It’s hard to find a sense of place when you’re constantly on the move. And as a child, Maryland-native Jesse Vickers and her mother moved a lot. Yearning for continuity, she began creating unique, personal spaces in each home. It made her happy for…

Interior designer Jesse Leigh Vickers layers luxe details into her new Park Circle home

Able to tie a room together, delineate spaces, and add warmth and texture in one fell swoop, the right area rug can instantly elevate the home. "Don’t be afraid to go for a bold pattern," says interior designer and stylist Angela Belt. "Look for…

How Much Should You Spend on an Area Rug?

Buying a smart video doorbell camera answers one of the biggest questions of the smart home: if someone calls at your house and you’re not there to answer, did they call at all?
With a smart doorbell, they’re connected straight through to your…

Best smart video doorbell cameras

SiP Magazine, the sister publication of The Island Eye News, launched its 2020 edition this week, and the magazine should be landing in the mailboxes of island residents and property owners any day. Now celebrating its sixth year, SiP combines…

A Cool SiP Of The Islands

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In our years of testing video doorbells one thing remains true - wired is the way to go. While battery-powered doorbell cams have their place, if you can hardwire you're going to be happier. And Arlo, a leader in truly wire-free home…

Arlo Video Doorbell Review: A good doorbell for a great price

As any lighting designer will tell you, layering is key to creating the right ambiance. Toward that end, wall sconces are the ideal choice for creating everything from a bold, large-scale effect to specific task lighting.
"We are big fans of sconces…

How Much Should You Spend on a Wall Sconce?

Color-changing smart bulbs are lots of fun, but if we're honest it can be hard to find a really good reason why you have to have them. Signify, makers of the Hue lighting line, has the answer: "Surround lighting." Think surround sound but for your…

Hue Sync Box review: The home theater upgrade you didn't know you needed

A video doorbell is an excellent addition to your home. A great security device, it can help you keep an eye on packages, see when your family gets home, or just know who is at your front door when you’re not there. Ring is the original video…

Ring 3 Plus Review: This battery-powered doorbell fills in the blanks

Taking risks and reaping rewards in a not-so-typical beachhouse
It started with a great slab of rock, a marbled swirl of colors evoking both ocean and earth. Once Joan and Dennis Berger selected that show-stopping granite, auspiciously named “Blue…

Bold Design on Isle of Palms

Home security cameras have changed a lot in recent years. Security cameras are more affordable than they used to be, come in both wired and wireless versions, and can connect to the internet so you can monitor your property from nearly anywhere. In…

How Do Home Security Cameras Work?

Ring pioneered the video doorbell and, since its purchase by Amazon, has grown into a full-fledged home security company. Ring offers a wide range of home security cameras, including multiple video doorbells and an affordable, highly rated home…

Ring Security Camera Review

Motion Activation: A camera should start recording as soon as motion is detected and store that footage somewhere that can be accessed for a period of time. This is sometimes referred to as event-based recording.
Smartphone Alerts: A good security…

How to Buy Home Security Cameras

If you're considering home security cameras, you'll need to decide between the two main types: wired and wireless. There's a lot of confusion around these two types of cameras. In this article, we’ll help you understand the differences so you can…

Wired vs. Wireless Home Security Cameras

There are two main categories of cameras for home security: indoor and outdoor. Within these categories are several subcategories of security cameras, including wired and wireless, battery-powered and AC-powered, and floodlight cameras and doorbell…

Types of Home Security Cameras

Home security cameras keep watch over your home from both inside and outside, acting as an extra pair of eyes and ears to monitor your property. In this guide, we'll look at the benefits of installing indoor and outdoor security cameras, from their…

Why Get Home Security Cameras?

Arlo is widely recognized as one of the best wireless home security camera companies, and it consistently produces innovative, extremely good, and entirely wireless cameras. Its extensive lineup of Wi-Fi security cameras have a broad list of features…

Arlo Security Camera Review

Keeping your home security cameras safe from hackers is an essential step if you're going to bring these recording devices into your home. If you can access your camera over the internet, someone else theoretically can access or “hack" it as well.…

How to Keep Your Home Security Cameras Safe

Nest is the company behind the first smart thermostat, which launched in 2011 and arguably kick-started the DIY smart home movement. Today, it's owned by Google and has a suite of home automation products including a smart smoke alarm; Nest Protect,…

Nest Security Camera Review

After pouring your heart and soul (and money) into making your living room gorgeous, that eyesore of an air vent sticks out like a sore thumb, doesn’t it? James Islanders Samy and Esthela Cuzmar created a solution that won’t make your HVAC tech throw…

Clear the air with this decorative solution

Smart home security cameras are more popular than ever, with new ones launching every day it seems. To stand out from the crowd you need to either be incredibly cheap (aka Wyze, Blink or Eufy) or really smart (aka Nest and Arlo). Ecobee - yes that…