January 2, 20255 min readWhat Is the ZodiacAnd What Does It Mean for You?The familiar zodiac constellations are defined by Earths motion around the sun, but they dont define your fateBy Phil Plait edited by Lee BillingsThis 17th-century celestial map by the Dutch cartographer Frederik de Wit shows star groups as well as astrological signs and zodiacal constellations. Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty ImagesIm a Libra.What does that mean? If youre an evidence-based thinker, it means nothing. If youre a believer in astrology, however, it means I was born at a time of the year when the suns influence on me (unidentifiable and uncertain and unexplainable as it is) was ruled by the Libra sun sign, although that signs relation to the actual constellation of Libra is fuzzy at best. If you do believe in astrology, you and I should have some words.But what does it even mean to say the sun is in Libra? Why place importance on that constellation and not, say, Orion, which, in nearly all ways, is objectively cooler?On supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.It boils down to two things: our solar system is flat, and motion is relative.Lets tackle the relative motion part first. Consider our own familiar Earth, for example. Our planet revolves around the sun once per year. From our point of view, stuck on Earth, it looks like the sun goes around us once a year. Physically, thats not the case, but perceptually, it iswhich, heliocentrism aside, is why we still geocentrically say the sun sets rather than something like Earth turns such that the horizon rises to block the sun. Fair enoughwe dont viscerally feel Earth spinning once per day or revolving around the sun at 100,000 kilometers per hour.Other stars are much, much farther away than the sun, so they appear fixed in the sky relative to one another. Our meaning-seeking brain naturally interprets patterns in these fixed stars as recognizable figures that we call constellations (literally, collections of stars). Well, theyre mostly recognizable: while Orion does look like a human and Scorpius does resemble a scorpion, Libra is comprised of just four main stars in a wonky rhombus.As Earth spins, we see these stars rise and set every day. If Earth were fixed in space relative to the sun, wed see the same constellations in the sky every night all year. Instead, because Earth moves around our star, from our perspective, the sun is constantly moving through a backdrop of constellations, taking a full year to travel all the way around the sky and return back to the place it started.Heres where the flatness of our solar system comes in. Earth, like all the other major planets, orbits the sun in a flat, nearly circular ellipse, so the suns apparent motion against the fixed stars traces a line around the skyan ellipse with Earth at the center. We call this path the ecliptic.That motion doesnt change appreciably year after year, century after century; the sun follows the same well-worn path through the same constellations. The names are familiar: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpius (not Scorpio, please), Sagittarius, Capricornus, Aquarius and Pisces. Many of these constellations represent animals, and the ancient Greeks called these constellations, collectively, the zodiakos kyklos, or circle of animals. From that, we now call it the zodiac.The suns motion through the zodiacal (pronounced zo-dye-a-kul) constellations produces a calendar of sorts; our star is superposed on Pisces in late March, for example. This is complicated in the long run by a wobble in Earths rotation called precession, which is caused by the gravitational tugging of the moon and sun. Over millennia, the timing of the suns position in a given zodiacal constellation gets thrown off, creating a disconnect between what astrologers call the sun signs and the actual constellations. Three thousand years ago, when the signs were first used by the ancient Greeks, the sun was indeed in Libra in late September. But because of precession, that has since changed, so our star was actually in the constellation of Virgo when I was born.Its important to understand that the constellations we recognize are not natural but a product of random star placement filtered through the human brains proclivity for pattern recognition. Sometimes different cultures see different patterns, and it just so happens that many modern societies mostly use the same ones as the ancient Greeks. But even then, the origins are a little fuzzy. For example, the Greeks considered Libra to be a part of Scorpiusits claws, specificallywhile the Babylonians thought Libra to be a scorpion-free balance, or set of scales.This means the ancient Greeks thought there were only 11 zodiacal constellations, not 12, with Libra being introduced only much later to round them out to an even dozen.But it gets worse. The actual path of the sun, the ecliptic, passes through more than just those 12 constellations. Ophiuchus (the serpent bearer) is between Sagittarius and Scorpius, and the sun actually spends about 20 daysmost of a monthinside its borders. Thats longer than the sun spends in Scorpius! So Ophiuchus arguably deserves to be in the zodiac more than some venomous arthropod, but it happens to contain fainter stars in a vaguer pattern, so it is left out.And were still not done, because while the solar system is flat, its not perfectly so. In other words, the other planets orbit the sun largely in the same plane as Earth but not exactly. Jupiters orbit around the sun is tipped relative to Earths by a little more than a degree. Venuss is tilted by more than three degrees. The moons orbit is inclined by more than five degrees! That means the moon and planets can appear well north or south of the ecliptic, and they can occasionally be inside the borders of other constellations outside the canonical 12 zodiacal ones. There are fully a dozen more constellations that the moon and planets can move through, including Canis Minor, Pegasus and even our old friend Orion.So no matter how you slice it, the zodiacfrom the member constellations to even the meaning that our pattern-projecting brain assigns to those particular groupings of starsis made up.This doesnt mean the zodiac is not a useful construct. It is! Just like the other constellations, the zodiac provides a framework we can use to navigate our way in the sky. For an astronomer with some familiarity of the heavens, knowing that Jupiter is in Taurus (it is as I write this, for example) means the giant planet is visible in the fall and winter after sunset because thats when the bull-shaped constellation is most easily observed in the Northern Hemisphere. If you want more detail, there are any number of coordinate systems we can use to zero in on a particular position, but if you just want to go out and be under the night sky, the zodiacal constellations offer a good enough set of celestial directions. Plus, many of them contain bright stars in obvious patterns that are easy to spot and identify, so observing them is fun.And thats no Taurus.

New Year's gaming resolutions we're definitely going to stick toWhat are yours?Image credit: Adobe Stock / Marina Zlochin Feature by Robert Purchese Associate Editor Additional contributions byChris Tapsell, Jessica Orr, Katharine Castle, Lottie Lynn, Marie Pritchard, Tom Phillips, and Victoria KennedyPublished on Jan. 3, 2025 Like the frost on the cars and ground this morning - and the inside of my single-glazed windows in my flat! - a new year has arrived. It's a time to take stock and look ahead and think what might be, and then run back into bed and hide under the duvet covers and refuse to come out. It's a time to plan and to begin aspirational journals you'll put down and forget about and never find again. A time to tackle the gaming backlog you keep talking about, fully in the knowledge you'll probably double it this year. It's fresh-slate time, promise time, all done in the hope you'll look back next year and discover you did something you intended to do. So, what do you want to do, from a gaming perspective?Here, we look back at our gaming resolutions from last year to see how we did, and then we set some anew. Are you brave enough to commit yours to writing?JessicaI wanted to pay more attention to indie games last year, and while I certainly played more of them than I did in 2023, I apparently had a secret ambition to start more massive RPGs than ever before. It was hard to squeeze in time for those indie horrors and puzzlers when games like Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth, Metaphor: Refantazio, and Dragon Age: The Veilguard were all stealing 100-hour playtimes from me.13 horror games we're looking forward to being scared by this year.Watch on YouTubeThis year, I want to dial back the inventory management and take a bit of a breather, immersing myself in more peaceful landscapes. Spending so much time exploring Infinity Nikki's cutesy, fairytale-esque world has made me realise that whether it's a four-hour indie, or another 100-hour monstrosity, the time I spend feeling relaxed in one game is far more valuable than trying to work my way through a list - even if I am still looking forward to playing those games eventually.Is this my way of giving myself a pass to just play Infinity Nikki this year? Maybe. But as long as it keeps its silly, mellow vibes that keep me feeling happy, I don't really mind if I'm missing out on the latest Game of the Year contender.TomMy new year's resolution is to become less of a completionist. I think it's becoming a problem. When I play games, I like to finish everything I can before moving on to the next area. I'm playing Indiana Jones and the Great Circle right now, for example, and I'm really keen to get out of the Vatican and back to the jungles and deserts that await. But I can't. Something inside me is making me hunt down photos of cats, and finish side quests and eat all of the biscotti I can get before I go. And that's great - it's a sign I'm enjoying a game that I want to be completionist - but the longer I linger, the more frustrating it can get that I'm not somewhere else already.As I look to February and a likely 100 hours sneaking around feudal Japan in Assassin's Creed Shadows - a game that will probably be stuffed to the brim with distractions and collectibles, and whatever the feudal Japanese equivalent of biscotti is - it's a resolution worth making, I think. Ignore your bulging quest log, stop scouring for that last little thing. It's time to move on and get to more of the good stuff.MarieMy resolution for last year was to complete the main story of at least three games I've not completed yet. Did I reach that goal? Technically no I didn't, but I'll give myself credit for coming close with two stories completed.This year I'll be less strict, and less ambitious, with my resolution. I'd like to find myself returning to games that have previously brought me joy, specifically time-management or life simulators like The Sims 4. I spend most of my time on consoles with bigger games, mainly live services and RPGs, so it'd be nice to get back to the kind of PC gaming I used to love in games like The Sims and Rollercoaster Tycoon. There's something I find infinitely relaxing about managing the smaller details in those games (my parks are usually free with very expensive merchandise...).Does this count as a resolution if it's so vague? I'd like to think so.ChrisThis year I'd like to play more games with other people. Specifically with my friends (my partner couldn't give two hoots about gaming and frankly I love that - it's nice to have our own hobbies!). But as my old group of friends has got older and busier and more spread out, gaming has been the best way to keep in touch with them. I fell out of the habit a bit in 2024 with all the usual, cloying tendrils of modern life getting in the way. This year, I'm going to reserve a little window of time, even if it's every other week, to check in with mates and play something together. That something will probably be one of the games we've been playing together, over and over, since we were spotty little teenagers, rather than anything new or exciting. But that's kind of the point.VictoriaLast year I resolved to play The Sims more honestly, with no cheats greasing my hypothetical wheels to the top. Did I manage it? Well, not exactly. I tried. Hand on heart I really did. But the allure of spamming that money code is just too dang strong. I like being rich in The Sims, with all the hot tubs and space rockets that come with it. I don't like waiting for my characters to come home from work, for them to then watch shows on a crap TV which is always at risk of breaking. So while things started off well enough, I soon gave into temptation and deployed the motherlode code. I have no regrets.Nine open world games we're excited about that are coming in 2025.Watch on YouTubeAs for this year, I am actually still a tad undecided. Since starting at Eurogamer, I have broadened my video game horizons tenfold, and in the last couple of years I have played more indies and other games than I ever would have. Last year, my personal Game of the Year was actually I Am Your Beast, and there is no way I would have given it even a glance a few years ago. But I absolutely loved it.So I guess I'll do a similar thing again: resolve to keep trying games that may not initially sound like my cup of tea. Perhaps like last year, I will be pleasantly surprised by the results.KatharineI made a resolution last year to finally play GTA 5. Did I play GTA 5 last year? Did I heck. There's probably not much point in trying to do so now ahead of GTA 6 coming out if I'm being honest, but the GTA series as a whole has always been a bit of a blindspot for me, as have Rockstar games more generally. I just never quite have the time to dedicate myself to them properly, you know!? Maybe I'll resolve to finally play Red Dead Redemption 2 instead this year - the setting and tone of it is much more appealing to me as a concept than GTA, and I've always admired the horses in it as well. Honestly, nobody does horses quite like RDR2 does.BertieI did it; I can't believe I actually stuck to a resolution. Last year I said I'd start streaming and I did. I joined a Dungeons & Dragons group called Chaotic Questers and began streaming roughly once a week on Twitch. We even went to a castle on the Scottish border for a weekend, to record there, which was fun, especially when our car broke down for good on the way back. It's been quite an adventure getting to know and understand the world of streaming from the inside, and it has increased my respect tenfold for the people who do it. Standing beside the M6 near a gang of cows - they were threatening, actually - while waiting for the RAC to appear was quite an experience too.Oh, and while I didn't manage to start my own personal video game stream, my partner did, so that's probably worth half a point? I also didn't manage to run a tabletop RPG, though D&D formed a central part of my gaming year. I'm still reading TTRPG books, though, and tinkering away on my own campaign, so I came close. Another half-point?To see this content please enable targeting cookies. This year, I'm being more specific. I'm almost embarrassed to admit it but I've never properly played through a From Software game. I've dabbled in them - in Demon's Souls (the original!) and Dark Souls and Bloodborne and Elden Ring - but I've never persevered for fear of being too aggravated by a game late at night. But I realise - Path of Exile 2 helped me realise - that I actually relish a combat challenge, so this year I'm seeking to change things. I promise to beat five bosses in Elden Ring, and you can hold me to that. And I'm phrasing it that way so I don't baulk at the prospect of beating the entire game, though that is my eventual goal, of course. I'm determined to do this - so determined I'm going to start tonight before my determination wanders, which it has an annoying habit of doing.That's it. Nice and simple. Beyond that, I'm going to challenge myself to play games in genres I don't normally, but that's a much more vague thing to pin down.LottieI've been playing RuneScape for more than half my life, which makes it my most successful relationship outside of my family. Considering this, you'd expect I'd have long maxed out my character's levels. Well this isn't the case. See, I've been sitting at Level 88 Herblore for the last seven years. In fact I don't think I've gained more than 10,000 XP in the skill during this time.The issue is I just detest training Herblore. Outside of mini-games, the process is so tedious. Get herb, clean herb (yes, you have to clean it first), get second ingredient, buy vials, fill vials with water, put ingredients in, most likely empty vials so you can do the process over and over again. It just takes forever.Yet, that Level 88 has been burning a hole in my eyes over the past year so, in the grand year of 2025, I shall attempt to reach Level 89 Herblore despite the pain. (And no. I won't use XP lamps. Don't bring such nonsense into my house.)

Helldivers reveals Star Fox-style game concept, as it invites ideas for next projectSmash in the pan.Image credit: Arrowhead News by Vikki Blake Contributor Published on Jan. 3, 2025 Helldivers studio Arrowhead has shared a number of former pitches, including a Star Fox-style game based within the Helldivers universe.In a New Year's post on X, Arrowhead CCO and Helldivers 2 creative director, Johan Pilestedt, asked players to share their "expectations and desires for what the next Arrowhead game will be", hinting that he was "working on the high concept" to the studio's next release.Helldivers 2 - Omens of Tyranny | PS5 & PC Games.Watch on YouTubeResponding to comments from the community, Pilestedt then opened up about a number of "high concept" pitches previously considered, including the Star Fox-esque game tentatively called "Eagles of Democracy"."We made a prototype in unreal," Pilestedt added. "It would basically try to capture Starfox. So arcade... but still simulated."The title was 'Eagles of Democracy'."To see this content please enable targeting cookies.Pilestedt also shared that the team had previously worked on a concept for a top-down reimagining of the 1990 arcade game, Smash TV, too:To see this content please enable targeting cookies."Smash TV is a top-down reimagining of the classic arcade game of 1990," the pitch began which was reportedly written around 12 years ago. "The game pits up to four contestants in a violent game show set in the distant future of 1999. The game focuses on the source inspiration for Smash TV to create a game filled with brutal action, death traps, and gladiator-inspired game shows."The game plays homage to 80s action movies such as The Running Man, Total Recall, RoboCop, and Escape from New York, tying everything together with cheesy music, 'cool' visual effects and over-the-top storytelling."Arrowhead recently responded to criticism from players of the high cost of its Killzone 2 crossover, eventually deciding to gift all players the planned second set of the collaboration items for free.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 players lament "battle passes in between battle passes" with Squid Game eventRed light.Image credit: Activision News by Vikki Blake Contributor Published on Jan. 3, 2025 Call of Duty: Black Ops 6's new in-game event based on Squid Game will go live at 6pm UK time today (10am PT / 1pm ET), but its coolest rewards are locked behind the event's own premium battle pass.As detailed in a new blog post, the Squid Games crossover invites players to "win it all or die trying", introducing themed awards and multiple limited-time modes across multiplayer, Zombies, and Warzone inspired by the hit Netflix show, as well as Pink Guards, VIPs, and the singing, slightly-murderous Red Light Green Light doll, Young-hee.Call of Duty x Squid Game 2 Trailer | Call of Duty: Warzone & Black Ops 6.Watch on YouTubeAs noted by IGN, whilst the Squid Game Event Pass offers both a free and premium track, and battle passes are nothing new for beleaguered COD players, this is the first time an event has launched with its own premium battle pass."We got battle passes in between battle passes now," said one unhappy player in the Black Ops 6 subreddit, whilst another opined: "This is just a test to see how much people are willing to pay. They just keep adding more 'premium' stuff until people finally decide it is enough. But that won't come soon I think, the whales will keep whaling"."It all started with the bacon gun skin I bought in BO2 for $1.99. I'm so sorry folks," lamented u/PhDExtreme."But all the actual playable content is free now," reminded u/hypehold. "We have already gotten more maps in BO6 (all free) than we did in the first 6 months of Black OPs 1."Squid Game Premium Track Will Cost 1100 Cod Points byu/Against-The-Current inblackops6To see this content please enable targeting cookies.At the end of last year, we reported that Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 publisher Activision had reportedly replaced some of the shooter's voice actors amid the ongoing SAG-AFTRA actor strike. Video game performers with US actors' union SAG-AFTRA are currently striking over concerns about the use of AI and a lack of protection for actors.In Eurogamer's Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 review, Chris awarded it two stars out of five, writing: "For a series built on high-octane thrills and explosive gratification, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6's withdrawal to the well-trodden formula echoes the wider industry's continued allergy to risk."

You can trust VideoGamer. Our team of gaming experts spend hours testing and reviewing the latest games, to ensure you're reading the most comprehensive guide possible. Rest assured, all imagery and advice is unique and original. Check out how we test and review games here Contents hide The Call of Duty universe continues to collaborate with a variety of franchises from the world of TV and movies, this time with Netflixs record-breaking Squid Game. Whether its The Boys or Fallout, or even Nicki Minaj, Activisions shooter series has featured them within its multiplayer, co-op, and battle royale offerings.Netflixs hit show Squid Game is the first crossover of the Black Ops 6 cycle and while many are dropping into Red Light, Green Light matches, Call of Duty publisher Activision has come under fire thanks to the addition of even more microtransactions into the game. As a result of the new-look event pass, Activision has truly lost its mind by prioritising profits over addressing game-breaking issues.Has Activision lost its mind?After sharing intel on what the Squid Game collaboration has in store across multiplayer, Zombies, and Warzone, players were quick to notice Activision had decided against mentioning the price of the new event pass much to their annoyance.Considering hackers are still infesting most playlists, the arrival of a premium event tier costing an additional $10 shows Activisions priority remains on generating extortionate amounts of revenue instead of choosing to fix the root cause of a huge decline in players. With another price to pay, some fans loading into the action are paying over $100 to access Black Ops 6, its seasonal battle passes, and any new bundles that appear in the store.Previous collaborations featured free events where all players could get their hands on the limited-edition items up for grabs. Now, if you want to get hold of the more desirable items, they come at another unnecessary cost.Will Activision change its mind?Despite the backlash from players, the paid event pass bucks the trend of other popular online games. Fortnite was the first game to adopt a premium tier for its crossovers and its no surprise to see Activision taking advantage of it to bolster its profits even further.If the widespread frustration continues, theres a chance Activision chooses to revert the paid event pass for future events. For now, youll have to pay to get some of the most unique cosmetics.For more CoD intel, check out the best Saug loadout along with the best controller settings to keep you shooting straight.Subscribe to our newsletters!By subscribing, you agree to our Privacy Policy and may receive occasional deal communications; you can unsubscribe anytime.Share

You can trust VideoGamer. Our team of gaming experts spend hours testing and reviewing the latest games, to ensure you're reading the most comprehensive guide possible. Rest assured, all imagery and advice is unique and original. Check out how we test and review games hereMarvel Rivals made a striking entrance into the gaming world with the debut of Season 0, winning over fans across the globe. This inaugural season was a captivating showcase, featuring exhilarating gameplay, a lineup of legendary heroes and villains, and engaging narratives that pulled players into the heart of the Marvel Universe.In Marvel Rivals, players found themselves either joining forces with allies or engaging in thrilling confrontations, all while enjoying an experience that captivated audiences from start to finish. However, with the thrill of Season 0 hitting its peak, all eyes are now on Season 1, poised to take the experience to new and exhilarating levels. At the forefront of this epic showdown are the Fantastic Four, Marvels First Family who will bring new dynamics and distinctive powers into the fray. The official key art was shared by NetEase offering players a glimpse at character appearances. But one more detail was teased, leading players to believe a new map is also coming to Season 1.Marvel Rivals Season 1 teased to bring new Vampire New York mapThe Season 1 key art of Marvel Rivals has quite an interesting backdrop with the New York city skyscrapers and a blood moon in the sky. The same imagery was also seen in the three-minute cinematic trailer where a Vampire-themed New York was shown.The Vampire New York city was seen in the Marvel Rivals cinematic trailer. Image by NetEase Games.In the same trailer, Magik was seen fighting a giant vampire figure (probably Morbius from Marvel Comics), as it brought down the Sanctum Sanctorum building. Many players believe that the same New York will be a new map in Season 1 after it was spotted in a similar vein on the key art.One such player wrote, This has to mean NYC will be a map right!? The amount of destructible structures will be insane. Another chimed in, So, New York was leaked as an upcoming map, and the 4 are coming season 1. What if the Fantasticar is the Payload, and HERBIE is driving it?Further leaks suggest that four new maps and game modes like Capture The Flag are also coming to Marvel Rivals quite soon. If youre looking for all the leaks and scoop on the upcoming season, check out our full leaks coverage right here.Marvel RivalsPlatform(s):macOS, PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series XGenre(s):Fighting, ShooterSubscribe to our newsletters!By subscribing, you agree to our Privacy Policy and may receive occasional deal communications; you can unsubscribe anytime.Share

You can trust VideoGamer. Our team of gaming experts spend hours testing and reviewing the latest games, to ensure you're reading the most comprehensive guide possible. Rest assured, all imagery and advice is unique and original. Check out how we test and review games here Contents hide Rockstar Games GTA 6 is scheduled to release sometime in Fall 2025, bringing fans back to Vice City generations after the locales debut. With propositions of episodic DLC releases and a brand-new take on GTA Online, the new open-world game is going to make billions of dollars.However, professional games industry analysts claim that the success of GTA 6 will be final before its release. As soon as pre-orders open for the upcoming open-world crime game, Rockstar is expected to rake in its first billion before launch.GTA 6 to earn a billion before launchIndustry analyst firm DFC Intelligence have already called GTA 6 the biggest entertainment release of 2025, crushing the likes of Zootopia 2, Wicked: For Good and Fantastic Four. The firm predicts that even Disneys biggest releases will be easily beaten by the long-awaited sequel.In an interview with The Financial Times, the firm believes that the new Grand Theft Auto release will manage to rake in double its predecessors first-year sales figures. This would put Grand Theft Auto 6 sales in its first year above $3.2 billion, around three times the global box office of Deadpool and Wolverine.Alongside the massive forecast for the games first year, GTA 6 is expected to have a massive pre-order surge, crushing any other video gane launch. DFC claims that one billion dollars is all-but-guaranteed to be earned before release.The biggest launch in all of entertainmentDFC Intelligences claims were immediately echoed by IDG Consulting, another games analyst firm. Alongside the massive first-year sale, the games release is expected to be a much bigger release than any entertainment product in history. While superlative in claim, the massive sales of the games predecessor does lend credence to this estimation.We think its going to be one of the biggest entertainment launches in history, not just in games but for all of media. The pent-up demand is greater than anything weve seen before, claims IDG Consulting CEO Yoshio Osaki.Now over a year from its initial reveal trailer, fans are still holding on to hear any additional details about the game. After multiple failed theories, a second trailer should hopefully release sometime soon.Grand Theft Auto 6Platform(s):PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series S/X, Xbox Series XGenre(s):Action, Action AdventureSubscribe to our newsletters!By subscribing, you agree to our Privacy Policy and may receive occasional deal communications; you can unsubscribe anytime.Share

If youre moving into an apartment building, Graber says to ask about its policies and restrictions around moving. Many have specific elevator reservations and insurance requirementsthe earlier you know about them the better, he says.Similarly, if youre planning on hiring any additional workers on or around the time of your move, its best to obtain the COIs for their work in advance as well to avoid last-minute scrambling. Youll also want to make sure the company sends additional COIs for any additional follow-up visits. For instance, we hired someone to wall-mount our television right after we moved. The technician had to return to our apartment a second time to address it being slightly off-center, so having them send a second COI for us to submit to building management was handy.Moving yourself? Make sure you use a properly sized vehicle for your needsKyle Stockford, a Boston-based tasker on Taskrabbit who specializes in full-service help moving, claims that the right equipment can make or break your moving day. Try to visualize your items being stacked and packed to determine the fit and what vehicle you require, he says. Once youre ready to pack up the truck or van, Stockford recommends starting with your biggest items first. Since it can be tough to imagine all of your items fitting into a vehicle beforehand, he notes that loading things largest to smallest always makes things run smoother.Dont procrastinate packingDid you know that if you pack yourself, it takes two weeks on average to pack a two-bedroom apartment?Ayoub shares this surprising stat while pointing out that it typically takes three or more weeks to pack a three-bedroom apartment or house. (I personally packed up my one-bedroom apartment in about five days, but having a few extra days would have made that last night way less stressful.)People often underestimate the time it takes to pack, as well as the importance of using packing boxes and materials made for moving, Ayoub insists. (She lives by the packing motto Start early!) To make the process more streamlined, she advises making a clear schedule of what rooms need to be packed prior to the moving day. Start with items and furniture that are not part of your daily routine so packing becomes more manageable versus leaving it to the last-minute, Ayoub adds .One exception to the pack-early ethos? Theres a very good chance that you'll need cleaning supplies and basic tools during the packing and moving process, says Valentino. Pack this stuff last, and put it somewhere that will be easily accessible on the other end.Skip the cardboard boxesReally just trust me on this one and rent reusable bins from a moving company with good reviews. Whats more, between carbon emissions on the physical relocating and all the trash created along the way, its time we keep sustainability at the forefront when moving too Cardboard boxes vary in quality and need to be built with tape, Graber explains. Reusable bins are sturdier and dont come with the tasks of assembly, break down, and recycling or disposing of them. Just unpack and the company will return to pick them up, he says. Many companies will provide special pencils and labels on the bins so you can keep track of the contents of each vessel, or you can easily purchase these items for a few dollars online. Also inquire if your moving company has wardrobe bins so you can load your clothing directly on hangers into these containers to save you time. Bonus: Reusable bins are an environmentally-friendly choice.Invest in the tools for successAlong the lines of opting for sturdy moving bins over traditional cardboard boxes, Ayoub frequently sees people underestimate the value of proper packing supplies, overpacking boxes and trying to fit too much into a flimsy container. Its common to want to pack boxes to the brim, but distributing weight evenly across boxes is key to avoid overpacking large boxes with heavy items, she says, pointing out that this can lead to damaged items. Picture frame boxes and specialized boxes for items like stemware and dishes are money well spent: These purpose-specific boxes make all the difference in ensuring your belongings arrive safely and in one piece, Ayoub adds.Color-code your boxesTo crank your organizational prowess up a notch, Ayoub says that a simple yet effective strategy for maintaining order while you move is color-coding your boxes with labels. Assign each room or area a specific color and label boxes accordingly with large stickers or colored tape, she says, noting that this makes it incredibly easy for both you and your movers to know exactly where everything belongs once it arrives at your new home. Doing so can save a huge amount of time and eliminates the guesswork in unpacking, especially when youre looking for a specific item, she adds.Consider your furniture carefullyTo pull off a successful move, furniture merits a little extra TLC. Think about what furniture came into your home in one piece and what was built inside. Will all of your furniture fit through the doorways in your home? Graber says. Raise any concerns in advance so that your movers are prepared, he continues.

To give the home a calming effect, Dungan leaned on natural materials. The Hills have an affinity for white Texas limestone, which the architect used for the faade. Oak siding, brackets, and eaves stained black create an appealing visual contrast on the exterior. The homeowners beloved stone also paves the sunlight-filled entryclad in paned glass on two sidesand builds the fireplaces in the great room and on the lanai out back. Accessible from the entry, Melanie styled this large outdoor area as a second living room with performance boucl-covered seating, black leather rocking chairs she acquired in Costa Rica, and unique pieces she purchased at High Point Furniture Market in North Carolina. Dungan also integrated a screened porch so the Hills could host dinner parties without nighttime bugs.Inside, the black-and-white architectural color scheme continues but the materialitys raw edges soften. The walls and sculpted portals are painted Benjamin Moores creamy White Dove to juxtapose black window frames and grilles. The gabled and flat ceilings throughout, with poplar and oak slats and beams, are stained shades from natural to black.A Wellon Bridgers artwork hangs over the sculptural fireplace in the open plan living room, where the sofas are by Lee Industries.In a former life, the Hills lived in Costa Rica, where Melanie ran a thriving design practice. Though she has since retired from taking on projects for clients, she decorated her own house with the same careas a complete representation of her and her husbands life. A commissioned painting by William McLure, now hung over the svelte fireplace in the open plan living room and kitchen, as well as the terra cotta red ceramics they collected during travels through Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Nicaragua inspired the interior color palette. Pets, family gatherings, and indoor-outdoor living required the comfortable seating by Lee Industries be upholstered in performance fabrics and leathers.Seating by Lee Industries and a cocktail table by Century Furniture gather around the Texas limestone fireplace in the sunny great room. Artwork by William McLure.Greeting guests out front is a historic bell that had once hung at Toms grandfathers grist mill in Greenville, Georgia. Dungan designed a new limestone tower for the family heirloom. Local landscape architect Gary Mitchell of Agricultural Services created a rose garden around it. Though each piece in the house is meaningful, nothing is too precious.When we come home from vacation, it feels almost like were on vacation, says Melanie, who notes that her daughter also helped with the interior design. Theres an easygoing spirit to the place, much like its homeowners. A certain honesty and transparency come through in this house, describes Dungan. And I think thats why its one of my favorite ones Ive designed.

When Alyse Archer-Coite moved into the Noxon House in 2020, she expected to hit a few bumps in the road. After all, she was a single woman moving from California to New York, so there were bound to be some pain points during the cross-country transition. Of course, that was only half the battle for the design researcher as she began renovating her rural retreat, a Dutch colonial located in Poughquag, amid a global pandemic.Despite a number of limitations (and a looming recession), Archer-Coite wasnt deterred from curating her dream home and approached every diversion as a fun challenge. Given the 250-year-old history of the property, she had no desire to repeat the past in terms of decorating with a more traditional theme. The people who had owned the house had very much loved the period the house was from and put in furniture and iconography and things that spoke to that time period, which I did not want to do, she explains. I didnt want to have a bunch of Americana, heavy wood references to 19th-century English furniture; all that kind of stuff was just out for me.Jonathan HokkloInstead of restricting herself, Archer-Coites thoughtful curation consisted of different periods, genres, and materials. I wanted a mix of things that were contemporary and craft, industrial, also delicate and feminine; all the things that I like, she adds. I wanted everything to be in conversation. Her strategy for furnishing the space has been based on necessity, so there was flexibility with the timeline, but she was locked into a modest budget that couldnt budge.Maybe this is more typical of my personality, but it was more like [knowing] what I didnt want and having that helped me to define what I did want in the moments that I was purchasing things. I didnt want to have a ton of constraints, she says. I wanted the freedom to make decisions as I went, not trying to back into a style.This past April, the designer researcher decided to drench the walls of her bedroom in Sardine from the Carte Blanche collection by Farrow & Ball and Christopher John Rogers. I am so terrified of color, she admits. I would always go white because I dont want to regret something and have to do it over once I tire of it. But there was something attractive about bringing blue into the boudoir. Although a blue bedroom wasnt initially on her moodboard for the house, Archer-Coite stopped resisting and submitted to the idea. Now that shes lived with it long enough, she now describes the space as very moody, but not too sexy. It might be a bedchamber, but nothing deviant is happening in hereI dont want to make it a dungeon, she adds.The house is very much in its own unique period, the architecture style is very specific and it has its own personality that really cant be ignored so I wanted to play with that as much as possible, but not to stay in that period, Archer-Coite concludes. Looking back at it, I love how unexpected it is, that when you walk in you dont know exactly what youre going to find in each room. Below, the designer researcher discloses all the details that went into the metamorphosis of her moody blue bedroom.What was your approach to furnishing your house?I was limited by the fact that we were in the middle of a global pandemic and lockdown. If any of us even are willing to remember that time, there were things that wouldve been normal to get overnight or within the week delivered to you were no longer available. So a lot of my Hail Mary furnishing choices are like, What does Amazon have in the way of single beds for kids that I can reinforce and make look like theyre for adults? Things like that were decisions I had to make. My strategy was to get individual pieces that I loved regardless of the cost, if I could afford it, but regardless of the cost get pieces that I loved and build out from there. So I went with a lot of big pieces initially because the house is big and anything smaller was starting to look very dwarfed in the house.I didnt bring much furniture with me, I was coming from California, and relocating back to the East Coast. I had some furniture pieces, but they were on a truck that was coming months later. When I saw something I liked, like a bed or a sofa, I would buy it and then wait for it to arrive and go from there. Getting the scale of a room in mind is really hard to do without putting furniture in it, even if you know the dimensions. Until you start to fill it, you dont really know how big it is. Thats my experience. Everything I thought would be right in a room I would put in and be like, Wow, this looks like childrens furniture once its in the room. Getting big things was part of the strategy for understanding the size of the room and how much a room could really handle.Did you have a budget?I mean, if Im being totally honest, I was really moving check to check at that point. I had just purchased the house. Before I bought this house, the most expensive thing I had owned was a Peloton bike. I had very little understanding of the cost of being in real estate, of owning real estate. So for me, when I bought the house, I had an estimated monthly output in mind that was a mix of what my bank had shown me and also what I understood would be the cost of heating and cooling and basic appliances and things like that running in the house.For example, the cost of gas went way up during COVID for various reasons. My house was running on propane, so the cost of heating my house went through the roof. I ended up having to pay over $1,000 a month to heat my house in the winter. I moved in mid-December. My first week there we had a massive storm that took out the power, etc., so I had not anticipated those costs. Any budget I had toward furnishing ended up being my budget for living comfortably and not surviving in the house, so it really was like, after I paid all my bills, what did I have left? Could I really justify spending all that money on furniture?Most PopularArchitecture + DesignThe 11 Most Beautiful Art Deco Buildings Around the WorldBy Maya Chawla Architecture + DesignAD100 2025: See the Full List of HonoreesBy The Editors of ADHomes + Decor35 Soulful Rustic Kitchen Ideas Youll Want to CopyBy Kate JerdeThe answer is yes. I didnt shop anymore for clothing, I spent all my money on furniture items so if I had a check that didnt go toward paying for utilities and my mortgage, I would use that for furniture. I didnt really have a budget so much as I was very, very clear that any overage I had at the end of the month was spoken for in terms of furnishing.The way the house was set up matched with my budget and with what was going on in the world at the time. My experience led me to really have to learn to be comfortable in an empty room to say, This room is not done. This room will not be done until the right pieces show up, so if its just this chair that I love for the next six months, thats okay because you have to settle in a room that is not done and be okay with it. I think the anxiety around finishing, making the room comfortable, or being able to use the room can really force you to make decisions that youre going to regret later. So that was what I was fighting most, it was like, Choose a piece and go with it slowly.Jonathan HokkloWhat was your inspiration for this room?I had never, in my adult life, had a king size bed. I had never had a room in New York where I could even imagine a bed bigger than a queen and this room really just begged for big bed, big luxury, just a place to really luxuriate. The room, in the way that a lot of rooms are in this house, every wall has a different use. Theres windows on one wall and closets on another, theres the entrance door and on the last wall is the door to the bathroom, so youre really limited where you can put your bed. Basically, the center of the room had to be the bed, so those parameters were actually really useful for me because there were only so many ways I could appoint the room. I knew that I wanted it to feel really cozy, but not in the everything is plush way. I wanted it to feel cozy and minimal, really stripped back. The best way to do that was with fabric and then also with color.Most PopularArchitecture + DesignThe 11 Most Beautiful Art Deco Buildings Around the WorldBy Maya Chawla Architecture + DesignAD100 2025: See the Full List of HonoreesBy The Editors of ADHomes + Decor35 Soulful Rustic Kitchen Ideas Youll Want to CopyBy Kate JerdeThe room was painted green when I bought the house, like a Farrow & Ball Card Room Green. I tried to match it for years, I even called the past owners to ask and they were like, We also inherited that green, we have no idea what it is. When I moved in, I thought, Im definitely going to paint this white, I want to start with a clean white space. But after living in it for a couple of months and not really wanting to spend the money to have it painted, I grew to love the color and realized that waking up in a room that was drenched in a joyful color like a green was really good for me. So I knew I wanted color, but I wanted something that felt historical, that didnt feel too poppy or contemporary.As much as I wanted to push against the boundaries or lines of the house, I didnt want to take it to the point of being too whimsical. The inspiration was luxury, but also a little bit of whimsy, a little bit of playfulness. I am definitely a straight lines, clean space girly and that bed was so wild, but it really, really spoke to me and I thought, This could be it. This could be the thing that makes the room and I can work backwards from here. The bed was one of my earliest purchases. It came from Montreal and got broken in shipping, and I had to have an iron worker come out and put it back together on site.The bed has almost like a Cy Twombly drawing feeling. I found lamps that also look very curlicued, those were the first lamps I ever put next to the bed that I thought, These dont take away from the bed or push the bed or feel awkward with the bed. They feel like they were made to be next to it. I had to have those shipped from London. There were three at the time and I couldnt imagine paying for all three, so I only bought two. I now have a lot of regret and should have bought all three, but it took almost three years for those lamps to find me. I didnt know that I needed them.What was your biggest splurge?The most expensive thing actually were those lamps and they were the thing I couldnt deny. I was like, I finally found lamps that can work in this cursed room. My very first week in the house I lost power and I had to read by candle light, I thought ghosts were coming to kill me. The lamps were a big splurge, especially given how much am I using them? The bed Im using all the time, but the lamps. Its the most Ive ever paid for lighting.Jonathan HokkloMost PopularArchitecture + DesignThe 11 Most Beautiful Art Deco Buildings Around the WorldBy Maya Chawla Architecture + DesignAD100 2025: See the Full List of HonoreesBy The Editors of ADHomes + Decor35 Soulful Rustic Kitchen Ideas Youll Want to CopyBy Kate JerdeWhat was your best deal?There are these little chairs from Tubbs of Vermont. I had never heard of them before in my life, but I went to Horseman Antiques in Brooklyn Heights probably six or seven years ago and found these chairs up in the upper levels of that place. The chairs didnt have any price tag on them. The guy at the front was looking and looking, but couldnt find it so he was like, Lets just say theyre $200 for both. I said, Are you sure? And he said, Yeah, whatever. So we took them and I remember posting about them, and a friend of mine whos from Vermont said, Oh my God.I have had so many inquiries about those chairs, people trying to buy them, people trying to find out who made them. Ive seen chairs that are reminiscent, but Ive never seen the exact chairs anywhere else. I know that they were not supposed to be $200 for the pair, maybe they should have been $500, but what they have brought me in terms of satisfaction and as much interest as they garner, I think they were probably the best deal.Even if it wasnt the best monetary deal, what are some things that, to you, were well worth the price?Paint is actually the best investment you can make in a space, and its one of the hardest things to do. I think a lot of people say they want color, but when theyre working with the designers, they get nervous about doing the wrong things and they tend to want to go white. If you can find the bravery to do it, it really has elevated the space so tremendously for me. I knew I liked the green color, that was pretty cool after a while. But choosing this color and having it be on the ceiling and on the outlets and covering the vents. It has made me feel like a grown up, that was a very grown up move. If I took everything else out of the room except for the bed and the paint, I could probably still love that room.Is there anything that wasnt worth the money? Do you regret making any purchases?The tapestry in that room that I bought at this former antiques mall a couple of miles away from my house. You walked in and it was like a junk sale, but there were gems. I went there and found it in a corner and it was priced as is, no negotiations, for $250. I wanted a tapestry, but I didnt want it to have people in it because all the tapestries have these 19th-century French style of white people sitting in the park eating or hunting or whatever. I was like, I dont want to have that visual in my bedroom. I wanted something exclusively with an animal on it. So I thought, This is it. This is such a great deal, Im not even going to ask for a discount.Most PopularArchitecture + DesignThe 11 Most Beautiful Art Deco Buildings Around the WorldBy Maya Chawla Architecture + DesignAD100 2025: See the Full List of HonoreesBy The Editors of ADHomes + Decor35 Soulful Rustic Kitchen Ideas Youll Want to CopyBy Kate JerdeFast-forward to not even three months ago, a friend of mine was at some sort of big open-air antique fair and posted a tapestry she got on Instagram and I said, Thats exactly the tapestry I have. Not reminiscent of, not referencing. My tapestry is a confirmed replica. I sent her a photo and she said, Oh no! How much did you pay for yours? And I said, Well, I spent $250. She said, Oh, okay. Mine was $40. I said, Damn, that really stung! I think in every collector-obsessed persons life there has to be one where you really get robbed, thats how you know you really have skin in the game.Do you have a favorite piece in the room?Yes. It seems so boring to say, but I think it has to be the bed. Its the most fun and funny and enormous kind of bed. It really defines the room. I think its the only piece in the room that if I took out and swapped for something else, the entire room would change and never look the same. Everything else is really special, but Ive played around with getting rid of or bringing back or whatever many times; the bed is the mainstay.How would you describe the vibe of the room?I think its surprisingly joyful. I would say that its mutable. Theres a vibe in the morning, in the afternoon, and in the evening. The light changes so much in the house throughout the day, and the bedroom is a place where you really see that play out throughout the day. It has an en suite bathroom, so if youre upstairs in that room, thats probably the room where you have most of what you need to spend the day. Its self-sufficient. The vibe is elegant and comfortable.Jonathan HokkloMost PopularArchitecture + DesignThe 11 Most Beautiful Art Deco Buildings Around the WorldBy Maya Chawla Architecture + DesignAD100 2025: See the Full List of HonoreesBy The Editors of ADHomes + Decor35 Soulful Rustic Kitchen Ideas Youll Want to CopyBy Kate JerdeAt this point, is the room complete or do you still have things left on your shopping list?There are definitely things I would still like to do. The bedside table situation is not ideal because both lamps are different heights. I would have loved to have had a bedside table that was a little more lean. The space between the bed and the closet doors is very narrow on the left and right side, so whatever bedside table I have has to be narrow like a plank and I have yet to find a matching set that works. Right now I have a single bedside table and then I have one of the shorter lamps on it to raise the height and make it equal to the floor lamp. So theres really nowhere to put your drink. Its just not super useful, you end up putting a lot of stuff on the floor. It looks good in photos, but its not great in practice. So I would love to find a bedside table solution for one or both sides.I am not totally satisfied with the bedding. This bedroom is wonderful and presents challenges every day. Its very hard to do something graphic. Its tricky to do anything dark because the bed is wrought iron so it has almost this inherent gothic feeling. You can see through it obviously, but having white bedding on it breaks in a weird way, the shapes are almost too prominent. So I havent found a bedding color, design, or texture that feels exactly right.Bedding is so expensive and its annoying to get wrong. Its like a rug; once you unfurl that thing, it belongs to you. You dont want to deal with returning it or folding it back up. I feel the same way with bedding. Ive bought so much for that bedroom and either given it away or folded it up as backup in case the cleaning lady needs another set. Im just not happy with the bedding I have on it. Bedside tables and bedding. Its been four years and I still havent found them, its the most trivial thing seemingly, but the hardest to nail.Shop looks inspired by Alyse Archer-Coites BedroomArt Deco Revival Black Gold Flattened Metal Tube Queen Bed by Michele ArchiuttiSardine, Dead FlatCooling Cotton Percale Core Sheet SetZigzag Table LampMiniver Reclaimed Elm Wood Curved Upholstered Dining ChairCinco Faces Vase by Taller Manos Que VenLA FAE Verdure Tapestry IIIEuropean Linen Duvet CoverLouie Isaaman-Jones BookstandShaker-style Candle StandThis story is a part of Room Receipts, a series where we get real about the costs behind one well-designed room. From big budget spenders to thrifty thinkers, were talking to people from different worlds about their worth-it splurges, budget hacks, and purchase regrets. Were always on the hunt for cool homes with a unique story, so if youre interested in being featured tell us more about your space here.Most Popular