But that doesn’t mean you should give up on your dream couch or tufted ottoman. We tapped interior designer Sarah Stacey to get her tips when shopping for space-saving living room furniture, and where to start. “Always do a furniture layout on paper as well as proper measurements to determine exactly what size pieces are needed for the room,” Stacey tells Real Simple. “Make sure to allow sufficient room to circulate around furniture, especially if you’re working with a small space....

If you’ve ever dyed your hair, your strands have fallen victim to oxidation at one point or another. You’ve probably heard about oxidation in chemistry class, where clear formulas (or foods) can warp into a brownish hue when exposed to environmental aggressors. The same goes for your hair. Unfortunately, there’s nothing you can really do to prevent this process. There are countless environmental factors that work against your hair’s hue, including the sun, hard water, and styling products, making some level of color change inevitable....

Cabin fever isn’t an urban legend; it exists and can definitely rear its ugly head when you spend too much time indoors. “It’s not a mental illness or disorder, but more of a psychological condition that arises from the feelings of being alone and stuck in a confined space,” says Dr. P. Priyanka, MD, medical director for Community Psychiatry. “Once we start to feel stuck, our mind extrapolates it into several other negative emotions to make us feel that there is no way out of this and that things will only get worse....

This has been the year of Grinch at our house! It’s the first year we’ve really done a Grinchmas celebration, and it’s so much fun! From the Grinch gift exchange we did at my son’s classroom party to this Grinch themed Christmas punch game, it’s just been an absolute blast! I’m pretty sure a Grinch themed Christmas is going to be an annual thing, complete with the who pudding! Out of all of the Grinch treats (even the Grinch sugar cookies) I’ve made this year, these caramel Grinch snacks may just be the easiest yet....

Although some of the books on this list have been published more recently, they explore timeless questions and concerns. Jesmyn Ward’s Sing, Unburied, Sing explores issues of race and class in America and J. M. Coetzee’s Disgrace tells the complicated story of forgiveness in post-apartheid South Africa. A lot of the nonfiction that flies off the shelves of local bookstores deals with current cultural trends or events or offers advice for self-improvement....

Autucu Hepa Air Purifier, $30 with coupon (was $35) Seasky Slide Out Under-Sink Organizer, $24 (was $30) Zevo Flying Insect Trap, $26 (was $39) iRobot Roomba i2 Robot Vacuum, $291 (was $350) Ysnhsye Appliance Cord Organizer Pack, $14 Umiules Folding Nonslip Pants Hangers, $16 July Home Electric Spin Scrubber, $45 with coupon (was $50) Ninja Foodi Power Blender and Processor, $150 (was $200) Shark Stratos UltraLight Corded Stick Vacuum, $300 Caduke Nightstand Set with Charging Station, $90 Seseno Refrigerator Organizer Bin Set, $17 (was $20) YouCopia StoraBag Drawer Food Bags Dispenser, $20 Ruboxa Drawer Clothing Organizer Set, $14...

While working hard to nail the perfect bone dry cappuccino or cold brew concentrate makes perfect sense, no matter how you take your coffee, you’re missing one of the biggest factors that affects the taste: The roasting process. Roasting brings out the aromas and flavors of the coffee bean. And how the beans are roasted will determine the true taste of your cup of coffee, as well as its caffeine content....

“You don’t listen to music one note at a time, and you don’t see colors one at a time,” Ashcraft explains. “It’s all about relationships, combinations, and context.” Need examples? Here are four—in blue, yellow, green, and red—devised especially for Real Simple readers. Copy these palettes for walls, ceilings, and trim, or get inspired to create your own. To buy: Christine low round side table, olystudio.com for stores. Brompton sofa, georgesmith....

To buy: $5 (was $10); amazon.com. I decided to start with Connoisseurs Fine Jewelry Cleaner because I really wanted my yellow gold rings and necklace to look far brighter. After seeing that the cleaner had more than 21,000 five-star ratings and was on sale for $5 (note: the sale is ongoing), I felt like I was making a great choice. I was also intrigued by the directions that said I would only need to dip each piece into the cleaner for 30 seconds....

“Keep your list to those people who make you feel special, who you really want to be there,” says entertaining expert Lory Parson of To Have + To Host. “If you tend to spread your Christmas decorations on every available surface, wall, and window, you can lose each element’s special impact,” says Benjamin Bradley, host of Netflix’s Holiday Home Makeover With Mr. Christmas. “That’s why a theme often works best—or select certain areas of your home to focus upon....

To sweeten the deal, we also added a cakey topping that tastes intensely like a molten chocolate cake. Every bite of this decadent dump cake is an addictive combination of custardy pumpkin and melted chocolate. It’s like barely-baked pumpkin bread with chocolate chips. Need we say more? You have our full permission to enjoy this dream team (pumpkin and chocolate, that is) all year long, not just around the holidays....

Former garden editor of Midwest Living magazineProject editor and contributor for five Better Homes & Gardens garden booksWriter of hundreds of garden articles for more than 20 national and regional magazine titlesGhost writer for the encyclopedia of an award-winning garden book, 2020Fellow of Garden Communicators InternationalBook awards judge for American Horticulture Society 2016-2020Past chair and current judge for Garden Communicators International Honored as a Fellow of Garden Communicators International 2017 Winner, 2008 Silver Award, magazine writing, Garden Communicators InternationalJudge for American Horticulture Society’s annual book awards 2016-20Past chair and frequent judge for Garden Communicators International’s Media Awards program...

The process of deep cleaning your bathroom isn’t as complicated as you might think—follow these steps to make every inch of your bathroom sparkle. Rule #1 for keeping your bathroom clean? Keep it dry—so as you’re cleaning, make sure you dry all surfaces well afterward. Whether you divvy up your antibacterial blitz into small sessions or complete your bathroom deep clean in one fell swoop, implementing these habits every couple of months will be like flushing your worries down the…well, you know....

Known as “hair of the dog,” this age-old, alleged hangover cure stems from the belief that continuing to drink alcohol is the best way to ease the pain of your current hangover. But the debate over whether this remedy is rooted in fact or fiction has long been argued in favor of both sides, with some experts believing it works and others advising strongly against it. To get down to the bottom of this phenomenon, we’ve asked doctors to shed some light on the old “hair of the dog”trick, and other (probably better) ways to cure hangovers safely....

Eggs and milk have high protein and moisture content. So when baked goods such as cheesecake are left at room temperature, conditions are ripe for bacteria to multiply. Note: It’s not necessary to refrigerate most other cakes, cookies, or bread unless they have a perishable filling or frosting. According to the USDA’s Food Keeper App, cheesecake should be consumed within 5 to 7 days of refrigeration. While we wish we had better news, if you accidentally went to bed and left your cheesecake cooling on the counter, it’s best to not risk illness by consuming it....

There are very few things in life that I enjoy more than a good ice cream cake. And this Oreo ice cream cake makes me think of Joey from friends describing Rachel’s famous trifle – Oreos good, ice cream sandwiches, good. Chocolate sauce, good. It’s literally everything good in one amazingly easy cake! I mean there’s a reason my neighbors got me an Oreo ice cream cake for my birthday last year – I didn’t share a single slice!...

There’s just something about an old-fashioned apple dessert that screams fall. Now that fall is less than a week away, I’m ready to scream. Scream fall that it is! I’m ready to throw an apple party, eat pumpkin cream cheese muffins for breakfast, and play Halloween games daily until October 31st! And since we’re screaming fall, I thought I’d share this fun spin on an old-fashioned apple crumble recipe. Because there’s just something about apples that says fall is here!...

One of my favorite things to do for Disney vacations is to DIY shirts, like last year’s matching Lion King shirts. This year was no different with a Beauty and the Beast themed day, a Moana themed day, Star Wars, Marvel, and you get the picture. But out of all of them, I think the DIY shirts I made for Beauty and the Beast were my favorite. And they’d make super fun Beauty and the Beast gifts for lovers of the movie!...

Easy Calzone Recipe I’m a big sucker for pizza – all things pizza really. Pizza loaf, mini pizza pies, even fruit pizza. But know what I’m ever more of a sucker for? Calzones. Any time there are calzones on a menu, I go for those instead of a regular pizza. Well those and pepperoni rolls. With all of the parties that I host, I wanted to figure out a way to make an easy calzone recipe that would work for parties since a great big calzone really isn’t a good way to go for a party buffet....

With 4th of July just a week away, it’s time to finish my red, white, and blue posts for the year! I’ve already shared tons of recipes like this red, white, and blue cake and this 4th of July pinwheel cookie recipe. Oh and don’t forget the rice krispie cookies studded with July 4th sprinkles and patriotic M&Ms. But today we’re getting back into things to do (not eat) on fourth of July with this fun and easy 4th of July sparkler craft....