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Considering how much a new kitchen costs, saving in some areas means being able to concentrate funds on the most important parts of your kitchen, resulting in a lavish final look that will stand the test of time. When designing a kitchen, use these experts’ advice to correctly prioritize your fittings for the perfect kitchen. What costs the most in a kitchen remodel? When working out how much a kitchen renovation costs, you may find that it is the cabinetry and worksurfaces that amount to the largest proportion of your budget....

The 10-3-2-1-0 sleep rule promises to help to improve the quality of your rest which in turn will make you brighter, happier and more alert, and more productive in the day. So, I thought I’d try it, in an effort to sleep better. Of course, establishing a new rule is futile if you’ve not got the right setup. I already had what felt, for me, the best mattress paired with the best pillows, but I still wasn’t falling asleep fast....

Ranging from a delicate 8 inches high (20cm) up to a magnificent 47 inches (1.2m) there are around 260 species of allium to choose from. Flowers come in practically every shade of purple as well as yellow and white plus they are also adored by bees and butterflies as a valuable source of nectar. Reaching their best during May and June, these spring bulbs need to be planted in fall, so they can enjoy a cold dormant period before shooting in early spring....

‘Speak to any professional gardener and they will advise that pruning back your rose bushes too early could kill or seriously set back the health of the plant,’ advises Homes & Gardens garden writer, Rachel Crow. ‘You can have all the tools and techniques and know how to prune roses, but get the timing wrong and your rose bushes may not recover. When to prune roses – get the timing right Green-thumbed gardeners live by nature’s calendar and the seasons....

And happily, stopping your fridge from leaking water in the future can become part of your weekly routine when cleaning a refrigerator before loading new groceries into it. Below, refrigeration experts advise on why your fridge leaks water, and how to fix it, fast. Why does my fridge leak water? You might think that a fridge that leaks water is the sign of a faulty appliance. It’s far more likely, though that the water puddling in your fridge is the cause of a blocked defrost drain or water supply line....

You don’t have to have an estate in the country to include wildflower garden ideas in your own space. Everyone can have wildflowers in their backyard as they can be accommodated in even the smallest of spaces, such as a corner you don’t usually cultivate or even a container if need be. It’s also good to know you’re doing your bit for biodiversity by helping to attract dwindling butterfly and bee populations to your yard....

Answer: with our pillow styling rules. They can guide you to create comfort with a high-end aesthetic. Pillows are an easy way to give a space a mini makeover, and can be easily changed to match the seasons or your shifting tastes, too. A good place to start is to remember not to be too matchy-matchy; work with different shades or complementary colors, and differing shapes and sizes for a cohesive look that has dimension....

Think sauces, dressings, pancake mix, and even ice cream created easily and quickly in this versatile countertop favorite. The best blender can do a whole lot more than deliver a tasty fruit-packed drink. And if you have less space in your kitchen, you needn’t miss out. Both immersion blenders and portable blenders are versatile, too, producing a whole lot of tasty recipes you may not have suspected they can. We’ve put together some great suggestions for expanding your blender repertoire here with advice on how to get top results....

I’ve been shopping the Nordstrom Anniversary for as long as I can remember, some of my earliest shopping memories in fact. I’ve even worked it. So what’s the hubbub? There’s no other sale just quite like it, as Nordstrom marks down new items for the season or classics that never seem to make it on sale for a limited time, and then prices will go back up at the end of the month....

One of the most important spaces in the home, a living room is an incredibly versatile and multifunctional space. A central hub and gathering point where we relax, socialize and entertain, your living room ideas need to work hard to create the perfect environment for all of your needs – and there is always room for improvement and inspiring change with the latest living room trends. When it comes to interior design trends, we are not interested in fads that will date quickly....

The home was the final creation of architect Sir John Vanbrugh – who also built Blenheim Castle – and was built in the 1720s. Called The Summer Folly, the retreat is settled in the grounds of Grimsthorpe Castle, and now serves as a curious holiday retreat in the UK’s rural Lincolnshire. Beginning life as the estate’s summer house, it’s played host to picnics and parties for visitors, housing estate workers and even hid an anti-aircraft battery during the Second World War....

If your gardening space is limited, any small backyard ideas you bring to life will be so much more obvious than if they’re buried in a large backyard. And for that reason, small backyard owners need to follow design rules and restraint to avoid over-stuffing their plots. We asked gardening experts for the top five mistakes small backyard owners make, and how avoiding them can make a small garden look bigger....

‘I was heavily pregnant with our twins when we first viewed the house, and I got that ‘feeling’ the moment I walked in,’ she recalls. ‘I could really see us living there, it felt like the house was already ours.’ Known in estate agency circles as ‘buying with the heart rather than the head’, Trudi’s instincts certainly weren’t based on the condition of the property, which hadn’t been fully modernised since it was built in 1919....

Luckily, clever interior design – and a few simple tricks – can make you and your homes feel brighter and better. The team of experts at premier windows furnishing company Thomas Sanderson (opens in new tab) have put together the following tips on how to cope with the darker weather, the winter blues and, for many of us, another round of lockdown. 1. Open the shades While it’s generally advisable to keep your curtains or blinds closed during the day in the summer to keep the sun out, it’s often best to keep them open during the day time – for at least the autumn months....

According to Google, the lockdown has got us all reading up on the easiest fruit and veg to grow at home. SeeHow to brew your own tea from homegrown ingredients In fact, in the past seven days, garden furniture experts FarawayFurniture.com have noted a surge in Google searches like: +200% increase in searches for ‘growing vegetables in pots for beginners uk’ +160% increase in searches for ‘quickest growing vegetables’ +90% increase in searches for ‘companion planting vegetables’ +200% increase in ‘tomato grow bags’ +50% increase in ‘easy to grow vegetables for first time gardener’ The team delved a little deeper and analysed Google search terms in more detail, using online visibility and marketing tool SEMrush, to find the fruits and veg were most interested in....

The best bread makers come with a selection of settings that can be used to make anything from French bread to gluten-free loaves. If you already own one of the best stand mixers on the market, you may be wondering if you even need a bread maker. The advantage is that it completes every step of the process for you, from kneading and rising to that final bake. The margin for error with a bread maker is very small, and many come with a selection of recipes that are designed to work the specific bread maker....

They can also be used to provide your backyard ideas with structure and shape, helping to add height or visual interest – you could even try topiary for which fast-growing hedges are ideal. ‘Fast-growing hedges can be sheared into geometric shapes or allowed to grow naturally. Always select a plant that has the desired shape and mature size to help minimize pruning,’ says garden expert Melinda Myers (opens in new tab), ‘If you like the formal sheared look consider plants that tolerate this type of pruning....

While it’s best to shop locally when buying a real fir tree, if you’re buying a faux tree, you couldn’t have time it better. If a retailer hasn’t sold out of their stock already following the Black Friday sales, they’ll be keen to offload their remaining stock today, before the demand for Christmas trees wears off. To make things easier for you, we’ve rounded up the best Christmas tree deals out there and listed them below....

The challenge was to take an unassuming cottage with challenging structural issues and transform it into a spacious and bright home. THE PROPERTY ‘The home is located in Amagansett on a charming street between the town and the ocean. It’s framed by a canopy of trees and I fell in love with the location, but the house needed serious work,’ says Amalia. ‘The property was presented as an obvious tear-down, but with so much new construction in the area, we saw an opportunity to retain the character of the house....

‘I adore the mix of textures, from the rugged hills that give way to the more cultivated elements of the island and eventually run on down to the silver sands of the beaches themselves.’ The British designer behind some of the world’s best homes worked with award-winning Carreño on the interiors for Can Cocotero, a villa on Ibiza’s Sabina Estates, an ecologically inspired private community of villas with a five-star clubhouse....