Styles

How to Achieve Instant Character
Period homes have got it, most developer homes lack it, and some self-builds have it in abundance, but just what is character — and how can you ensure your new home oozes it? Natasha Brinsmead has the answers.

How To Make Contemporary Cosy
Clinical, sterile, please-don’t-touch interiors make many contemporary-style houses feel more like design showrooms. Natasha Brinsmead reveals how to turn them into true homes

Character Building: Interiors
It’s easy to bring it out in older houses, but just how do self-builders add character to their new homes, traditional or contemporary in style? Jason Orme reveals the golden rules

Character Building: Details
The finishing touches - from the floors to the furniture - will define the character of your home. It’s easy to bring it out in older houses, but just how do self-builders add character to their new homes, traditional or contemporary in style?

Five Steps to Renovation Design Success
Steps one and two: Making the most of what you have. What makes some renovations great and others not quite so good? Natasha Brinsmead presents the five steps to success

Interior Design on a Budget
Home designer George Baxter concludes our series on interior design and space planning with a look at some of the special features that will make your home individual, without blowing your budget!

Staircases - An In-Depth Guide
A staircase can make or break an interior scheme, not to mention take up a considerable portion of your budget. Mark Brinkley explains how to choose and buy this crucial feature

Entrance Halls
'First impressions last', or so they say, and whilst the exterior of your project can be built to impress, what about the interiors?

Arts & Craft Interiors
Arts & Crafts houses should have a strong emphasis on the craft component inside as well as outside. Panelling and other timber detailing is very important.

Georgian Interiors
Self-builders today are fond of making their houses look Georgian from the outside but totally abandon a Georgian-style floorplan inside

How to Halve Your Renovation Costs
Transform your home on a budget. Low costs do not have to equal low-quality finishes when it comes to renovating old properties — there are many ways to keep a lid on your budget

The Hottest Interior Design Ideas
The most stylish homes are those where the interiors look to have evolved to be a reflection of the people living there

Balustrading
What is the first thing you notice when you look at a staircase? It’s rarely the treads – vital though they are – or even whether it twists and turns or runs straight