Archived

How to resolve the housing crisis?

Building more co-living developments and micro-homes in urban areas top the list of people’s preferred solutions to the housing crisis, according to research by the Federation of Master Builders, while building on the greenbelt is the least favoured solution.

 

The FMB asked 2,000 home owners across the UK if there is a housing shortage and if so, how best to address this shortage.

 

• Two-thirds (66 per cent) believe there is a shortage of housing Britain.

 

Mole Architects' Meredith Bowles talks housing

It may not be a term we're that familiar with in the UK but give it time, because co-housing communities are on the increase here. A new one, Marmalade Lane, has been built in Cambridge, a project architect Meredith Bowles of Mole Architects was closely involved with.

Harry Villiers' home office in the garden

Harry Villers of Villiers Brothers furniture company built an environmentally friendly home office/shed in his Essex garden. It uses recyclable materials such as steel, wood and glass. It has a salvaged oak floor from eBay. Villiers has launched Vintage Archive.

Are you on a quest for a truly comfortable lounge chair?

It’s dark and cold outside, there are lots of comforting repeats on the telly, and you’re too full of mince pies to feel like moving. What do you need? The perfect lounge chair to cradle you in comfort while you disappear into the Sky Christmas channel. Here is a baker’s dozen plus one of the most eco-friendly on the market.

Eco-friendly Christmas decorations

Most of us like the idea of a real Christmas tree, don't we, even if needles all over the floor mean its charm swiftly palls. Yet real trees aren't necessarily the eco option.

A real tree?

King crimson: poinsettias, the perfect Christmas plant

Poinsettias are the second best-selling houseplant in the UK (after the enduringly popular Phalaenopsis orchid), and this year it's estimated w'll be buying some eight million of them over the Christmas period.

Poinsettias, which hail from Mexico, have become the festive houseplant and you can do a lot with them from having a large plant in a pot, to cutting the stems to use in a floral display or incorporating into a wreath. They also make a perfect gift for men and women of all ages.

 

 

Oil painting exhibition

The ROI annual show at Mall Galleries offers a chance to beaded by the skill of contemporary artists - and may even inspire you to get painting. See landscapes, still life and portraits in oil, with a number of paintings depicting urban life and scenes from the capital. Works are priced from £500, so anyone looking to invest in an original work make a beeline for the show.

RHS Wisley's Old Laboratory opens its doors

RHS Garden Wisley, near Woking in Surrey, is world renowned and now visitors can step back in time and walk in the footsteps of RHS scientists and students from yesteryear.

Long considered the home of gardening science, the Old Laboratory has been restored and is bringing to life a rich history of horticultural experimentation and exploration with immersive displays and interactive exhibits. Explore a series of rooms, each set within a time in history, to discover how the work conducted here helped shape how we garden today.

Pages