The Home Renovation Tax Credit plan: A primer of consideration

Government offering tax credit for homeowners willing to spend some cash on renovations

THE Home Renovation Tax Credit plan is part of the federal government's aim to inject $3 billion to stimulate the economy. It has met with a lot of enthusiasm -- but also with a lot of questions. The plan seems simple . . .

Posted: 2009-04-19

MIKE HOLMES: To air is human

To caulk and weatherstrip your home, divine

Weatherproofing means keeping the weather -- wet, cold or heat and humidity -- on the outside of your home. That covers water possibly coming in through your roof and flashing or through bad mortar joints in your brickwork, as well . . .

Posted: 2009-04-19

DEBBIE TRAVIS: You might get a curtain call

Add a touch of theatre to daughter's bedroom

Dear Debbie; We have just moved house, and our 14-year-old daughter has asked if she can decorate her room sort of theatrical and sophisticated. Budget is limited, and we'd love to be able to make some choices that would last. How . . .

Posted: 2009-04-19

CONNIE OLIVER: Mother Nature is one great decorator

Keep an open mind to avoid style rut

I have to admit that I'm not a huge fan of modern decor. For me, the avant-garde style feels too stark and austere. I prefer living in a space with a sense of history and all of the trappings that go . . .

Posted: 2009-04-19

SOLUTIONS: Baking soda, vinegar great cleaning combo

QUESTION -- I read your column faithfully in the Winnipeg Free Press and have purchased both your books. Unfortunately, I packed them up in readiness to move. I remember reading recently about cleaning a self-clean oven without damaging the finish . . .

Posted: 2009-04-19

Manitoba climate poses special problems for A/C systems

QUESTION: I wonder if you might offer some suggestions for a couple of problems we have had since the installation of an attic air conditioning system? Six years ago we decided to rid ourselves of our one large in-the-wall A/C unit . . .

Posted: 2009-04-19

Coffee, wine bars latest big thing in today's deluxe kitchens

When lucky homeowners with gourmet tastes and champagne budgets update their kitchens, they are cooking up some innovative features and designs. "Coffee bars and wine bars are really a big trend now, " says Beverley Binns, designer at Toronto's Binns Kitchen . . .

Posted: 2009-04-19

Make your nest the best

'It's about being happy in your home'

TORONTO -- After the economic roller-coaster of 2008, design aficionados will be working to make their existing spaces cosier in 2009. This move toward nesting, which was called cocooning during the last recession and dubbed "anchoring" by trendsetters this time around, . . .

Posted: 2009-04-19

If you don't use it, lose it

Have too much stuff? There is professional help

EDMONTON -- You know there are usable batteries (or picture hooks, or masking tape) somewhere in your house, but you can't on your life recall where. Meanwhile, that spare room (or closet, or nook) has become so overrun with odds-and-ends that . . .

Posted: 2009-04-19

Manitoba home builders get top marks for energy efficiency

The rest of Canada is realizing what Manitobans have known all along --energy efficiency is important in the selection of a new home. The 16th annual RBC home ownership study found that 95 per cent of respondents felt that energy efficiency . . .

Posted: 2009-04-19