About us

Our story, our standards, our method.

Hearth & Home Reviews was founded in 2024 by two remote workers — one in Brooklyn, one in Amsterdam — who were tired of small appliance and decor reviews that felt like rewritten press releases.

Why we started this site

We bought our first "best air fryer 2024" pick based on a popular top-10 list. It cost $59, looked great in the photos, and lasted three weeks before the non-stick coating started flaking into our food. When we tried to find an honest review, every top result read like a paid placement.

We don't want other households to make the same mistake. So we started testing small appliances, smart home gear, and decor ourselves — at retail price, in real homes, for weeks at a time — and writing what we found.

Who writes the reviews

Every review on this site is written by one of two people:

• Eliza Hartmann — co-founder, based in Amsterdam. Former product designer. Tests most kitchen and home decor categories. Has owned and cooked with over 20 air fryers, espresso machines, and kitchen gadgets in the last five years.
• Marco Reyes — co-founder, based in Brooklyn. Former data analyst turned remote-work writer. Tests most smart home and audio categories. Lives with two rescue dogs who chew-test everything they can reach.

No content is produced by external contractors, AI alone, or manufacturers. We occasionally invite guest reviewers for specialty topics (e.g. outdoor grills, vintage restoration), but always disclose when a piece is a guest contribution.

How we test

Every product is bought at full retail price by Hearth & Home Reviews. It ships to one of our two apartments and is integrated into our daily routine for the entire test window.

Minimum test duration: 4 weeks. Most categories warrant 6–8 weeks. Robot vacuums and rugs are tested for a full eight weeks because those categories are the slowest to reveal real-world wear and tear.

Test methodology, by category:

• Air fryers: standardized test menu of fries, chicken thighs, and salmon — measured for crispness, even browning, smoke, and cleanup.
• Robot vacuums: 1,200 sq ft floor plan with pets and a toddler — measured for pickup rate, obstacle avoidance, mapping speed, and maintenance burden.
• Espresso machines: 18g-in / 36g-out shot calibration, steam wand microfoam test, daily-use durability over the test window.
• Smart speakers: voice recognition from 3, 6, and 10 m with background music — sound quality, smart home response time, and privacy controls.
• Area rugs: standardized spill, shedding, and traffic-wear tests — looking at how the rug holds up over months, not days.

What we won't do

Our editorial standards exist because we want to be trusted by readers — and because the moment a reader can't trust us, the site stops having a reason to exist.

• We won't accept payment, gifts, or loaner products from manufacturers in exchange for review coverage.
• We won't change a review's text or rating after publication to please a manufacturer.
• We won't run sponsored posts disguised as editorial reviews.
• We won't bury or omit the alternatives to our top pick — readers deserve a full picture.
• We won't recommend a product we haven't personally tested.

How we're compensated

We earn revenue in three ways:

1. Amazon Associates affiliate links — when you buy through our links, we earn a small commission.
2. Newsletter sponsorship — three slots per year, clearly marked as "Sponsored".
3. Reader donations — voluntary, via the newsletter signup page.

None of these influence which products earn which rankings. For the full disclosure, see our Affiliate Disclosure.

Get in touch

Have a question, correction, or product suggestion? Visit our contact page. We answer every email from a real person within two business days.