Better Homes and Gardens

editor’s letter

ROAD TRIP We took a lot of car trips when I was a kid. Granted I was small, but our station wagon seemed giant. I remember crawling back to visit my mother where she lay down during long trips. She suffered from arthritis and fibromyalgia, so my dad would try to ease her pain by constructing a bed of sorts out of a foam mattress that we made into a comfy nest with lots of my grandmother’s quilts. As the youngest and smallest, I had free rein of the car’s vast real estate because I could fit almost anywhere. (This was before the benefit of seat belts.) I would lie next to my mother under the West Texas stars, conferring quietly about something long forgotten. Or I would stretch out across the…

bhg.com what’s trending online

DIY With What You Have Itching to do a project on the cheap? Shop your house for leftover supplies like fabric and wood scraps and create pieces of decor that’ll instantly refresh a room. We show you how to cover lampshades, create wall art, and more. BHG.com/FreeDIY HEALTHY SNACKS Our favorite bite-size treats are colorful, crunchy, and come in under 200 calories. Check out delicious alternatives to the typical bag of chips in your kid’s lunch box and find nutritious options to satisfy your snack attacks. BHG.com/SnackHealthy [Exclusive BH&G Offer] Heirloom Fragrant Peony Trio Their romantic ruffles and heady sweet-to-spicy scent have made these heirloom peonies favorites for more than 100 years. Planted in a sunny bed, ’Edulis Superba’, ‘Duchesse de Nemours’, and ‘Lady Alexandra Duff’ will bloom each June. Order the Fragrant Peony Trio from White…

waste not

5 WAYS TO USE A JAM JAR Our editors keep empty jars out of the recycling bin by putting them to work in the kitchen. 1 HERB SPRIGS Keep stems of basil in shallow water; they will grow roots so you can plant them outside. 2 SALAD DRESSING Shake up a homemade dressing and store for future use. 3 INFUSED BOOZE Experiment with infusing alcohol with different flavors (like blueberries in vodka). 4 DIY EXTRACTS Make baking extracts (vanilla, cherry, cinnamon). Learn how at BHG.com/Extracts. 5 PANTRY ORG Decant nuts, seeds, and bulk-bin buys for stackability. COOKING SMARTS MIND YOUR RIND We go through Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese wedges pretty quickly at my house, and I never throw out the rinds. I use them in almost any soup, tomato sauce, or cream-base pasta sauce for extra flavor. If you don’t have a recipe ready for your…

playroom seating

1 LAY THE BASE Look for firm, structured box cushions (sometimes called French mattress cushions). For young children, they’re a soft surface with an easy dismount. And older kids can jump around without a big drop. Add some bolsters and pillows, and you’ve got a lounge for adults. 2 KEEP IT FLEXIBLE Banked together as a sofa, the cushions are about the size of a twin mattress—an instant extra bed for sleepovers. Individual squares are easy to move around the floor. (Hot lava, anyone?) 3 GO FOR DURABLE No surprise that hard-wearing, easy-clean upholstery is a priority. Designer Susana Simonpietri covered these with an indoor-outdoor acrylic fabric. 4 CREATE BALANCE A bold wallpaper spiced up this room, Simonpietri says. “But your eye needs a place to rest.” Solid blocks of color on the cushions and carpet tiles…

animal prints

1 CHEETAH GREY HAND MIRROR The old-fashioned accessory gets a modern look. $38; wolfum.com 2 SPOTTED CARD Give handwritten notes a trend-forward edge. $15 for set of six; wildehousepaper.com 3 LEOPARD ACCENT PLATE Equally suited for a fancy or casual table. $59 for set of four; ballarddesigns.com 4 LEOPARD PILLOW Exactly the right amount of exotic for the sofa. $26; dormify.com 5 LEOPARD KITCHEN TOWEL Water-based ink makes it both stylish and eco-friendly. $20; theriseandfall.com 6 GRANADA LEOPARD PRINT FRAME A little animal magnetism for a favorite pic. $46; shiraleah.com 7 CHEETAH PRINT NAPKIN A painterly take on the motif. $10; cb2.com 8 OPALHOUSE LEOPARD MEDALLION STITCH QUILT Reverses to a solid. $60 (queen); target.com BY: EUGENIA SANTIESTEBAN SOTO; PHOTOS: (ROOM) BRITTANY AMBRIDGE FOR DOMINO, (PRODUCTS 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8) MARTY BALDWIN, (4) COURTESY OF DORMIFY, (7) COURTESY OF CB2…

ask bh&g

Q: “How do I get my kids, 6 and 4, into the habit of cleaning? Getting their help is a daily struggle.”LAUREN RYAN, Boston Reframe the game. Use these smart tactics and training tweaks to turn little ones into big helpers. ▪ TEAM FAMILY Try this house mantra: Everyone contributes. “I like the term family contributions much better than chores because it reminds kids that they make a difference in your family,” says Amy McCready, founder of Positive Parenting Solutions. ▪ PLAY TO STRENGTHS Whatever helpful task children show an interest in—wiping down the table after meals, throwing laundry down the chute—let them own it. ▪ PREP SCHOOL Build in a two-week training period to ensure they understand what a job well done looks like. Sure, it’s extra work for you at first. But attentive supervision in…