If you’ve always been confused about which direction your ceiling fan should turn, the Illustration and explanations below should get you spinning in the right direction.

In the summer, you want the fan to help cool the house. To do that, set the fan so the blades blow the air downward. Stand under the fan, and if you feel the breeze blowing down on you, you’re set. It’s this breeze that helps keep you cool by moving air over you. You may also want to set the fan at a high speed to really move the air.

In the winter, you want the ceiling fan to help circulate the warm air for more even heating. At the same time, though, you don’t want to feel a cooling breeze. The solution is to reverse the fan’s rotation and set it at a low speed. That way, it will pull air up toward the ceiling and push the warm air that gets trapped there down the walls.

Have a nice weekend,

Wyatt Myers
Online Editor, Workbench

An old plastic parmesan cheese dispenser is great for storing small screws, nails, or other hardware. The side of the lid with three holes in it is perfect when you just need two or three at a time, and the “open” side comes in handy when you need a whole handful.

Have a nice weekend,

Wyatt Myers
Online Editor, Workbench

One hot trend in hardware today is highly profiled or hammered fixtures with a hint of metallic color on their surface. These pieces of hardware go by many names — weathered, oil-rubbed, aged — but one thing they have in common is their high price, usually $10 to $20 apiece.

What many people don’t realize, though, is that you can add this hint of metallic color yourself. The secret is a product called Liberon Gilt Cream. Available for about $20 a jar, gilt cream comes in a variety of metallic shades. And applying it couldn’t be much easier — you just put a dab on your finger, and rub it gently over the hardware to transfer the color to its surface. Then, use a soft cloth to buff the hardware and create the desired look.

Gilt cream offers a great way to spruce up otherwise dull hardware. For example, we found these “hammered” pulls and knobs at the home center for just a few dollars apiece. A dash of “Versailles” colored gilt cream created a rich look in just a few seconds. It’s available from a number of online sources, including Faux by Kathy (FauxByKathy.com, 800-797-4305).

Have a nice weekend,

Wyatt Myers
Online Editor, Workbench

Mason jars make great hardware storage containers. And if you have a lot of loose nails or screws, here’s a simple trick to get them in the jar. Just put a strong magnet above the mason jar lid, and pass it over the hardware, as shown above. Then simply set the lid down on the jar, and remove the magnet.

Have a nice weekend,

Wyatt Myers
Online Editor, Workbench