I always use vinegar in my laundry when something is very smelly. Especially smoke from a campfire or way back in my smoking days. Fill a Downy Ball and toss it in the washer. Don't need fabric softener that way either. And no, your clothes don't smell like vinegar. My sister had trouble with the cats tracking across the freshly washed kitchen floor and sometimes licking at it. I told her to use a vinegar/water solution as it's a great cleaner and cats usually don't like the smell. They won't go near it until it's dry and once it dries, the vinegar smell is gone. Vinegar is often used in places with fires to absorb odor, as is vanilla but vinegar is far cheaper. Vinegar is a useful item to have around. Salt, vinegar and baking soda clean a drain out quite nicely. 1001 uses for vinegar Here is a link that might be useful: 254 uses for vinegar

I don't care for NextDoor recommendations either. Too often it's friends pushing their friend's or neighbor's businesses. I have good luck with Yelp. You do have read the reviews carefully and look between the lines. Like many review sites the negative reviews can give you a lot of insight also. Many times they end up putting the business in a more positive light when you see what the crankiness is about. I found a great plumber, a family run appliance repair and an excellent drywall guy though Yelp. Before we pulled our carpet I was going to use a carpet guy from there. Very eccentric in the reviews but meticulous to a tee. Many people trust the big companies with the big advertising budgets. However one must consider that their employees come from all walks of life, with varying experience and are working for a paycheck not their companies reputation. The sole proprietor in skilled service work has more to lose, often really knows the in and outs of his craft, has years of experience or apprenticeship and gives better, more personal customer service. But I come from a standpoint of knowing how to do many things. Hiring it out for us is more related to aging and no longer wanting to do some things ourselves. I can hire a good worker by understanding the job I want done enough to know what I want. I also know to leave them be and do their job without interference once the decision has been made to use them. You read the contract and/or ask questions to be sure you understand what they will do or not do before hand. Not afterwards. We recently delayed a fence being built because the grade of wood and an additional post was verbally mentioned but omitted in the written quote. Once that was done we signed them off on them doing the work which they did well and professionally.

Work with the green of the upstairs paper. Can’t find exatly what I am looking for: a simple stripe, but something on this idea. Reconsider doing the espresso on the stairs, and painting risers and treads the same color as your woodwork. Again, not your colors, but white stairs wth darker runner and dark walls.

Thank you for your comment. Since the stairs are currently carpeted and open on the sides, the installer recommended to not put LVP on them.