When we lived in West Didsbury, we renovated our three bedroom terraced house, knocking down internal walls, and eventually creating a very contemporary, open plan home, which included a large L-shaped concrete bench, with storage underneath. When we bought our house...
When we bought our house in Istria in 2016, it looked very different to how it does today. It was kind of quarter renovated. The roof was new. The guttering was new. Windows had been fitted. And that was just about it. But, we saw the potential - even seeing ahead, to...
Over the years, our gardens have evolved. The front garden has become more private as we have had walls constructed, not only to denote our boundaries, but also to provide us with privacy. The rear garden had been designed from scratch, after the demolition of our...
Ever since I saw this photo, I knew exactly what the garden at the rear of the house needed to look like. And, luckily, our builder was totally on board and could see the vision we had. Now, four months on, I couldn't be happier with the way it has turned out. For six...
It's only called the Secret Garden because it's partly hidden from view and it sounds a whole nicer than the back garden. Since the weather broke and we've had lovely long days of hot sunshine, the builders have been beavering away, trying to recreate our vision. Back...
In keeping with a lot of the renovation and redecoration work we've been doing throughout the house, we've taken the decision to revamp the largest bedroom. This is a lovely room, with two windows with views across the fields, and over to the woods. In the winter,...
Slovenia has just 47km of coastline on the Adriatic Sea, but it certainly makes the most of it. Three seaside towns – Koper, with its medieval core, Izola, known for its good restaurants, and glorious Piran – are full of important Venetian Gothic architecture, and...
We decided this summer, with the garden revamp and everything, to replace the wooden sun loungers. Bought when we first moved in, we committed the initial rookie error of never oiling them, and then after the first year, left them outside over each winter. I did try...
With a reliable builder finally working with us, we've decided that we can't let him go to waste, and so are adding jobs to his ever-growing list. The weather has been pretty dire the last week or so - rain, thunder and lightning - and so work on the rear garden and...
So, finally, the whole of the front garden area - the piece we don't actually own, but care for and improve - and the concrete patio, are now covered in a thick layer of beautiful white pea gravel. Six cubic metres have been wheel-barrowed and distributed and raked...