CONNIE OLIVER: Accessorize your cares away

Keep your mind open to the possibilities

Accessorizing a room has got to be one of the trickiest processes when redecorating your home. Too much and it's cluttered; too little and it's barren. If the items are too eclectic, the room can be visually confusing and if everything . . .

Posted: 2010-04-24

Fungus causes discolouration

This spring season has been a very busy one for me with literally many dozens of people calling or e-mailing me about the situation with sudden needle discolouration in their spruce trees. What is going on, I am asked? There . . .

Posted: 2010-04-24

Great Dane

Design connoisseurs can't get enough of Danish Modern furniture

A slender teak coffee table he spotted 10 years ago was the start of Martin Lafrance's love affair with Danish furniture. It was my first piece of '70s furniture, and he paid $200 for it, which was quite a deal, he . . .

Posted: 2010-04-24

Some great ways to solve storage problems

EDMONTON -- Regardless of how much living space you have, it never seems to be enough. Most homeowners would agree the challenge is not necessarily the lack of total space available, but the way the space is used. How we live is . . .

Posted: 2010-04-24

See the light and lease out your roof

I've got a few acres in the country, behind my house. Since I'm a contractor, not a farmer, I lease the land to a local guy who grows crops and grazes his animals. The land could lie fallow -- which . . .

Posted: 2010-04-24

Choosing the right fabric for design projects

DEAR Marc: After reading other homeowners' design dilemmas for some time now, I have decided to design my living room. I'm working on a tight budget, so I won't be able to replace my furniture. The sofa and chairs are . . .

Posted: 2010-04-24

Getting a cactus to bloom prickly business

QUESTION: I have a 10-year-old solid cactus that's 12 centimetres across and 25 cm high. It bloomed only twice in the last two years, once one flower and then three. Is there a way of enhancing flowering? ANSWER: There are a . . .

Posted: 2010-04-24

ASK THE INSPECTOR: Spray away apartment noise

QUESTION: I own a triplex in an older part of town that is divided into three apartments, one on each floor. The building is a rock-solid 1950s-era wood frame construction, with a brick exterior, and is in excellent shape in . . .

Posted: 2010-04-24

SOLUTIONS: What part of 'stainless' doesn't this steel get?

Glass cleaner, vinegar good choices to keep stainless appliances clean

QUESTION: I purchased a brand new stainless steel fridge. I am having a hard time keeping it clean and free from scratches. I am planning to own this fridge for a long time, any advice on how to keep it . . .

Posted: 2010-04-24

Got stuff? Hold a party to get rid of it

Swap parties, charity auctions just a couple green ideas to lighten the spring-cleaning dumpster

You know what spring cleaning gets you? Stuff. Lots of stuff to get rid of. Sure, you can take the usual routes -- hold a garage sale, cart it off to Goodwill, take out a classified ad. Or you can . . .

Posted: 2010-04-24