Smart Homes for Dummies

The good, the goofy and the gratuitous

Remember when everyone wanted a Baby Einstein? It may say something about our society that these days, we're just happy to have a smart refrigerator. Appliance manufacturers are knocking themselves out to come up with new "solutions" . . .

Posted: 2019-09-06

Guarding the Garage

How to protect your house's biggest entryway

Home security is a booming business in Canada, with some reports suggesting it's worth as much as $2 billion annually. High-tech devices such as HD surveillance cameras, motion detectors and smart locks have become almost ubiquitous parts . . .

Posted: 2019-09-06

Size Matters

Cozy or capacious, make every room measure up

MINIMAL SPACE, MAXIMUM STYLE Does your place lack space? The biggest challenge is trying to trick the eye into making your home appear larger than it is. You can achieve that illusion with the right paint palette, lighting, . . .

Posted: 2019-09-05

Green is Good

Natural selection of wall art is a growing trend

Whether you live in a concrete jungle or a suburban paradise, it's only natural to want to introduce outdoor elements to your indoor surroundings. And while some folks can get decent mileage from floral arrangements and houseplants, horticulturalist Nikki Bouchier is . . .

Posted: 2019-09-05

Fuel your busy fall

Menus on a budget

With the whirl of activity that September brings, there is no doubt that you may find yourself needing to eat on the go this month! University and college courses start back up this month, many are settling into new dorms . . .

Posted: 2019-09-03

Storing berries in refrigerated Mason jars can keep them fresh longer

Question: Other than freezing berries after purchasing them from the store, how can I store them so that they last longer? — Edith Answer: Upon returning from the grocery store, remove berries from their plastic basket. Remove all bruised or mouldy berries, and . . .

Posted: 2019-08-31

Creative fix required for cottage renovation

What you can't see is often just as important as what you can

When the main objective of a renovation is to expand a cottage’s interior living space without actually expanding the cottage itself, it can only mean one thing — a front-porch conversion. As simple it sounds, there’s a lot that goes into . . .

Posted: 2019-08-31

Preparing next year's dream garden

These award-winning plants could bring fresh new colour, texture to your containers and beds

The arrival of cooler temperatures combined with forecasts of rain that actually happen has a quick and immediate effect on the late summer garden. Weeks of warm and dry conditions take their toll on plants even in the more well-irrigated . . .

Posted: 2019-08-31

Chick With A Brush has the creative touch

Winnipegger's business built on decades of experience in painting and remodelling

So how did Winnipegger Stacey Bugsdrucker become Chick With A Brush? Easy. She followed famous New York Yankee Yogi Berra’s unforgettable advice, "When you come to the fork in the road, take it" — so on International Women’s Day back on . . .

Posted: 2019-08-31

Form-tie-opening leakage common... but shouldn't be in a home this new

Question: Recently, I was checking the basement in our six-year-old home for water during a thunderstorm. We’ve had it happen once before, during a really bad storm, where the water came in through the window wells somehow, so I was . . .

Posted: 2019-08-31