shoppers ‘pack double or triple’ in their carry on bags thanks to this $30 travel hack that skirts baggage fees

Travel

Shoppers ‘Pack Double or Triple’ in Their Carry-On Bags Thanks to This $30 Travel Hack That Skirts Baggage Fees

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I’m a one-bag traveler through and through. Even on a recent monthlong trip through Northern Europe, I was able to fit everything I needed into a carry-on suitcase—puffer jacket included.

The best way to pack a suitcase, we seasoned travelers know, is to use compression packing cubes. These clever hacks flatten soft goods to half their size, so you can pack a checked bag’s worth of contents into a carry-on suitcase. They’re the only way a recovering overpacker like me could ever join the exclusive carry-on-only club.

Bagail Set of 6 Compression Packing Cubes

How do compression packing cubes work? They’re super simple in construction but majorly helpful in practice. Each packing cube is a zippered pouch in ripstop nylon, with two zippers: one that closes the pouch itself, and another you can zip closed to shrink the contents to the smallest size possible. It’s the same principle as sitting on your suitcase to get it to zip—except this travel hack keeps everything nice and tight from start to finish.

With clothing packed neatly into these soft nylon pouches, then zipped down to wring out all the air, you’ll wonder why you ever checked a bag to begin with.

“The compression feature is genius,” one five-star reviewer said. “Just zip everything tight, and boom, it’s like vacuum-sealing your wardrobe (minus the vacuum). I was able to fit way more than I expected, and everything stayed neatly organized. No more suitcase explosions every time I needed socks.”

Say, for instance, a stack of blouses is 6 inches high. Those blouses might squash nice and neat into the medium-sized compression cube that’s 4 inches deep. But then, you can zip that cube down to compress it even further and whittle down that 6-inch stack of clothes to just 2 inches or so.

And all that saved space adds up, letting you “pack double or triple your clothes in a small suitcase,” one shopper shared. “Just fold your clothes and overpack, then double zip it! Literally watched my clothes shrink as air was let out.” That shopper was able to fit four pairs of shorts, two sets of pajamas, a robe, three shirts, and nine undergarments—into just one of these compression cubes.

As a bonus, you won’t be rifling through a jumbled mess of clothing when you go to unpack in your destination. Instead, your belongings arrive neatly organized in dedicated bags to make finding what you need a breeze. “Unpacking took seconds,” one reviewer raved. “I just pulled out the cubes and popped them into drawers.”

This six-pack by Bagail includes six different size options, a variety you don’t often get from other brands. Packing cube fans call these “lightweight, but tough as nails,” with ”high-quality and durable” fabric, “reinforced seams and reliable zippers,” and a mesh panel that lets you see what’s inside. They’re also water repellent too, so if your face wash springs a leak, your clothes stand a fighting chance of still arriving unsoiled. You can even pack damp clothes, one shopper said, without fretting over leaks.

“If you're an overpacker like me or just want to feel like a travel ninja, do yourself a favor and grab a set,” a recent packing-cube convert wrote. “Your future-suitcase self will thank you.”

Snag this six-pack of the compression packing cubes even skeptical shoppers called “a real game changer,” and read on for other compression cubes for travel to level up your packing game.

Bagsmart Compression Packing Cubes, Set of 6

Tripped Travel Gear Compression Packing Cubes, Set of 6

Gonex Compression Packing Cubes, Set of 6

OlarHike Compression Packing Cubes, Set of 8

Veken Packing Cubes, Set of 8

My Brother’s Playful Shared Kids Bathroom Reveal (Including Cute Double Vanities)

While this house has a lot of contemporary lines (with hits of traditional vibes throughout), it’s still a house for a family with two elementary school-aged kids (6 and 9). They share a hall bathroom that is a nice size and Max and I were able to design it to be happy and playful, and yet use high-quality material that will last (and obviously grow with them). I honestly never pictured this bathroom like this – it’s really sweet and charming and full of layers that are far from “contemporary”. Some of this is in the styling, for sure, but whatever it is I love looking at these photos and every time I walk in I get that surge of, “Oh this is so fun”. Where Are We In The House? Ok, we are on the second floor and you can see the kid’s rooms are nearby. The bathroom is pretty big – although I see that the floor plan has changed since this above version to NOT have a separation between the vanity area and the toilet/bath. It’s part of the house that was designed to be vaulted so it has high ceilings. When they did the window plan they chose a huge window in here – so it has a lot of natural light. Three Different Tiles Max Humphrey and I chose the tile (we co-designed many of the bathrooms together), but this tile is more him, I’d say (and I love it). That guy is a master at selecting and mixing tiles. He generally takes more risks than me but still stays within a restrained palette which you all know I love. We worked within Ann Sacks Made line (made in Portland, which we are big fans of) which has a huge variety of colors. What I love so much about it is the variation of the color at the edges in both the penny tile on the floor and the shower tile – it gives it a lot of dimension and texture (the outline isn’t the grout, it’s the tile). I should back up and say that my brother and SIL didn’t want a tub in here – their kids take showers so they didn’t see the point of a tub (and thought it would be hard to get in and out of). But as an avid bather, I pushed back hard saying how bad for resale it would be not to have a tub for kids. So they chose the most shallow tub (one that would be easy for the kids to get in and out of as a compromise. At times I feared that it would look too basic and not special enough, but as we built the rest of the design elements now I hardly notice that it’s just an alcove tub. The shower surround that we customized (with much agony, more on that later) really helps it feel more elevated. Also a huge shout out to Anne Usher, the architect who planned the skylight in here – the light that it brings into the shower is incredible and makes this area of the room come alive. We used a leftover Caesarstone slab for the niche (making it as big as possible to be in scale with the shower wall). The tray and little pot are from a local resin maker, Swift and Stone who I found at a market and immediately reached out to for this bathroom (you can see her work on the vanities as well). Mixing Tiles We mixed three different scales – the larger blue vanity wall, the medium shower tile and the small penny on the floor. The tones of them all looked really cohesive together and it feels highly customized and yet really cohesive. Purist Faucet Line FTW Always and forever I love the Purist line from Kohler. Of course, you have a variety of finishes (we chose vibrant brushed moderne brass) and different handle profiles (we chose the cross for this bathroom). It’s just simple, modern, streamlined, and timeless. We have this line all over the mountain house. It feels more contemporary there and here it leans more transitional – it’s really easy to mix in most styles, IMHO. The toilet is tucked on the other side of the vanities. We hung embroidery art from the OG Portland project by local artist Annie Odorisio and then styled the opposite wall with robe/towel hooks and a cute wicker hamper to warm it all up. You’ll see in here a circle motif everywhere, which I think really helped it feel more playful and fun for kids. Alright – a his and hers vanity that I seriously wish we had for our kids (who share and quibble and it’s a thing). These are two Tresham vanities that have a simple (and even shaker) vibe to them and then we made them more modern with the wood handles (from Etsy). If you are wondering why they are so close, we did too. In the plans, they were 18″ apart but the room just didn’t allow it so somewhere something was off. At first, I was like “uhhhh…” and then we just worked with it and now I barely notice that they are so close and I even think it’s really sweet. They both have their own storage and counters. With the more traditional tilework and vanities, I wanted to finish the room in a way that went more modern and contemporary like the rest of the house. So once I found these sconces from Worley’s I showed them to my SIL and we both were like, “these are them.” I love that they are graphic, with these playful round glass shades (which also provide great soft light), and you can choose from a variety of metals and wood tones (we chose brushed brass to match the faucets and cornsilk oak for the wood). The three of them flanking the pill shaped mirrors. I like how they call back to the penny tile, the shower faucet shape, the rug, and even the bench. The backsplash tile goes from floor to ceiling (although it originally didn’t – it stopped at 7′ which felt weird so we had to order more tile and cross our fingers the color would match perfectly). The pattern and color make this room come alive – it’s a pattern mixed with three different tiles, stacked in a repeat (this is a Max Humphrey move that I am into). The Tresham vanities also come with an integrated countertop and sink, making it a really easy one-and-done situation. I have this vanity in our mountain house guest room and love the joinery of the base. It comes in a couple of different sizes (I wish it came in 60″ or 72″ TBH – I think it’s awesome.) If you are opening up the walls and changing plumbing (or in this case, building a new house basically) definitely think about wall mount faucets. They really do free up space and I think give a more custom look (we didn’t do this in every bathroom – I like to mix it up). The room is pretty wide in a great way and we were able to add something opposite the vanities. The pocket door was custom (and white oak) and I hung a piece of art that I’ve had forever that worked perfectly in here. I continued with the circle/scallop motif with the rug (from Etsy), wicker pot (from The Container Store, can also be a cute trash can) and bench (from AllModern). We bought a lot of these resin (not pottery, which is nice for kids) bathroom accessories from Swift and Stone which she makes in a variety of colors and sells both locally and on Etsy. Top Down Bottom Up Window Treatments Opposite the vanity is this large window with black frames and while I’m so grateful for the natural light, these kids needed some privacy. So we had Decorview make the same shades that we have in our guest room that I love. They are modern Roman shades that as you can see can be used from the top down or bottom up (therefore letting nice light in through the top). It turned out to be far more of a mix of modern/traditional than I had predicted 3+ years ago, in such a good way. It’s really spacious, airy and bright with playful elements, but executed so well by a great team.

We Found The Best Garage Doors Ever – See For Yourself

Inever thought I’d be this excited to show you the prettiest garage doors ever. When we finally agreed to invest in making our garages better, our goal was to make them functional, but we had very low expectations on how beautiful they would be. Our garages aren’t on a street where neighbors can see (only friends and our trusted FedEx guys would see them), they aren’t part of our curb appeal (not attached to the house), so our goal was “better and basic” (along with “dry, not disgusting, less spiders and mold,” and ultimately way less dangerous). But today we are talking specifically about the doors – what we now call the best garage doors ever. And because I clearly have a disorder where I can’t do anything simply or “without obsessing about how pretty it could be,” therefore I ended up choosing these pretty doors that make me so happy – far happier than predicted. Before we get into the full post, here is a fun little video (just wait for the ad to play:)) The Before Here is where we started 5 years ago. We knew we were lucky to have this huge garage at all (right?), but they weren’t in the best shape, and everything needed repair. We ignored them for a couple of years, finally hiring the most affordable painter in town who was willing to just paint without any prep (a real literal lipstick on a pig situation) because they were such an eyesore after our house was finally done. But we knew they were not in good enough condition to invest in scraping and painting properly. The fresh coat kinda helped, but otherwise we didn’t touch them for another 3 years. Starting in January, we knew that we needed the storage soon because we wanted to start restoring the original carriage house on the property. We’d need the garages to be our future and permanent storage space for my vintage hoarding and any future product lines (not to mention life and holiday stuff). So we hired my brother’s brand-new company, Afore Construction, to fix them up, and new garage doors were a clear must. I received multiple word-of-mouth recommendations for Ponderosa, a local (and experienced) garage door installer. I reached out and really loved their customer service, speed, communication style (fast and personal with easy text notifications), and variety of great door products. After telling Ken, the owner, that I wanted carriage-style doors, he suggested we work with a company called Clopay because they are meant to be the best garage doors, with a massive variety of customization and styles (ours are vintage style, but they certainly have very contemporary and modern as well). They range in price, as expected, and ours are more than average, but for our style of property (more historic and antique), we felt we needed to pick something that really aligned with the property. Turns out even though I promised myself “I didn’t care”, more focused on function and speed – turns out I always care, always. I chose the Canyon Ridge Elements garage doors, and to get all specific about them (should you want to copy them exactly), they are low-maintenance, insulated steel garage doors with composite overlays. We chose Design 22 (how the diagonal lines are designed) with the SQ23 windows (size and configuration style) and had them all painted SW Dutch Tile Blue (they can match any Sherwin-Williams color). My goodness, are they beautiful. Ponderosa installed them in one day – ONE DAY!! They arrived, a team of 3, and powered through without me having to do a thing. And they were extremely professional, knowledgeable, and just so impressive. 10/10 service. They texted their eta, and were so easy to communicate with, with everything being electronic (so not a lot of annoying contracts and paperwork at the end). They offer a 5-star service program which provides annual maintenance and has the quietest motor (and it’s oddly quiet, not something I thought I’d care about, but it’s really lovely). They are also very hard to break into with high-end steel and mechanisms, which is clearly important. We added the faux handles and strappings in black to make them look more vintage, working with the farm design of the property. And we wanted windows on top to add natural light inside (and charm). They had a lot of options for all of these elements, both in style and color (we chose the spear style strap). I literally couldn’t be happier with what we chose and how they turned out – they add such charm and are super high quality. And there is a slightly “faux” wood grain finish to the garage doors that adds a really nice texture, which I was SO relieved looked fantastic in person (I’m always nervous about faux anything, but this is not cheesy, just subtle and nice). We chose to have each controlled separately, with individual codes, and inside, there are convenient buttons to open and close. The garage doors on the inside are clean, and the windows add nice natural light. Ponderosa really nailed the execution, and they function so perfectly, quietly, and just so seamlessly (zero annoyance to me and super intuitive to figure out). I wish I had more drama to tell you, more things I wish I had done differently, or lessons I learned. But I have zero regrets or lessons on this one! WAhoo! Just the best garage doors executed perfectly. We left the last bay open as a carport. It was the original sheep’s barn and was never a garage. But we did this mostly for budget purposes. We saved on not having electrical, simple framing, finishes, and no cement floor (just gravel). It’s super bare bones, which we are fine with (we almost just tore it down, but my brother convinced us to keep it, just not really invest in it). Ultimately, we didn’t need a fifth garage, just a covered carport for Brian’s vintage truck and a great space for messy painting projects. And heck, a future owner might have a boat or something they want to store here (no intent on a future owner, but we always consider all the possibilities). A few quick and dirty facts: The doors themselves would typically cost $18k for 4 doors. Choosing a custom Sherwin-Williams paint color adds $10/sq. ft. to the door cost and a few extra weeks. Remember ours were on the higher end, and they have a lot that are much more affordable with fewer design details and general bells and whistles. The install for these four doors would typically be around $11,340, which covers the cost of the high-end Liftmaster motors, all the elevated, premium parts, and extended warranty that comes with the 5-Star bundle that Ponderosa provides, and of course, the labor to install everything. You get what you pay for, and we are thrilled. You wouldn’t buy the doors separately or anything, but just giving you the breakdown so you understand the overall costs. The cost didn’t include the new framing and the electrical prep. Since we were fixing our garages, not just changing out the doors, Afore worked with Ponderosa to frame it perfectly and prep all the electrical in advance. Ponderosa measured and ordered the doors after the framed door openings were finished. NEW FEATURE ALERT! We now have before and after sliders. Just use the arrow toggle button to see the transformation:) When they arrived, I was oddly delighted by these garage doors, and I remain so happy every time my eye lands on them. The happy blue, the windows, the decorative strappings, and the super smooth, quiet function – truly the best garage doors. I feel extremely lucky and grateful. A huge thanks to Ponderosa for their excellent execution on our doors. Thank you, Clopay, for partnering on these beautiful garage doors, and Afore Construction for doing all the prep work and helping us fix up the garages. Interior reveal coming soon, I promise.

Was My Custom Primary Bedroom Bed Worth It? And Do I Regret Selling It 8 Years Ago?

Nine years ago, we designed this bed for our then-primary bedroom, and I have a lot of unresolved feelings about it. So Bold! So Fun! So Big! So Expensive! The reason we are talking about it now is that you may or may not know the custom bed that is in our current bedroom was actually designed for our guest room, not our bedroom, but the bed we had ordered for our bedroom was having some shipping delays so with the photo shoot looming (2 years ago) we put that bed in our room where it hasn’t moved and cancelled the one that was on its way. That’s all to say that I’m just now getting around to figuring out what is the perfect bed for our bedroom (I don’t love the design of the room as a whole) and I’m toying with the idea of doing something custom, which reminded me of this big bold lady that we had made almost 10 years ago. But as I was picking out fabrics, I remembered that I had some regrets/learnings with this one, so it deserved more of a deep dive, with the help of some hindsight. Before The Custom Bed… Prior to designing the new bed, I had recovered this vintage tufted headboard with a navy blue fabric. It was fun, but I suppose I wanted something even more fun, LOL. BOY DID I GET IT. The Inspiration Of The Shape I loved the idea of a modern wingback design, but fully upholstered – it felt cozy and simple. At the time, one of my design assistants, Remi, pulled the dimensions from a lot of these above to work off of. I went through a huge Rebecca Atwood phase (still love her so much) and my love of blue was perhaps at its peak (never gone away, TBH), and I LOVED this marble-y pattern so much. I don’t think I really debated it too much (I was a lot braver then, not sure why!) and make the final decision pretty quickly. The Drawings To Get A Quote Remi drew it all out for the guys to get a quote. This view was specifically important to see how the corners joined within the design that we wanted. The frame was solidly built and helped us visualize it more. I remember us debating how to orient the fabric, but not for long – it was pretty clear that the marble should run horizontally on the bed like water. Something to definitely think of for anyone customizing with patterned fabric. Installed, But Not Styled Here is what she looked like before we finished the room – it’s a lot of bed. I loved it, but I had some momentary fears of it being “too much”. It turned out beautifully and exactly how we had asked for it, but it wasn’t a quiet bed. She was LOUD. The details were really rad though… we did a good job designing it and our furniture guy executed it perfectly. The Styled Out Room When I revealed it on the blog, I think it was close to unanimous that it was awesome. Once styled out with everything more balanced it it still had a huge presence but worked a lot better. I can’t tell if this room is dated or not. I still love it! Sure, there is that still bright/airy midcentury vibe that was so big in the late 2010s but there is nothing in here I wouldn’t own again (and I still have those lamps, that painting, that bench, and that rug). So Why Did I Sell The Bed Only 1 Year Later/My Learnings? The easy reason is that we moved into our house in Los Feliz, where our room was much, much smaller, and the bed had to be in front of a low window. This was a high headboard, so even if we could get the bed into the room, it would look EXTRA MASSIVE. The way we designed the side rails and the “wings” added another 12″ overall to the bed, so I don’t think that would have fit with nightstands. But secretly, I was having a lot of internal doubt about my love of color and pattern, and felt insecure that what I liked was silly. This was 2016, the beginning of Amber Interiors, Studio McGee, and of course, the Modern Farmhouse vibe Joanna Gaines popularized. I think I felt like bold choices like this would look too amateur, young, and silly — not sophisticated, refined, or neutral enough like what was about to happen. Of course, that “warm, neutral California casual” vibe would reign supreme until 2021, where everything has certainly flipped (color and pattern are certainly back). I sold this bed for $1,500 – INSANELY LOW PRICE for what I paid and how new it was. And I’m not saying it is the exact bed that I would want right now, but I do love the boldness and the no apologies that it had. It made a statement with a big side of bravery. I think it’s pretty typical to let the outside trends of the world affect the opinion of your home, while I wish we didn’t. I’m obviously not placing blame on anything or anyone, the zeitgeist is just so strong and at times outside of our control (especially when we are young). I LOVE this bed now, it represents a time when I took chances in a really bold way. Of course, spending $3k on something that you might not love for 20 years is actually the biggest risk of all, and I tend to be a lot more cautious now (taking more risks in smaller pieces or art, rather than large custom patterned furniture).

Worried About Bedbugs in Your Hotel? Try This Hack the Moment You Get to Your Room

There are all sorts of nightmares one might encounter while traveling (delayed flights, lost luggage, cancelled hotel reservations), but encountering bedbugs might be the scariest of them all. These brownish-red insects are hard to get rid of and can quickly infest a room, and therefore, anything you bring into that room. So, before you unpack or even bring your suitcase all the way inside, do yourself a favor and do a thorough room check. You'll want to look for red-brown bugs as well as blood stains on sheets or mattresses, eggs, or shedded skin (ew). Take a look through all of these common places: mattress, box spring, sheets, headboard, and curtains. If you haven't spotted anything (and it's likely you won't), you can start thinking about unpacking. But, all of this potential grossness probably doesn't make you want to toss your clothes everywhere. We spoke with entomologist Emma Grace Crumbley about how travelers can best keep pests out of their stuff. The secret? Your hotel bathtub. What Is the Bathtub Method? When you enter your hotel room, don't lay your suitcase on the floor, bed (ew), or even the convenient luggage rack. Instead, take it to your hotel tub and keep it there while you check for bedbugs, and even after you've checked. Why? Because bedbugs aren't really into cool ceramic or porcelain. "The smooth, cold, and non-porous surface of a bathtub or even a bathroom is typically unattractive to these pests," Crumbley says. "They will also be easier to spot on these surfaces." Bedbugs are thigmotactic, Crumbley says, so they prefer to feel pressure on all sides. This means that they're much more likely to be found in dark, tight places, like in the mattress. Just note that you should always check your bathroom for bugs too (think towels, shower curtains, bathmats)! It's unlikely but not impossible. Tips for Avoiding Bedbugs While Traveling If you've searched the place and don't see any bugs, you'll still want to keep your prevention efforts going. Here are some helpful ways to keep bugs at bay. First off, elevate your luggage and avoid putting it on your bed. Crumbley suggests doing this when you're back home as well. "I also recommend keeping your suitcase closed whenever you’re not using it or even storing it inside a large trash bag," she says. Keep your dirty laundry in a separate bag whenever possible and hang your clothes in the closet instead of folding them and putting them in hotel drawers. What to Do When You Get Home "After returning from your trip, leave your bags outside or in the garage until you’ve had a chance to thoroughly inspect them," she says. Check through your items on a hard, light colored surface before bringing them in. Check your luggage as well, looking at zippers, seams, or pockets. "Next, run all washer-safe clothing on a hot water cycle," Crumbley says. "For added protection, you can also toss clothes in the dryer on high heat for roughly 30 minutes before washing—this will help remove bedbugs in all life stages, including the eggs."