Design

Donald Paterson lives in a detached house. The house has had a substantial 2-storey extension added to the back of the property, but the internal spaces are badly arranged. Due to the size of the rear extension the house now has a very deep plan from front to back, which means the spaces in the centre of the plan, the family room and the utility room are dark and dingy. One of the main problems with this plan is that to get from the hallway into the kitchen means …

If you are considering renovating your home start by thinking about areas of your home that could be improved, updated or extended that would not only add value, but would improve the quality of your everyday living.Refurbishing your existing kitchen or bathroom is a great way of improving your home without having to spend a lot of money. Visit your local kitchen and bathroom companies and speak to their in-house designers. They will be happy to produce simple design plans for you free of charge if you are interested in …

I love real fires. Having a fire in the living room of your home is wonderful.
It completely enlivens the atmosphere of the space into something beautiful, romantic, calming and serene. A fire is not only warm and comforting but it also provides a powerful focus to any room with its glowing, flickering light.
The fire I have installed in my new home is very modern and contemporary. It’s the Conmoto Balance Modular Stove System designed by Peter Maly (from Encompass Furniture www.encompassco.com). It’s a real fire for burning wood, or in …

Even though the building regulations have improved so much over the last twenty years, so that all conservatories now have to constructed using double-glazing, there are still huge temperature differences where it is too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter.
If you insist on having a conservatory the only way you can prevent enormous amounts of heat gain in the summer is so provide solar shading by using external blinds or louvers on the outside of the glass or blinds that are integrated between the two sheets …

Creating an open-plan layout in and Edwardian terrace
Vanessa Anderson, age 62, lives in a Edwardian terrace house in London that dates from 1910. Like many who live in such properties, Vanessa wants to open up the ground-floor space to create an open-plan layout, and add an extension. Her budget is £120,000.The Problem
The main problem with the original ground floor layout of many Edwardian homes is that there are too many individual, small rooms and often not enough space to meet the requirements of a 21st century home. As you come …