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I organize the Before & After series and cover DIY and design. I joined AT in October 2020 as a production assistant. I have an MA in Journalism from the University of Missouri and a BA in Journalism from Belmont University. Past editorial stops include HGTV Magazine, Nashville Arts Magazine, and local magazines in my hometown, Columbia, Missouri.
Estate sales, yard sales, and antique shops were regular weekend destinations for my brother and me as kids. My parents, always on the hunt for period-appropriate decor for our Staten Island 19th-century house, made sure of it. Since then, I’ve had a love for home design and…read more
I’ve often heard the simple, go-to advice for making a cramped space appear bigger: paint it white. Homeowners (and sellers) have long relied on this classic hue to craft an illusion of openness for potential buyers. However, nowadays, real estate professionals are recommending more unconventional hues to entice future buyers.
“A common misconception about paint colors is that white walls will make a space feel bigger. For white to work in a cramped space, you need natural light and other natural features. Otherwise, it can look dingy,” mentions Libby Fehsenfeld, home stager and owner of Tralala Interiors.
To help you move beyond white walls and choose the best paint colors to transform any cramped room, we consulted a few leading real estate professionals. Here is their best advice.
I love slow cooker pot roast — tender slices of chuck roast, meltingly soft carrots, little golden potatoes that burst from their peels when you bite into them, and the gravy. Oh, the gravy! Few things are more satisfying than the beefy sauce that’s slowly been mingling with those ingredients all day. It’s the best part of fall, and I make my mom’s old recipe the moment the first crimson leaf drops — except I give it a major glow-up.
My mom, like most home cooks from the 1980s, relied on a packet of French onion soup mix to make slow cooker pot roast. While I still remember it fondly, it’s far too salty and artificial-tasting to my palate these days. That’s why I switched to using Savory Choice demi glace instead.
Demi glace is a rich, brown French sauce that’s made by combining espagnole sauce (a tomato-beef sauce) with beef stock and wine. The mixture is then simmered and reduced until it’s a thick glaze. It’s traditionally used as a finishing sauce for meat dishes like steak with mushroom sauce or impossibly tender chateaubriand — the strong beefy flavor and lip-smacking texture makes everything taste richer and meatier.
It takes a long time and a lot of skill to make homemade demi glace. I made it once in culinary school and, while it was delicious, it was tedious. I vowed that life was too short to ever fuss with it again. Fortunately, Savory Choice makes shelf-stable packets of demi glace concentrate for those of us with busy lives.
It’s made from wine, vegetables, beef stock, maltodextrin (a sweetener), butter, and beef fat. When mixed with a few tablespoons of water, it makes a rich, velvety pan sauce, but that’s not all it can do.
I season a three-pound tied chuck roast, plunk it in my slow cooker, mix one 1.33-ounce packet of the demi glace concentrate with 3/4 cup of water, and pour it over the meat. Then I add large peeled carrots and a handful of small unpeeled yellow potatoes, turn it on low, and let the magic happen. The demi glace mingles with the beef juices, and in 8 to 9 hours I’ve got a delicious gravy that tastes like a French chef had something to do with it.
Because chuck roast is a fairly fatty cut, I degrease the cooking liquid in a gravy separator and whisk the defatted juices into a simple roux to make a luxuriously thick gravy in seconds. I pour the gravy over the sliced roast and veggies and voilà! My favorite slow cooker meal, Frenchified!
It’s hard to imagine these little packets hanging around in the pantry for more than a few weeks. If somehow they do, Savory Choice recommends using them within two years from their manufacture date.
But when stored properly — in an airtight container, kept in a cool, dry place — they are usually still safe to eat past the suggested date. Before you toss them (or any pantry staple) use your senses of smell and taste. You may end up saving hundreds of dollars a year.
As the Editorial Assistant for The Kitchn, I cover groceries, news, trends, people, and culture. I have 5 years of experience in communications and an MA in Food Studies from NYU. I previously worked at Food Network, and for nonprofits advocating for food justice.
I get the most joy during the holiday season seeing other folks open the sentimental gifts I got them (rather than the other way around). Gift-giving is my love language. I find great joy in searching for the perfect items, and hoping the recipient loves their gift. However, somewhere between the buying and the opening, there is one job that isn’t my favorite: the wrapping.
I’ve been known to toss gifts into festive bags, or give my husband stacks of boxes to wrap as he watches sports. However, this year I’m trying to elevate my packaging by heading to the thrift store. Yes, wrapping paper and gift bags are readily available there, but I’ve recently discovered that an unexpected part of the store is where the real holiday magic happens. I’ve taken to buying vintage fabric squares by the dozen — and it’s transformed my gift-giving game.
Not only do these small squares pack a punch in the decorative department, but they’re also a great way to avoid wrapping paper waste while packaging things sustainably. It’s similar to furoshiki, a traditional Japanese fabric wrapping cloth used to wrap many different things. Plus, some of these cloths I buy can be repurposed as gorgeous scarves. This year is a great time to get on board with this age-old concept. Here’s how.
If you’re willing to do a bit of digging, you’ll find squares of fabric tucked into several different areas of your local charity shop. Head to the women’s clothing section to browse through the scarves. Skip the bulky winter ones and opt for lighter-weight silk or polyester versions, which are often square.
If you don’t spot scarves with Christmas motifs, look for holiday-centric colorways to enhance your gifts. Pocket squares from the men’s section are helpful if you strike out in the scarf section; they’re just the right size for smaller things.
Next, peruse the housewares section for a peek at the fabric napkins. Thrift stores are overrun with mismatched napkins, which are ideal for perking up a gift. Search for solid color, plaid, and floral patterns. While you’re in the textiles section, check for tea towels. Vintage patterns are charming and often feature travel-centric themes or annual calendars bursting with color.
Another good area to check is the crafting section, where you may see unfinished quilting projects. Someone’s castoff can be your treasure trove if you discover a stack of quilt squares. In a pinch, you can even pick up unused fabric and cut it to suit your gift-giving needs.
After you’ve collected all the squares of fabric you can find, you’re ready to add a bit of panache to your holiday gifts. As a bonus, many serve as an extra gift for about what you’d pay for a gift bag.
One of the simplest ways to bundle up a gift is to use the fabric as you would wrapping paper. Pick an appropriately sized square, place your boxed item in the center, and secure the loose ends by tying. Add a sprig of evergreen or holly, and you have something perfect for displaying under your tree.
Beyond thinking outside the box, you can also think inside the box, as fabric can secure fragile or tiny things in a container before wrapping. For example, if you’re gifting a pair of vintage earrings, you can fold them securely into a pocket square to keep them from shifting in the box. Fabric can also muffle sound, which will help throw off avid gift-shakers. (And pocket squares are so classy.)
When putting together a gift basket (don’t forget to get them secondhand while you’re thrifting), place a vintage square in the base of your container before adding other contents. The fabric will protect the items while providing a bit of color, and, once again, an extra gift.
If you’re headed to a party and taking a host gift of a bottle of wine, cover it with a tea towel or festive scarf to add an element of surprise. That way, your hosts will know what it is and can decide whether to serve it at the event or set it aside for another day. Plus, they get a gorgeous tea towel out of it!