Home and Property
The Model Heida Asgeirsdottir
..on her remote 16,000 acre Icelandic sheep farm: drudgery, isolation and a working world of incomparable beauty.
Parish Councils
They’re the lowest rung of local government yet control a surprising amount of your life. Some say they are a law unto themselves..
Top tips for throwing a royal wedding street party
As an American citizen, Meghan Markle may not be aware that, up and down the land, the British public is preparing to celebrate her wedding to Prince Harry on May 19 in its own special way. Or that (whisper it) not all of us are that interested in the actual event, but see it as a great excuse to close the road, get the bunting out and do what we do best: sit about on plastic chairs, feasting on Victoria sponge and warm prosecco while discussing the state of the nation, possibly under a light drizzle, and wearing a Union Jack apron.
A Different Beat
The volunteer patrol groups trying to keep communities safe as police numbers fall.
Later Living
Swanky apartments for discerning octogenarians. Just don’t call them retirement homes..
Doris Saachi’s minimalist home in Battersea
Art collector Doris Saachi on how to downsize the minimalist way
Whitchurch Weekend
There are thirteen villages called Whitchurch in the UK. Every two years they celebrate.
The War on Japanese Knotweed
The menace that tears through concrete and wrecks relationships between neighbours.
Va Va Vroom: Inside the most expensive garage in the world
This £24m pad in Mayfair once housed 1920s sports cars.
The rise and rise of window shutters
Plantation shutters are everywhere and the new key marker that an area is on its way up.
Home Swapping
Once you start thinking of your house as a hot date, you will never again have to suffer the agony of coughing up thousands of pounds to stay in rental properties that turn out to be far less comfortable than your own home.
London’s most luxe royal crescent
Designed by John Nash, flattened during the Blitz and rebuilt as dingy offices, Park Crescent now offers last-word-in-luxe flats for wealthy downsizers
How to find peace at home
he founder of Quiet Mark is on a mission to turn down the noise of modern life. Her tip for achieving serenity? Spend an hour a day listening to the birds
Tom Conti’s Hampstead home
Tom Conti’s much-loved sprawling home in Hampstead was inspired by Lewis Carroll.
Paralysed by paint decisions
Dove grey is the answer to all interior indecision, so why did we decide to paint our front door yellow?
The survivor’s guide to trampolines
My own completely unscientific research has led me to believe that even the most objectionable child is nicer after a brisk bounce. But how safe are trampolines? Not very, according to experts.
What happens when you mix playboy taste with an unlimited budget?
Welcome to Britain’s priciest batchelor pad, designed by Candy and Candy with a budget of over £18M
As my bills soar, I get an ECO edit
Who knew it is your halogen lights that are responsible for whooping up energy bills.
Uber-luxe property developments for billionaires
Developers are cashing in on London’s status as the billionaire capital. I take the first look at the latest uber-luxe offering
The ‘super-yacht’ perfect mansion
No expense was spared in the reconfiguration of this super-luxe mansion on the prestigious Wentworth Estate in Surrey
Aga Saga
Can a new energy-efficient pellet fuelled range ever live up to the blessed Aga? We cook Christmas dinner on one to find out.
Britain’s most Extraordinary Council House
Once an ordinary house in an ordinary street in Essex, Talliston House has been transformed by its owner John Trevillian into a series of historical locations.
Cleaners: a long history of inappropriate relationships..
Why are we too embarrassed to tell cleaners what we want?
