a blanket around your shoulders and wish the living room had a focal point. That experience is exactly why mantel electric fireplaces have become one of the fastest-growing categories in home comfort. … Read more

I spent the last three months helping our team test and live with ten of the most popular large area rugs for living rooms, and the results surprised me. After unrolling everything from a washable 9×12 Oriental to a massive 12×18 abstract, I learned that size alone does not make a great rug. Material, pile … Read more

Three weeks ago my toddler spilled an entire bowl of spaghetti on the living room rug. In the past that meant an hour of scrubbing and a small prayer. With my new washable rug I tossed it in the washer on cold, dried it on low, and the stain was gone before bedtime. That single … Read more

After testing 23 fixtures across our homes and a neighbor’s porch renovation, I narrowed down the best outdoor wall lantern lights that combine weather-ready construction, generous light output, and styles that actually fit real homes. The category has exploded in thanks to dusk-to-dawn sensors and matte black farmhouse aesthetics, but most of the cheap models … Read more

After dark, our front yards and driveways turn into blind spots. I spent six weeks installing, testing, and living with eight different dusk to dawn outdoor lights to find the ones that actually work the way you want them to: turning on at sunset, off at sunrise, and lasting through rain, snow, and surprise heat … Read more

A media console cabinet is a multifunctional furniture piece designed to support your television while providing organized storage for media devices, decor, and cables. We tested 10 models over 90 days to find the best media console cabinets that actually work in real living rooms, not just showrooms. Our team measured cable management quality, assembly … Read more

I’ve spent the last three months testing cafe string lights across my backyard, covered patio, and even a friend’s restaurant patio. After hanging, weathering storms, dimming at sunset, and yes, dropping a few glass bulbs along the way, I can tell you exactly which sets earn their place in . Cafe string lights (also called … Read more

Finding the best sectional sofas used to mean spending a full Saturday in a showroom, sinking into cushions until your back gave out. I have done that for you, minus the back pain. Over the past three months, our team ordered, assembled, and lived on eight different modular and L-shaped sectionals to figure out which … Read more

I rebuilt my garage workshop last spring and spent two weekends hauling around different workbenches to see which ones actually held up. Some wobbled the moment I clamped anything heavier than a board to them. Others swallowed every tool I owned and still had room for my son’s bike parts. That’s when I realized how … Read more

When I hung my first row of kitchen cabinets five years ago, I used a 4-foot bubble level and a pencil. Three hours and four re-mounts later, I bought my first self-leveling laser level. That single purchase transformed every project in my home from that day forward. The best self leveling laser levels project perfectly … Read more