Step-by-step upgrade

While renovating on top of irregularly built substructures can frustrate, patience pays off

A good number of my recent job sites have involved a flooring upgrade, at least to some degree. Working at a house last month, the first phase of several separate renovations was just that — the renewal of the existing . . .

Posted: 2025-11-29

Space and grace

Two-storey Prairie Pointe home makes most of every square foot

Designing a single-family detached home to fit a 26-foot-wide lot is no easy task. That being the case, it’s critically important for designers to use their imagination to come up with a plan that maximizes every square inch of space . . .

Posted: 2025-11-29

MHBA Parade show homes open to visit all winter

Manitoba’s spring and fall Parade of Homes events are a spectacular showcase for Manitoba’s residential construction industry. The parades showcase the Manitoba Home Builders’ Association’s home-building members, offering new-home buyers a chance to see cutting-edge home technology, and visitors also . . .

Posted: 2025-11-29

Updated classic

Century-old Wolseley home overhauled with young families in mind

Consider for a moment a home built over 100 years ago in Winnipeg. In most instances, people tend to visualize the same thing: a quaint-looking home with an interior that falls short of living up to modern standards for one . . .

Posted: 2025-11-29

Do your level best

Differing approaches can solve subfloor idiosyncrasies

The decision to upgrade flooring often gives rise to related, but unexpected quandaries that need to be resolved once work gets under way. At a recent job site, the main floor consisted of two types of adjacent floor finishings: carpet . . .

Posted: 2025-11-22

Welcome to the jungle

Fabulous foliage adds flair to gardens, indoor décor

Welcome to the Jungle is a new and exciting line of foliage plants from Dummen Orange. For consumers encountering this amazing collection for the first time during the winter months, their first thought might be of the many new possibilities . . .

Posted: 2025-11-22

Taking active families to heart

Two-storeydwelling’s distinctive design balances practicality and panache

As hard as builders work to design show homes with unique “personalities, ” the reality is some such houses can blend together in a buyer’s mind once they’ve viewed three or four. That’s because as much is done to differentiate . . .

Posted: 2025-11-22

Built to fit needs

Lord Roberts infill duplex makes most of space, in style

When it comes to designing highly livable infill homes, it’s all about smartly utilizing available space while not scrimping on style. In this instance, the builder spent considerable time pondering the design of the dwelling, following that up with high . . .

Posted: 2025-11-22

Our flora galore

Author goes far and wide on quest to document all plants native to Manitoba

When Diana Bizecki Robson was growing up in Saskatoon during the 1970s, she enjoyed riding her bike to parks and riverbanks where she spent hours studying the diversity of wild plants and their pollinators. After deciding to become a biologist, . . .

Posted: 2025-11-15

Sauna on deck

Porch-revamp remnants help unify outdoor esthetic

As attractive as this sauna appears, I must admit that I did not build it — the homeowners purchased a kit from Sauna Central, and installers from that company erected the sauna on site, shortly after it was delivered. . . .

Posted: 2025-11-15