Real Homes

In the height of summer, eating alfresco becomes a regular treat. Dress your outdoor space as you would your home to blur the line between inside and out. Use a mix of natural materials such as earth-toned linens, rustic ceramics, warm wood and ratta

I’ve delved deep into many different colours over the past few years, but if there’s one colour I always end up telling my friends about, it’s orange. The word orange only became part of our vocabulary in the 16th century, when the fruit, first broug

Rachel Constable, head of ESG (Environmental, Social & Governance) for a builders merchants, husband Daniel, who runs an interiors website (onlynicethings.co.uk), and their children, George and Libby A detached 1930s bungalow in East Yorkshire £190,0

Every now and then there’s a collab that gets us excited, and this is certainly one of them. Habitat has teamed up with the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew to create a range of botanical homeware. Inspired by the rare and endangered plants found in Kew’

What does home mean to you? The answer to this question is likely to change as you enter different periods of your life. When you first strike out on your own, be it in university halls, a house or flatshare, home can feel like a convenient base wher

Beautiful, tactile, versatile and sustainable – it’s hard to name a better material than wood for the home. Whether you opt for wooden furniture or accessories such as bowls, stools or lighting, wood brings a fabulous natural warmth that feels imposs

Whether there’s a wallpaper you’ve had your eye on even before you were pregnant, a mustard-coloured teddy bear, or you’ve been inspired by a recent holiday to Morocco, there is often a starting point, or a ‘seed item’ from which the rest of your sch

Kate and Tom Hewitt (@our_bears_home) who run a flood and fire restoration company, live here with their two children, Greyson and Charlie A four-bedroom detached house built in the 1970s Kate and Tom live in a lovely village and had just renovated t

Have you created a prize-winning home or garden? Enter it into the Real Homes awards and you could win £1,000. We are on the lookout for inspirational home improvement projects, inside and out. And we’ll showcase the best of them with a photoshoot in

Rob Compton, a financial adviser, his wife, Karen, a contract manager, daughter Ella and son Max, live here with their springer spaniel, Boris, and working cocker spaniel, Billy A five-bedroom detached 1970s house in Purton, Swindon £20,000 Having li

When choosing the frame, balance visibility with cost. Aluminium framing has the slimmest sightlines (the visible frame between the glass panels) which can be as narrow as 20mm, optimising the glazed area. The budget option is uPVC, but this means a

Q How much will buying a house really cost me? A When you agree on the price you pay for a house or flat, that isn’t the end of your spending – there’s a long list of bills which can run into thousands of pounds. These include stamp duty, surveys, le

Garden colour comes and goes depending on what you decide to plant and the season, but think about painting surfaces, such as walls or sheds, and you can bring year-round brilliance to your plot at low cost. Be sure to choose paint that’s suitable fo

Ambrice Miller, an art dealer (relicinteriors.com) and asset manager, lives here with husband Ben Joyce, an actuary, their young son, and dogs Theo and Edison Chapel House is a former malt master’s house with elements that date back to the 1650s and

While tiling may still be our first instinct, there are so many other ways to keep your bathroom walls protected from splashes and humidity. Tiles may still be involved, but exploring alternative surfaces as well can produce far more compelling resul

The sun’s out, there’s greenery as far as the eye can see, and everyone’s itching to throw open the windows and head outside. It’s the busiest time of year for gardening – getting balconies, patios and outdoor spaces looking perfect, ready for entert

For more of us than ever before, working from home is the new normal. While it certainly comes with its benefits – no more stressful commutes and more time to spend with family to name just two – it can also be a little tricky. One of the best tips f

Q What can I do to make the most of the space in my small flat? A Styling a compact space can be a challenge, but there are steps you can take to make it cosy, not crowded… Invest in a modular sofa to offer a substantial amount of comfortable seating

What connects a San Diego school, a railway station in the Scottish Highlands, and high mountain quarries in Italy? They have some of the character floors and materials that have inspired Karndean Design flooring’s newly expanded Van Gogh range of lu

You’ll always know when your shower water is just right with the Evoco from Mira Showers. HydroGlo technology lights up the control to tell you it’s reached your preferred temperature, before you step underneath it. The Evoco is a concealed shower wi

Becky has fond memories of her grandmother’s house. ‘I remember my cousins and I running wild among the beanstalks in the garden and having sleepovers – it was always a happy home, full of food and laughter,’ she recalls, nostalgically. She and her h