Whenever I watch those House Hunters and Property Virgins shows on HGTV, I’m often blown away by how large the homes are for such little money. And yet, the homeowners who are hmm’ing and hawww’ing over these deals often complain about rooms being too small. 2100 square feet of home is too small? For a couple? Ugh. Sometimes us North Americans are the worst. And nothing demonstrates that more than a cool video from the other side of the world: a teeny tiny apartment in Hong Kong that manages to have the functionality of a 24-room home. [click to continue…]
small spaces
Image from GTACondos.com
Being a condo owner often feels like living in the purgatory of real estate. On one hand, you’re an owner! It’s property in your name that you’re responsible for and have a say on. On the other hand, your property is within the confines of a condo corporation, and so, they too, have a certain responsibility and say over what happens within their domain. As an owner, you have to walk a fine line of what you want to do with your home and what you’re allowed to do. [click to continue…]
To the relief of many a parent, it’s back to school time. It’s not that these people dislike having their children around them 24/7, per se, but we can imagine it must be annoying the resumption of the school schedule can bring welcome order to the household.
But not all is idyllic: with school comes homework and the classic battles of Essay vs. TV and Algebra vs. Playstation. In order for homework to prevail, a distraction-free zone is often a parent’s best ally. However, not every home has a nice, quiet den for focused attention nor does every child’s room have the space for a full-sized desk. If you’re short on space, consider installing a DIY Wall Desk in a room, kitchen, basement or hallway. A wall desk is installed (as you guessed from the name) on a wall, is compact, and folds up when not in use. It’s ideal for even the smallest areas and provides a tidy storage option to boot.
Sound good? Here’s a free plan to build one. [click to continue…]
Americans have long had a dislike of the French. Sometimes it’s just gentle teasing, other times, it’s downright fury. I can understand it to a certain degree. After all, we have the French to blame for accordion music, mimes, and the possibility of finding things like frogs, snails and horse on the menu. Le yarg.
They have, however, also brought a lot of good into the world such as batteries, bicycles and bikinis – and that’s just the B’s! We have one more French-made ‘B’ to add to the list – and that’s the Bacsac – a smartly designed and relatively inexpensive set of portable gardening containers.
We’re on a roll talking about the neat little finds at the National Hardware Show, so let’s keep at it, shall we?
The Easy Garden Box by Bowmen Kemp is a fairly simple product – it’s basically a small, lightweight fence that you can build pretty much anywhere in order to get a little garden growing. With it, people with small yards, tiny plots or even just patios can experience the thrill of growing their own veggies and flowers (or the sadness of watching them fail – no guarantees in the world of gardening, you know). [click to continue…]
