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Once you’ve settled on a color, consider the accessories. A guest room should feel deliberate and purposefully styled, not thrown together using castoffs because your guests will feel more comfortable in a space decorated with thought. Make your guests feel welcome by spending time creating the ideal, relaxing space with little extras that help your house feel like home. Color Family: Light and dark neutrals, soft pinks and greens, enduring navy and brown Complementary Colors: Varies, consider the undertone of the neutrals for a complementary color Pairs Well With: Most pair with bright white accessories and trim, but also try blue and green hues Mood: Tranquil, comforting, cheery Where to Use: Walls, accent walls, floors, furniture...

In celebration of women-owned brands and businesses, we turned to some of our favorite designers to ask for their suggestions and recommendations on the female-founded brands they love. These design pros—all of whom are women business-owners themselves—more than delivered. Consider this guide the ultimate go-to for your spring home refresh while supporting a woman-owned business—a total win-win.

If you are not in the know, abodes like these are famously known for their relaxed rustic vibes and steeply pitched roofs. Both qualities make these resilient houses reasonably inexpensive to build—not to mention 100% Insta-worthy. Planning your own A-frame home—or just want to get to know the unique concept home a little more intimately? Below, we’ve gathered a handful of our favorite examples of A-frames homes that will inspire you....

Here are 17 of the best flowers for shade. USDA Growing Zones: 4–9 (USDA)Foliage Color Varieties: Green, purple, chartreuse, plum, red, taupe, coral, many variegated optionsSun Exposure: Partial sun to shadeSoil Needs: Rich, well-drained USDA Growing Zones: 5–9Color Varieties: White, blue, green, red, pink, purpleSun Exposure: Full, partialSoil Needs: Well-drained USDA Growing Zones: 3–8Color Varieties: Pink, red, white, lavenderSun Exposure: Partial to full shadeSoil Needs: Loamy, well-drained USDA Growing Zones: 10–11, typically grown as annualColor Varieties: Red, pink, violet, coral, purple, yellow, whiteSun Exposure: Partial shade to full shadeSoil Needs: Rich, well-drained...

Dreaming of escaping to the French countryside for some rest and relaxation? We are too—which is why we’ve rounded up some of the most picturesque countryside cottages in France. From tiny cabins in the South of France to artfully designed villas in the Loire Valley, these countryside retreats deserve a spot on your vision board.

Read more about our Diversity and Inclusion Pledge to make The Spruce a site where all feel welcome.

The saponins found in this plant are potentially poisonous for people and no part of the plant should be eaten. These saponins can also be used to make soaps. The southern magnolia is the state flower for Louisiana and Mississippi. This tree will put on an autumn show, but be aware that there will be a LOT of the little leaves to clean up once the leaves fall off. Our streets would be filled with them each year....

Add a beautiful bookshelf to make your she shed into your dream reading nook, or use it to organize and store your garden supplies so that you can create a backyard oasis with ease. Whatever you decide to do with your shed, make it your own. Take a look at these stunning he and she shed ideas for inspiration. If pink isn’t your color, consider sticking to the monochromatic look with a different color, like sage green or sky blue....

While choosing a top load washing machine limits the possibility of installing a countertop above the machines and will force you to sacrifice some of the above-machine space to allow room to open and close the lid, that’s nothing that some clever laundry room shelving can’t solve. Check out these stylish, high-functioning small laundry rooms that feature top load washing machines out of necessity or by choice for inspiration on how to integrate them into your decor....

Enjoy perusing this list of plants with purple flowers, including pictures, that will add beautiful hues to your garden. USDA Growing Zones: 4 to 8Color Varieties: Purple with blue tintsSun Exposure: Full sunSoil Needs: Well-drained USDA Growing Zones: 4 to 8Color Varieties: Deep shades of purpleSun Exposure: Full sunSoil Needs: Well-drained, moist USDA Growing Zones: 4 to 9Color Varieties: PurpleSun Exposure: Part sun, ShadeSoil Needs: Average, medium moisture, well-drained...

These are 30 birds to look out for in Florida. See amazing endemic birds in Hawaii! Learn about northern coastal birds in Maine! See plenty of mountain bird species in Utah!

A teen’s 16th birthday is important for many reasons: they can now get a job and a driver’s license, which means an abundance of freedom to a young person. This is the best birthday to begin teaching a teen that with these freedoms come great responsibility, skills, and habits needed to handle all that growth. In addition, a 16-year-old may be thinking about passions and interests in a deeper way, which is great news if you’re looking for gift ideas....

Concrete (sometimes mistakenly called “cement”) is a paving surface created by blending water, powdered Portland cement, sand, and gravel aggregate, pouring it between forms when wet, and allowing it to harden into one of the most durable of all paving surfaces. Installation is quite labor-intensive, requiring the creation of a packed sub-base layer, constructing wooden forms to hold the liquid concrete, reinforcing the concrete with rebar or wire mesh, and carefully tooling and smoothing the surface after it’s poured....

Andy Cohen, TV personality and father of two, is no stranger to the holiday chaos. But for Cohen, it’s all about making things easier. “Just keep it simple,” Cohen tells The Spruce. “I think people put themselves through it, and they should give themselves a break.” But that’s not the only tip Cohen has for holiday hosting. We spoke to the Watch What Happens Live host and co-host of CNN’s New Year’s Eve countdown to find out what other tricks he has for making the holidays easier....

“Toys at this age should match the specifics like and dislikes of the specific individual while still encouraging socialization and imagination,” Dan Mason, a licensed pediatric-focused speech-language pathologist says. We researched and tested the best toys on the market, considering the age range, educational value, and safety features. Based on these factors, our favorite picks include an educational science kit from Scientific Explorer and Crayola’s Make a Beast craft kit to help express his creativity....

Set the stage with paint, wallpaper, and flooring. Choose a stylish sink, mirror, or light fixture that becomes the focal point in the room, and keep the space free of clutter. Decide whether you want your powder room to blend in with the rest of your home’s decor, or if you want it to stand out on its own in terms of color and style. Because a powder room is a small space, use it as a blank canvas to experiment and take risks with the decor that might feel too overwhelming in a larger, high traffic area....

1. Using Too Much Rattan Rattan furniture is having a major moment in homes of all kinds, but it’s particularly common to spot these beautiful woven pieces in boho style spaces. According to some boho style enthusiasts, though, there is such thing as too much of the material. “One mistake people can make is adding too many rattan pieces and not mixing it with other materials,” home Instagrammer Ana Isaza Carpio explains....

Here are five tips for controlling the cable and wire madness and putting your home office on the path toward a cleaner, more organized look. When you need to connect an external USB hard drive to a second PC or find the power cord for a scanner, it’s a simple matter of reading information on the cable end, rather than having to trace the cable back to its source. When you unplug a device, the wire won’t drop to the ground and be lost....