Home & Garden Improvements

Kitchen blinds can have a lot to contend with in a room that is continually filled with steam, strong smells and grease and it is important to consider how well certain blinds will be able to stand up to these challenges before purchasing them. Kitchen blinds should always be easy to clean. Venetian blinds and vertical blinds are popular choices for kitchens as they are usually very easy to wipe clean. Roller blinds are also easy to clean and all three options are made from fabrics that absorb few of the smells produced by cooking, particularly when the window is positioned close to a cooker.

The time of day that direct sunlight hits the kitchen window is another matter to consider when choosing blinds. If harsh sunlight glares into the kitchen at a time when it is used regularly, Venetian blinds and vertical blinds can be very effective as the amount of light entering the window can be adjusted without being blocked out completely. Kitchen blinds are available in a variety of colours and styles and can be a smart, stylish addition to the room.

Creating a haven for wildlife within your garden is a great way of providing a refuge for many of the animals and insects that have lost their natural habitat in the wild. It is also an efficient and cost effective method of controlling garden pests without having to resort to the use of pesticides. 

Many experts agree that more than 600 species of wildlife are at risk in the UK, due to industrialised farming methods. This is why it is important for all of us to encourage wildlife and to opt for organic methods of pest control within the garden.

Attracting wildlife to your garden does not mean it has to be messy and full of weeds, but it does mean that you will have to forfeit perfect lawns and trimmed bushes. Simply placing a pile of logs or sticks in the garden, allowing seed-heads to form and planting native species can make a huge difference.

The most important thing to eliminate is the use of pesticides, insecticides and any non-organic methods of dealing with garden pests. These toxic solutions are potentially lethal to all wildlife. They are also damaging to the soil and surrounding environment.

Ladder misuse causes most DIY accidents. Here are some basic safety tips.

•    Use the right ladder for the job. Too tall or too short is a problem, as is using a metal ladder next to power cables.
•    For once, do not wear boots. Wear shoes to let the feet feel the ladder, but not too thin.
•    Before ascending, clean the soles of the shoes of any mud and tuck trouser bottoms and other loose clothing away.
•    Carry tools in a drop bag that can be discarded in case of a fall.
•    Climb looking ahead, not up or down.
•    The top rung is for hands, not feet. Stand four rungs down, or get a longer ladder.
•    Do not lean out.   
•    When possible, have a trusted colleague anchor the base of the ladder with foot and hands.
•    Place ladder on a flat, firm surface.
•    Store wooden ladders off the ground.
•    Aluminium ladders conduct electricity – watch out when moving.
•    Always have three points of contact with the ladder when climbing.
•    If working in front of a door, lock it.

When converting a bathroom it is a good idea to try and project how the room will look after the refurbishment.  Professional interior designers always start with a plan and then design the proposed room around a basic structure.

The first thing to take into account when converting a bathroom is the bathroom suite.  Currently white appears to be the colour of choice but, within the confines of this colour, there are many different shapes and sizes.  Just because the bath and sink are white doesn’t mean the refit can’t include gold taps. 

Not everyone is a skilled plumber so, if in doubt, DIY enthusiasts should call in a professional.  The bath has changed from just a place of function to one of imagination.  Copper baths, freestanding roll top baths and even Jacuzzi baths are becoming increasingly popular. The first places to start in any bathroom conversion are the trade magazines and an internet search.  The prices of bathroom suites do vary.

Once the bathroom suite has been chosen the accessories and colour scheme can be added to the design plan.  Perhaps the bathroom is going to be used by the whole family rather than just adults, therefore durability of fixtures and fittings should be taken into account.  The range of appliances from taps to Aqualisa showerheads is dazzling. A sensible rule of thumb is to decide upon a budget and then see exactly what is affordable; cheap doesn’t necessarily entail a compromise on taste and design.

Curtains and blinds, particularly roller and Roman blinds, are available in a wide range of designs to compliment the home’s interior decoration. Choosing the right colour and pattern for curtains and blinds can have a number of effects on the overall feel of a room. Turning a window into a striking feature does not need to be an expensive task as options such as patterned roller blinds are stylish and suitable for limited budgets.

A room can be transformed by dressing a window with curtains and blinds in the right colour. Light colours work well in small rooms and dark rooms. Colours such as cream and white give a fresh, open feel to a room, making it appear larger and brighter. Curtains and blinds in neutral colours such as brown and beige help to create a relaxing room and a welcoming escape after a long day in a city office. Red, orange and other similar colours can be used to create a feeling of warmth, particularly in large or cold rooms. 

Patterned curtains and blinds can turn a window into a major feature. Patterned curtains, roller blinds and Roman blinds can also be chosen to compliment other soft furnishings in a room, including cushions and bedspreads. Stripes can affect the appearance of a window. Horizontal stripes can make a window appear wider and vertical stripes can make a window to seem taller. In a room with plain furnishings, a patterned blind or a pair of curtains can help to dress a room up and bring it back up to date. Replacing cheaper blinds such as Roman blinds regularly is also a low-cost way to keep up with interior design trends. As many curtains and blinds are available in insulated and blackout blind options, choosing a stylish blind does not mean compromising on practicality.

Decking is extremely versatile. Apart from being used to make a straightforward ground-level patio, it can also be built on several levels like a seaside pier, or alternatively in the style of a forest observation platform. The joy of building a patio out of decking is the sheer speed of the process. A decking patio can swiftly transform an area of unattractive, rough ground. Decking is the logical solution if you’re in a hurry to construct a dramatic patio with minimal disturbance. Grooved decking for patios is especially popular because of its anti-slip properties.

The site will not need to be levelled for starters, and you can get supporting posts of different lengths to cope with any slopes in the ground. The materials used to build a decking patio are also much easier to handle than those needed for a concrete slab patio, and it can be erected over utilities such as gas, water and electricity mains. The wooden materials used are less invasive than concrete and brick, too. On the down side, a brick patio will last a lot longer than the 25 years you can expect a decking patio to survive, and decking patios also need a lot of maintenance such as regular treating and washing, as well as running repairs.

Decking can be attached directly to the house or separate from it and used, for example, as a pier for wildlife observation if you have a pond. Decks can be easily raised above each other if you have an old foundation getting in the way, and it can be built to almost any shape you want. The wood used to construct a decking patio can be fixed in a wide variety of patterns, and indeed designed to create an eye-catching garden feature, for example to mirror an existing circular stone patio.

Rain will steadily and inexorably wash the lime out of soil in the garden, at the rate of about half an ounce for every year each year. Soils will become sour without adequate liming, and the vegetables, flowers and shrubs will start to suffer, so the lime must be regularly replaced.

Lime will neutralise sourness, or acidity, which is bad for all plants. It will restore new life to the soil by helping the beneficial bacteria and earthworms proliferate. Lime is also invaluable in helping to break up heavy clay soils.

To test if your soil needs some lime added, turn over the top couple of inches with a trowel. Take a level spoonful of the moist soil and mix it with a spoonful of tap water in a dish. After 30 minutes, place a test paper strip so that half lies on top of the soil and the rest against the dish, leave it for five minutes then look at the colour. Pink means the soil is seriously short of lime, orange means lime should be added for better growth, whilst green indicates that the correct amount of lime is present.

A ring culture is a novel and effective method of growing both indoor and outdoor tomatoes. It combines the best advantages of pot and soilless culture and is becoming increasingly popular with allotment and garden owners.

You need a nine-inch diameter bottomless pot (the ‘Ring’), filled with about 14lb of compost on top of aggregate. Make an aggregate layer in the bottom of the Ring, made up of gravel and coarse sand mixture in equal proportions and then press the compost down into the Ring so that it makes close contact with the aggregate layer. After planting the tomato, keep watering the Ring and aggregate layer until the roots penetrate into the aggregate. Then, stop watering the Ring and only water the aggregate layer daily to keep it completely damp.

You must feed the tomato, starting when the fruits begin to swell. Apply two to three pints of bio plant food every seven days to the soil in the Ring. This is a simple way of getting some really good tomato yields, and can be done just as well in a window box if you don’t have a garden or allotment.

There are many benefits to purchasing blinds instead of curtains to control the level of light which enters a room, many of which are often overlooked.  Blinds are all about versatility and with a vast range of contemporary styles available it means that you should be able to find the right type of blind to suit not only your requirements but also the decor of your room.  Window blinds are highly adaptable and with the right adjustments they can be tilted or opened in many styles and directions, something that is not possible with curtains.

Blinds allow you to have greater control over the amount of light and shade in a room while also helping to regulate a room’s temperature.  They also offer the great benefit of allowing for increased ventilation in a room when compared to curtains.

With floor to ceiling blinds also available, blinds can offer an elegant finishing touch to any room and the days of only being able to choose venetian blinds and nothing else are long past.  Today consumers have the choice of many different materials, including fabric, wood and aluminium as well as a wide range of colours to complement other furnishings in the room.

Blinds are also an ideal solution for bathrooms as they help to reduce the effect of humidity.  Using white bathroom blinds is a great way to provide an airy, spacious feel while offering a solution which will not absorb the moisture in the air.

DIY experts usually advise amateurs not to tackle any jobs involving electricity and to leave repairs of this nature to the professionals. For example, anything that involves the mains electricity or the wiring in your home should not to be tackled by DIY enthusiasts. However, as long as you take sensible precautions and follow instructions, there are some minor electrical repairs that you can carry out yourself without having to call an electrician, such as changing or rewiring a plug.

Required Tools

All you need to change or wire a plug is a screwdriver, to remove the cover and access the internal wiring, and a pair of wire strippers, to remove the plastic sheath in the event that the ends of the wire are frayed or damaged. If you are fitting a plug to a new appliance, you may need to buy one from a DIY store, though most products will be sold with a plug in the box.

Getting Started

Use the screwdriver to remove the plastic cover from the inside of the plug. This will expose the wires, which in the UK are always blue for neutral, green and yellow stripes for earth and brown for live. The terminals in many modern plugs are marked with a letter, corresponding to whichever wire needs to be connected to it. If you are fitting a new plug, simply use your screwdriver to secure the exposed part of each wire to its respective terminal. You will only need to use the wire strippers if you are rewiring an old plug and the old wires have become frayed and lost their connection. Once the wires are secured to the right terminal, use the screwdriver to secure the cover back on the plug and your appliance is ready to use.