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When the couple acquired the Grade II-listed structure, one of its facades was entirely hidden behind a makeshift corrugated iron shed that had been erected between the barns to house more livestock. ‘It wasn’t until we took it away that we realised that the threshing barn stood on quite a slope, so our first job was to shore it up to prevent it from collapsing,’ the owner recalls. See: World’s best homes – tour the globe’s most beautiful houses The threshing barn is the oldest of the structures and it is believed to date back to the late 1600s....

The beautiful displays will run from the facade to the oh-so-pretty Parlour to the famous bathroom pods, thanks to top florists such as Thierry Boutemy, JamJar Flowers, Figa & Co, Carly Rogers, Tony Marklew, Ricky Paul and Rebel Rebel. This year, sketch will also be looking beyond the floricultural sphere, bringing together a cast of close creative collaborators working with craft materials to support the installations including designer Tino Seubert, screen printers Insley & Nash, textiles studio Timorous Beasties and creative studio Hato Press....

Stir-up Sunday, this year on 21st November, is the day on which families would traditionally gather to prepare the Christmas pudding for the forthcoming festivities. Whether you’re an old hand at this lovely - and productive - event, or you want to introduce a new tradition to your Christmas recipes, this is how. What is Stir-Up Sunday? Stir-up Sunday has been a tradition for families for years, ever since the Christmas pudding was introduced to the UK by Prince Albert....

Read on to discover its unique story, and to find out more about its royal visitors and links with key players in the Arts & Crafts movement. See: World’s best homes – tour the globe’s most beautiful houses The story begins in 1016, when a Saxon dwelling existed on the site, believed to have belonged to King Harold’s younger brother. Domesday Book records that the ownership of the manor transferred to Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, a half-brother of William the Conqueror....

In 2007, the couple moved out, selling it to baseball-star-turned-financial-advisor Lenny Dykstra, who subsequently had to sell the home having gone into foreclosure. The Gretzkys bought it back in 2018 for $14.9 million and turned the stunning home back into a beautiful celebrity home (as Dykstra had reportedly trashed the mansion) and now it’s back on the market for the princely sum of $22.9 million. Perched on the crest of a hill with breathtaking 360-degree views of the Santa Monica Mountains and Lake Sherwood, this impressive home boasts several buildings, with two detached guest houses and formally landscaped gardens....

It is often the small things that can make a huge difference to selling a house fast. In this case rather than adding anything, it is all about tucking things away inside living room or kitchen storage ideas, to present your house as a buyer’s dream home. We’ve tapped real estate agents from Douglas Elliman (opens in new tab) and Realtor.com (opens in new tab)’s lifestyle expert Rachel Stults to give us their top tips on what you should definitely hide before a viewing of your home to encourage a quick sale....

Given that many of the royal residences such as Buckingham Palace and Windsor castle are working castles, the showrunners relied on some of the best location scouts to find brilliant backdrops for the unfolding drama and rising tensions of season five. Here, we take a look at some of the most iconic The Crown filming locations, and what real-life locations they were made to portray. Ardverikie Estate – a stand-in for Balmoral Not exclusive to season five, Ardverikie Estate has been a stand-in for Balmoral castle throughout The Crown series....

The castle, in the English county of Berkshire, closed on September 8th, following the announcement of Queen Elizabeth II’s death. Alongside a number of state apartments, the public can now visit the Queen’s final resting place in the George VI Memorial Chapel. The site is also the burial place of the late Queen’s parents, and of her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh – and visitors can see the marble ledger stone inscribed with their names during the tour....

Available untreated or stained, wooden patio furniture can be sourced in a wide range of tones, any of which will blend beautifully into any outdoor setting, whether that’s a classic courtyard or contemporary backyard. Low thermal conductivity also means wood won’t get too hot or too cool, meaning it’s always a comfortable temperature to sit on whether in summer or fall. However, not all woods are created equal when it comes to outdoor use....

We spend much of our time seeking out the world’s best homes, and while ’expensive’ doesn’t always necessarily equate to ‘best’, we can say with some confidence that the locations, amenities and gardens of these homes are some of the most stunning we have ever seen. Enjoy. 1. Palais Vénitien, Cannes, South of France Price: $140,911,226 Interior square footage: 32,291 Exterior acreage: 6.18 Beds: 9; baths: 12 Marketed by Côte d’Azur Sotheby’s International Realty, Palais Vénitien (opens in new tab) in the hills above Cannes was inspired by the architecture of Byzantium and Venice....

We asked Hollie Moreland, Creative Director David Hunt Lighting (opens in new tab) for her thoughts on lighting key spaces in fall and asked her to keep all the celebrations and fall gatherings ahead in mind. ‘As the nights draw in and the evenings get darker earlier, fall is a time when we really notice the effect of lighting in the home. It’s a time for entertaining too, hosting family and friends over Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas,’ says Hollie....

1. I use wallpaper in unexpected places Many people are understandably nervous about using wallpapers in kitchens, but I love doing this – kitchen wallpaper ideas immediately take the edge off all the hard finishes in the room and helps to absorb sound. Some kitchens suit a textured finish such as a grass-cloth wallpaper (above), but I’ve also used Marthe Armitage (opens in new tab)’s wonderful Pagodas for a kitchen (below)....

It turns out that even the best dehumidifier needs some setup and trial and error to get it working at its best, especially as each home is so different. Who knew that angling the machine the right way could greatly affect how quickly my thick jumpers would dry? Certainly not me. Here, I share the nine dehumidifier mistakes I have made since owning my machine that you can learn from them too....

See ourThis eclectic home in London is a mix of dark and dramatic furnishings See some of the world’s best homes – beautiful properties from around the globe The property Having used a loft conversion company in his previous homehouse and been disappointed with the ‘bland and generic’ the homeowner was keen to create impact this time round. Ben Hawkins from architecture and interior design practice Granit (opens in new tab) was approached and suggested a more modern design....

When choosing the best accent chair for your space, early planning is key to a for your home ideas. Consider how you would like to use the space and what functions you need it to perform most. If you have plenty of room, perhaps that means including one or two statement designs that will pull the whole scheme together, or simply curating a space around a singular standout armchair. Our accent chair ideas include desirable choices for every room in your home to make it a space you’ll be delighted to enter each day, along with expert advice on selecting the right designs....

No surprise, many of these bug busting beauties are suitable as herb garden ideas, long prized for their medicinal and culinary qualities. Fortunately, they are also rather beautiful, smell rather delicious to us and, above all, are pretty easy to grow given the right conditions. They won’t just help deter flies in the backyard, pot them up around your doorways and they will help keep flies out of the house, too....

Books can bring culture and intelligence to any room; as Cicero said, ‘A room without books is like a body without a soul.’ Not only that, but a quick glance at both the selection of titles and the way that they are organized is often very revealing of the interests and character of the owner – something we all learnt when scrutinizing the bookshelf ideas of celebrities during pandemic video calls....

Of all the many queries around laundry best practice that we receive – from washing towels with clothes to washing clothes in cold water – using dish soap is one of the most popular. But while a cheap and sudsy alternative to washing powder may seem appealing, it has the potential to damage not just your clothes but your washing machine, too. With expensive consequences. 3 reasons experts never use dish soap to clean clothes We asked cleaning and laundry expert, Sara San Angelo, aka The Cleaning Lady (opens in new tab) for her opinion on using dish soap to clean clothes....

The answer is that kitchen cabinets can be painted to give the room a remodel without major disruption, though of course, it’s vital to know how to paint kitchen cabinets properly to get a perfect finish. What is important is that the kitchen cabinets themselves still work in terms of their layout and style. If that’s the case, it can be simple to swap to a different color, or an alternative paint finish, or revamp doors and drawers that are scuffed....

When we heard that world-renowned chef Thomas Keller launched a range of kitchen knives, we had to take notice and share this useful information with you, our dear readers. After all, if it is good enough for one of the best chefs in the world, it is certainly good enough for us. With eight five-star restaurants to his name, it is unsurprising that the American chef chooses only the finest utensils for his cooks and line chefs....