Posts written in April, 2012

You’d find it difficult NOT to pick up gorgeous glass and crystal decanters in charity shops. They must be one of the least fashionable items known to man right now! And they’re so cheap. So what? So they’re really useful for the kitchen and bathroom, and look totally fantastic. In the bathroom they make wonderful…read more

Once upon a time the country’s favourite book, DVD and CD store, these days Amazon sells… everything! Including a huge range of beautiful jewellery for women, men and children. Whether you’re after something stunning in gold, silver or platinum, something super-stylish in semi-precious materials, charms and beads, birthstones or funky costume jewellery, it’s your one-stop…read more

There’s been another flurry of news about payment  protection insurance this week, as thousands of us flock to claims specialists to get back the premiums we’ve unknowingly paid for payment protection insurance we neither wanted nor needed. But do you really need to use a claims specialist? Or can you do it yourself? I know…read more

This week we’re looking at restoring and tarting up furniture and decorative items, either for your home or to sell. So where can you sell the results of your hard work? Here’s a bunch of useful tips. It’s always worth trying to sell online via places like the Friday Ad site and local listings sites like…read more

You can transform tatty old wooden furniture into something really special with a bit of time and creativity, whether it’s simple distressing or something a bit more elaborate. Here’s how I tidied up an old French cupboard I picked up for £30 in a junk shop to create a handy, unusual storage cupboard in my…read more

If you’ve ever watched the US TV programme ‘Auction Hunters’ on Discovery, you’ll be impressed by the amount of money they make by simply doing things up. If you fancy making a few extra quid tarting up old stuff and selling it, you’ll need to get a decent DIY toolkit together first so you’re not…read more

OK, it’s raining cats and dogs in many places across Britain today. But spring really is on the way and before long we’ll be lazing around in our gardens, eating alfresco and downing wonderfully cool drinks as the hot sun sinks below the horizon. Heavenly! All of which means it’s time to get your outdoor…read more

We went to an excellent garden centre at the weekend and came across a huge stack of stunning indoor ceramic planters from a German art pottery company, in splendid rainbow colours, some metallic, some patterned. Oh, I wanted all of them! But at a tenner a go for the tiny six inch diameter ones, there…read more