I have the same piece as wheaty, but in dark wood. Pier One on sale! Love it. I use the hooks for hats, purses, jackets, etc., baskets below for gloves and scarves. Never thought of putting a pillow on it. I like it. Warm and cosy.

LED strings of lights twisted into the frame ??? thanks since my new kitchen in small this is a great idea and i just have a great old gate as well terrific

Laundry drains can really pong when they're seldom used - the water in the trap can disappear and you get a vile sewer smell. Before going to expensive and highly caustic chemicals try 1 cup of bicarb of soda and half a litre of white vinegar down Let it sit for an hour then follow up by pouring boiling water down the sink and see if that helps - you can do it a couple of times - I do mine every few weeks (kitchen and laundry). You could also run your washing machine (empty) on the hottest possible was with a good amount of bleach in it to help. If it's the rangehood - don't be surprised so many people forget to clean them - pull out the filters and wash them (mine go into the bottom rack of the dishwasher on the highest temperature setting).

My knife block is tucked into a corner of my kitchen away from little hands. Ideally though, it would be placed right in front of the bench top section used for preparing food to avoid having to turn/move around too much with a sharp object (especially if you have multiple kitchen users at the one time). For me, I do most of my chopping at the island bench, so it doesn't really work to have the knives located there. To help overcome this, I store them near the chopping boards so that they are easily gathered when needed.