Tame that smell behind your closet door

QUESTION: I find the closets in our home always smell stale when we open the doors. I have repeatedly bought reed diffusers only to find they evaporate quickly. I am back to square one. Can you help?  — Lorraine   Answer: Here are a few . . .

Posted: 2017-06-21

Turn to the feds and pros to deal with mould

Question: I was recently cleaning out a bedroom closet that had been packed tightly with unused belongings that needed to be purged. This closet has two walls exposed to the outside and gets really cold in the winter. It is . . .

Posted: 2017-06-21

Deck turned into sunroom

Clients of mine, Harold and Pat Eide, hired me to install a two-piece ensuite bathroom to their master bedroom and remodel their main-floor bathroom last summer. Harold mentioned in passing that their deck was slanting and asked if I would . . .

Posted: 2017-06-21

Storm clouds form on homebuilding horizon

Manitoba’s new home construction numbers for May have mirrored the hot weather we’ve been enjoying. A number of recent articles and news stories have highlighted the strong growth in housing starts here last month. May was a tremendously strong month for . . .

Posted: 2017-06-21

Paint it blue

Bring sky's hue to ceiling

In Richmond, Va., people debate their favourite sky-blue paint colour for porch ceilings as they do their favourite biscuit recipe. "It’s all about bringing the outside in, " said designer Suellen Gregory, who has seen blue ceilings on front and back . . .

Posted: 2017-06-17

What lies within

A little exploration can turn up a big surprise

‘What do you mean you don’t use it? (gasp sputter). Why not?" That was my somewhat flabbergasted response to my good friend Laurie Gydé when, on a tour of her home, I spotted a cool-looking "escape" through a Plexiglas panel at . . .

Posted: 2017-06-17

Greenery gets the gold

Garden rooted in Canadian nature honoured at prestigious show

The narratives of a garden are what make a particular garden experience meaningful. When the stories are told well, the garden design has far-reaching resonance, inspiring viewers to seek to discover and understand the designer’s creative vision. This story starts in . . .

Posted: 2017-06-17

How to buy the right vacuum cleaner

Vacuuming is a chore, so when the cleaner leaves behind debris, it’s frustrating. The problem might not be the vacuum cleaner, but what you’re asking it to do. For better results, manufacturers and dealers say buyers need to keep a few . . .

Posted: 2017-06-17

Living (not so) large

Decorator's tips, tricks for furnishing small spaces

New York interior decorator Nick Olsen, who designed the Salon du Beau Monde room in this year’s Kips Bay Decorator Show House, joined staff writer Jura Koncius last week on the Washington Post’s Home Front online chat. Here is an . . .

Posted: 2017-06-17

Super scraps

When my boys were in elementary school, their science teachers launched a program in the cafeteria called the ORT Report, in which the students measured their food waste. The goal was to cut down on their environmental footprint. According to the dictionary, . . .

Posted: 2017-06-17