If you are planning a painting job, you will want to work out how much paint to buy. You should also try to calculate roughly how long the job will take. This will allow you to plan both your total time and when you will finish each coat, so that you can work out the … Read more
Buy a few, well-made garden tools to start with. Leave the more specialized equipment until necessary. You may then find you can borrow the particular tool, or rent it at an economical rate. When buying tools, make sure they are strong but not too heavy for comfort. Equipment such as large watering cans and wheelbarrows … Read more
An extension can be anything from a study to a conservatory and is often a great joy. Decide just what your extra space is to be used for — it might be adequate (and certainly cheaper) to buy a shed for the garden. If you feel that it is an extension you want, then make … Read more
There are several ways of arranging the trees in an orchard. The principal are as follows: Square, all trees at equal distances in rows at right angles to one another. Quincunx, as the last with one tree in the middle of each square. Triangular, trees at the points of an equal sided triangle, this being … Read more
The British are reputed to be a nation of gardeners, yet one seldom finds home-grown vegetables on the table of the average British household. Possibly, there is a reason. Vegetables of the common kinds—cabbages and peas, beans and marrows—are so cheap to buy in their season that most small garden owners do not think it … Read more
Showers are claimed to be more hygienic than baths, though no record can be traced of our forefathers having been poisoned by soapy water. Their main advantage is convenience: they take only a third of the space of a bath and none at all when fitted over the tap end of an existing bath, in … Read more
The scope for conversion and extension schemes is enormous. But, in spite of the variety of individual circumstances, in practice there are a fairly limited number of alteration works that can be carried out on a building. The unique flavour of a conversion depends more upon the way in which these basic alteration works are … Read more
Home swimming pools used at one time to denotes a luxurious way of living — a reflection of the film star image. But nowadays, even in countries with only a temperate climate, more and more swimming pools are appearing in the back gardens of ordinary suburban homes. The reasons for this are easy to understand. … Read more
The ideal garage or carport should blend with and complement the home. It should be neither an eyesore nor an afterthought. The inside should be kept dry as it will serve, in many cases, as a store and home workshop. This “dual” role should be carefully considered when building a garage. Siting and conversion The … Read more
Home lighting offers the creative homemaker much scope. Although intended primarily for illumination, lighting can be used to enhance the furnishing scheme and décor. It can transform a dull room into a bright and exciting room. By means of switching, lighting can be changed as mood or social circumstances demand; a lot of light for … Read more
Think — and rethink — before you act. This is the first rule of successful interior design and decoration. Take a whole view and a long view. Acting piecemeal on impulse can lead to mistakes costly both in time and money. Do not try to hold all your ideas in your head; put them down … Read more