Amanda Rose

A chef's knife does most cutting, a paring knife small work and a bread knife saws crusts; boning, fillet, carving and cleaver blades suit meat and fish.

A vertical queen Murphy bed needs a wall about 64 to 68 inches wide and 87 to 89 inches tall, and opens about 85 to 87 inches into the room.

A freestanding range has finished sides and a backguard with the controls, while a slide-in range has front controls and sits between cabinets.

A smart bassinet adds motion, sound or an app, but safe sleep rules stay the same; the AAP and CPSC say a flat, bare surface and back sleeping matter.

Baby bottles come in plastic, glass, silicone and steel, but nipple flow matters more; move up a level when the baby shows the flow is too slow, not on a date.

Baby clothes are labeled by age (NB, 0-3M, 12M) but fit by weight and height; newborn size ends around 8 pounds, and the T in 3T means toddler.

A baby sound machine is optional; if you use one, keep it outside the crib, at least 30 centimeters (about a foot) away, and well below full volume.

A bed frame is sold by the mattress size it holds, from twin at 38 by 75 inches to California king at 72 by 84; queen is the most common size we list.

Watts show how much power a blender draws, not how well it blends; under 600 watts suits shakes, while frozen fruit and nut butter need 1,000 watts and up.

A bread machine's loaf size is the finished loaf's weight, usually 1, 1.5 or 2 pounds; most machines bake up to 2 pounds and offer smaller sizes by button.

Big DUPLO bricks are marked from age 1 or 2, magnetic tiles from 3 and standard LEGO from 4 or 5; the age on the box mostly tracks piece size and small parts.

Drip machines brew a pot, pour over gives hand control, a French press steeps coarse grounds and cold brew steeps for hours; carafe cups are often 5 ounces.

Stainless steel lasts for years and browns food well but sticks, nonstick releases food easily but wears out, and tri-ply is steel bonded around aluminum.

A full-size crib takes a standard mattress at least 27 1/4 by 51 5/8 inches, a mini crib takes its own smaller one, and the mattress drops before baby can sit.

Deep fryers are sized by the oil they hold, from about 4 cups in a small fryer to 5 quarts in a family model; more oil means bigger batches and more to buy.

A semi-automatic machine leaves grinding, tamping and shot timing to you, a super-automatic does it all with a button, and capsule and lever models fill gaps.

Gas grills light fast and hold a set heat, charcoal grills burn lump or briquettes, and pellet and electric grills are the other two fuel types we list.

A gazebo has a solid roof and gives full shade, a pergola has open crossbeams that filter the sun; size either one by the people and furniture it must hold.

A highchair stands on its own legs for babies who sit upright, a booster straps to a dining chair for older babies and toddlers; switch at the labeled limit.

A freezer bowl ice cream maker is cheap but needs its bowl frozen first, a compressor model chills itself for batch after batch, and others spin a frozen base.

A centrifugal juicer shreds produce against a fast spinning basket in seconds; a masticating (cold press) juicer crushes it slowly and handles greens better.

Most home landscape lighting runs at 12 volts from a transformer; load the transformer to about 70% of its rating, and compare fixtures by lumens, not watts.

Memory foam hugs the body and isolates motion, hybrids add coils for bounce and airflow, and most mattresses last 6 to 8 years at 10 to 12 inches thick.

A playard is a portable mesh crib with its own federal standard; use only its mattress, and stop at the labeled height or weight or when the child climbs out.