Embrace Your Fireplace

from RS - September 2022

discover the zen

Interior designer JARRET YOSHIDA shares a few tips to make an awkward corner hearth look warm, welcoming, and stylish.

BY TEDDY WILLSON

Q:We just bought a house, and the living room is a struggle to design because there’s a corner ireplace that cuts into the room. How do I make this work?

—Trish from Westbury, New York

DON’T HIDE IT; AMPLIFY IT!

Wallpaper or paint the angled wall so the ireplace stands out against it. A faux-stone design or dark hue will create a dramatic backdrop. TO BUY: Gray Paint; benjaminmoore .com for info

ADJUST THE FLOOR PLAN

Instead of having your seating face the hearth, as is typical, position furniture toward the other walls. Use a rug to outline a gathering zone, with at least the front legs of your sofa and chairs resting on it. TO BUY: Bonner Sand Dhurrie Area Rug, from $103; allmodern.com.

FIND MOVABLE FURNITURE

Choose pieces with adjustable bases, like swivel chairs, so guests can turn toward the ire when it’s lit or the center of the room when it isn’t. TO BUY: Velvet Stella Upholstered Swivel Chair, $450; worldmarket.com

BEFORE

SET THE SCENE

Dress up your ireplace and give it year-round appeal by hanging a large mirror or piece of art above it.

TO BUY: French Port, from $29; juniperprintshop.com.

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Home Symptoms You Can’t Ignore

Bad smells, mystery stains, and loud noises are just a few of the joys of homeownership. While some may be a nothingburger, others can threaten your home’s integrity. If you’re wondering about the source of whatever it is that’s haunting your house, read on.

BY ERICA FINAMORE

What’sThat Smell?

Rotting Food…but There’s Nothing in the Trash

Have you ever walked by your dishwasher and been stopped in your tracks by the smell? You may think the culprit is stuck-on food from last night’s dinner, but it’s more likely food from way longer ago than that (ew). The dishwasher has a filter that helps prevent food from clogging up the drain, and eventually that food can build up and smell like, well, garbage. Fix it by removing the filter and washing it with warm water and dish soap. Replace the filter, then run the dishwasher with nothing but a bowl filled with white vinegar in the top rack. If it still reeks, run it a second time with just a cup of baking soda poured into the bottom of the machine (under the spray arm).

HELP PREVENT IT: Once a month, clean your dishwasher’s ﬁlter and door gaskets using a spray bottle ﬁlled with vinegar and water, then wipe them down with a damp towel.

Rotten Eggs

This isn’t the same as a natural gas smell—if you notice that, get outside and call your utility company or 911 immediately. This odor is more pungent and, when it’s coming from your water heater, pretty worrisome. The good news is that the source is fairly obvious: a corroded magnesium anode rod. The rod helps protect the interior lining of your water heater, and it may need to be replaced every three years or so. (When’s the last time you checked yours? Exactly.) The rod can be tricky to access, so you’ll want to call in a plumber for help.

Sewer Gas

You can probably guess where this smell is coming from, and you can thank a busted sewer pipe, broken toilet wax ring, or leaking P trap—the U-shaped pipe under your toilet or sink containing water that acts as a seal against that lovely smell. Have a plumber evaluate what’s going on.

HELP PREVENT IT: Regularly run water through your pipes to keep the P trap’s water seal from drying up. Remember to do this in less-used rooms, like a guest bath

What’sThat Stain?

Brown Splotches on the Ceiling

You’re lying in bed at night, staring up at the ceiling, and spot some dark, syrupy-looking patches ruining the paint job. This is the stuf nightmares are made of, right? It could be that tub and shower drains on the floor above you have lost their seal, but the HVAC might also be responsible (more specifically, a clogged condensate line, or condensation on the duct work) Either way, a pro will need to help you fix this, so get dialing.

HELP PREVENT IT: Change the ﬁlter on your HVAC unit every three months.

White Spots on Bath Fixtures

Ever blame a bad hair day on hard water? You can credit that same mineral buildup with the cloudy white spots on your stainless-steel faucet. Spray vinegar directly onto the ﬁxtures and let it sit for 10 minutes to help break down the minerals. Once you wipe it of with a microﬁber cloth, you should be set. (Your hair, on the other hand, is another story.)

What’sThat Sound? Humming

Fridges hum, but when that humming gets loud, it could mean you have dirty condenser coils or a failing compressor. To ﬁgure out which it is, start by cleaning your fridge coils (those wavy things on the back or underside of your fridge). Unplug your fridge and vacuum the dust of the coils using the brush attachment. Then gently remove any gunk with a toothbrush. If this doesn’t ﬁx it, the issue may be the compressor, and you’ll need a pro.

HELP PREVENT IT: Vacuum your fridge coils twice a year.

Hissing

Radiators can be noisy—sometimes you hear ticking, and sometimes they produce a weird hissing noise. Ticking is just the radiator expanding and contracting with heat (phew), but hissing indicates you may have a problem with the valve that drives out air and condensation. When this valve wears out, air and condensation can get stuck inside, causing the radiator to make noise. Located on the side of your radiator, about midway up, the valve is pretty easy to replace. Just turn of your heat, let the radiator cool, unscrew the old valve, and screw in the new one. Then turn your heat back on to make sure there’s no leaking