This Jungalow-Approved Furniture Collab Gives Us All the Vacay Vibes

Let's Talk About Your Bedroom

A clutter-free, zen-ybedroom is pretty much essential for easing into a sleepy state. Design yours for rest and relaxation (clothes in the closet, tech out of the room, and a few sleep-inducingplants doesn't hurt) and you'll start to do both. Still find yourself tossing and turning? It might be time to invest in a good mattress — seriously one of the best #adulting buys we've made so far.

And what we love about Avocado mattresses and pillows is that they're super comfortable but they're also designed to be healthier for people and the planet (think sustainable, socially responsible and toxic-chemical-free in every possible way). The company donates 1 percent of all revenue to environmental non-profits too — so you can feel good about the planet while getting a good night's sleep. Win-win.

Make An Aromatic Mist

Before you get all snug in your Avocado bed, try this sleep-inducing spritz on your face or pillow. Mix five drops of lavender essential oil and five drops of chamomile essential oil (both are really good at lulling you to sleep) into one cup of distilled or mineral water. Transfer to a spray bottle and spritz away in all your self-care glory.

Swap Your Late-Night Show For a Podcast Or Audiobook

It's so easy to stay up late binge-watching your favorite shows, getting cozy with your favorite characters, only they don't have to get up early in the morning. For a more restful sleep, move the action from your eyes to your ears. Turn on a podcast or start listening to one of your new audiobooks and let the soothing storyteller help you get some shut-eye.

Use a Salt Lamp or Gravity Blanket

Himalayan salt lamps can create an ambient light soothing for sleep. Place one on your nightstand or if you really want to sleep like a baby curl up underneath a gravity or weighted blanket. These simulate the feeling of being hugged and help calm the nervous system so you fall asleep faster and longer.

Mix Your Own Sleep Time Herbal Tea

Cozy up to a warm, calming drink by mixing four parts dried chamomile, two parts dried lavender and two parts peeled and dried ginger (add lemon and honey if you wish). Some cool things about chamomile: it triggers the release of hormones like serotonin and melatonin, which can combat stress, and it has anti-inflammatory properties to help reduce tension headaches and migraines.

Write Down Your To-Do List

Nothing keeps us more awake than our busy brains. Let that stuff loose. Grab a notebook or your phone and jot down every list item you can think of to stop that never-ending thought train. With every item on the list you'll start to feel yourself relax.

Invest In an Analog Clock

OK, so we know we should leave our phones in another room but it is SO HARD. Still, if you're struggling to get the sleep you need it might be worth investing in an analog alarm clock. The blue light emitted from our phones throws off our internal clocks, or circadian rhythm, disrupting our sleep. Texting and scrolling can go on longer than we expected too, like way past our bedtime. An old-school analog clock will wake you up bright and early without that temptation.

Ready to score some sleep tonight? Check out the nontoxic, organic mattresses from Avocado Mattress before you hit the hay. So worth it. Nothing better than feeling like you had an amazing night's sleep while feeling good about a product made with the planet in mind. Good night!

Design Makers + Breakers: Lights

Many designers will say that harsh overhead lighting is a common faux pas. It creates unnecessary shadows and can feel sterile and aggressive.

This TikTok audio is usually accompanied by stunning shots of romantically-lit homes, low-light lamps, decorative lights, and dreamy interiors. The trend points to an important lesson in interior design: lighting matters.

All over TikTok, people are adding small lamps in places they need a little extra light like the kitchen counter, bathroom vanity, and bedrooms. So is overhead lighting out and small lamps back?

First, let’s discuss the different types of lighting each room needs and why they’re important.

​Types of Lighting Each Room Needs

There are three main types of lighting that each room needs: ambient, accent, and task.

Ambient

Ambient is usually overhead, like that annoying one on your fan, but could also be recessed lighting, chandeliers, or sconces. While these kinds of lights are needed for general purpose, the trick is to make them dimmable. Having control over just how bright your ambience lights are, and having the ability to adjust based on the time of day makes all the difference.

Accent

Accent lighting is also important for creating cozy spaces within a room, for example, defining the living room from the dining room. Think little, table lamps, and picture, track, and up lights. They are used to highlight a specific piece of art or accompany a sitting area.

Task

Lastly, task lighting is just what it sounds like: lights you use when doing something specific. For example, the lights above your bathroom sink, pendants over the kitchen island, or a standing lamp next to your favorite reading chair. These are usually necessary aside from your design skills.

The key is to have a mixture of these three light sources. They each have their own role and add to the ambiance of a space. Most homes inherently have ambient lighting. When you move in, they’re there. And most people add task lighting for essential light where you need it. But accent lighting is often overlooked.

The Trendy Little Lamp

Which brings us back to the trendy “little lamp.” Those small, vintage-style lamps on kitchen counters, bedside tables, or playrooms are the accent lighting addition all of our homes have been craving. It rounds out the room and completes the dynamic design. No wonder we love them.

And perhaps after three years of living in our homes non-stop, we’ve learned the power of romanticizing one’s life. Turning in for the night and “closing the kitchen” by the light of a small lamp is infinitely more appealing than the horror of full light on the situation. The low lighting calls for more intimacy and a slower pace.

​Why You Need One

Creating rituals in your home is what will make you feel centered and connected to it. The simple act of going around to turn lights on or off can signal something more than just the need for light: the starting or ending of a work day, a beloved nighttime tradition, or the peace of knowing sleep is coming soon. Like making yourself a special drink to unwind or playing your favorite comfort TV show, keeping just the little lamps on can be a similar treat after a long day.

Plus, these lamps are so affordable. The small size and basic structure makes them unremarkable and easy to find. I’ve thrifted a few for under $15 and found some favorites on Amazon for under $50. If you’re looking for a classic pleated lampshade, this one is a gem.

Look around your home and ask yourself, what type of lighting do I have in here? Odds are, you’re missing one.

Talking to Vanity Fair for her newest film Lee, Kate Winslet revealed one project she wishes fans asked about more is Iris. The 2001 film stars Kate as a young Iris Murdoch against Judi Dench's older counterpart. And for Kate, nothing was more terrifying than working with such a wonderful actress.

"People don’t really ask me about Iris. It’s such a delicate film," she says. "It was the first thing I had done after having my daughter. Going to work with a baby, I’m playing Iris Murdoch, looking to Judi Dench’s older Iris Murdoch — I was sh—ting myself."

Considering how nervous I get when I meet my heroes, I can only imagine what it was like to meet Dame Judi Dench. Talk about a dream! Another film Kate loves is Revolutionary Road, and not just because she got to reunite with Leonardo DiCaprio.

"The thing that people say is, 'You got to work with Leo again.' Then they go off on the whole Leo tangent, which I totally understand," she says of the film, which follows an ambitious couple who find themselves trapped in the reality of 1950s suburbia. "But Revolutionary Road — f—king hell, it just knocked us all sideways. Unbelievably difficult material. I was very proud of that film and what Leo and I were able to create as Frank and April. It was so brutal."

The process for getting Lee into the world sounds equally brutal, considering Kate started working on it over a decade ago. As producer, Kate tells Vanity Fair she doesn't mind the fact she's done more for the film than if she only had an acting credit. "That has felt very necessary for this film. But it’s also just really important to me," she says. "It’s important to me that people know that it’s out there and might feel compelled to go and see it."

Because it turns out, commercial success or stardom on its own doesn't actually help your movie get made! "It doesn’t matter who you are," she says. "No one’s going to go, 'Oh, I’ll just back that pony because she was in Titanic.' It doesn’t happen that way, and I never expected that. That’s really important to say."

"I've gotten older and I’ve learned more and felt more confident in myself about whether or not I could actually do it," she adds. "It’s not something I would’ve done had I not felt so passionately about the subject, and Lee was just—she wouldn’t let me go."