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This spiral cellar offers perfect storage for your favourite vintage..

Perfect storage solutions

Clutter in your home not only looks bad, it can also costs you money, writes Gabrielle Fagan
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Inside House & Home

Lawn and order

Saturday, 6 September 2008

Thanks to the prolonged rain we’ve had in the summer, if you’re planning to lay a new lawn, now is an ideal time to do it, when the ground is warm and moist. Preparations should have already begun, so you should have dug over the site, made sure drainage is adequate, cleared the soil of stones, flattened out any bumps and blemishes and hoed regularly.
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Ministers mull new mortgage lending scheme

Thursday, 4 September 2008

The government is considering a series of options including state-backed schemes to help fund new mortgage lending, which would run alongside but be separate from the successor to the Bank of England's Special Liquidity Scheme (SLS).
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Hamish McRae: Rescue package won't save the housing market – but don't panic

Wednesday, 3 September 2008

Let's not kid ourselves: this is not going to revive the housing market and until the housing market does revive economic growth will be restrained. But let's not talk ourselves into believing that the UK is facing anything worse than a typical post-war dip, even if that dip does turn out to be a technical recession.
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Minister launches housing partnership to help first-time buyers get own home

Tuesday, 2 September 2008

A new government-backed housing partnership which is the first of its kind in the UK was being launched today in Portadown by Social Development Minister Margaret Ritchie.
Comments: 12

Stamp duty on homes is axed

Tuesday, 2 September 2008

Northern Ireland’s beleaguered housing market was today given a major boost after Chancellor Alistair Darling removed stamp duty from home purchases worth less than £175,000.
Comments: 12

Take care redecorating after the floods

Thursday, 28 August 2008

If you are one of the unlucky home-owners still mopping up after the floods, the RICS has some advice.
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Why we can’t afford not to insulate

Thursday, 28 August 2008

Over half of homeowners (51%) cite cost or too much clutter as the main reasons for not having their loft insulated, according to B&Q.
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Paula John: Market News

Wednesday, 27 August 2008


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Could renting solve your housing crisis?

Wednesday, 27 August 2008

It could be the perfect solution to the gridlocked market for some would-be home movers: renting out their current home in order to move on. Given the current economic uncertainty, picking now as your moment to become an amateur landlord might look like madness, but for some homeowners it's looking like a perfectly sane tactic.
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How to gain a room

Wednesday, 27 August 2008

With the British market deep in a slump, many owners are deciding to stay put and add space to existing homes rather than face the tortuous task of buying and selling. But how do you go about deciding which improvement will work best for you, your home and your finances?
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Renovate to accumulate

Wednesday, 27 August 2008

Even bad news has a silver lining, and this year's property market slowdown has a benefit for at least one group of people – all those involved in home improvement.
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Mortgage rates fall back but 100 per cent deals are dead

Saturday, 23 August 2008

The cost of two-year fixed rate mortgages has fallen back to the level it was a year ago when the credit crunch was getting under way.
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An artist?s impression of the proposed Aurora building in the centre of Belfast.

Why we should live in skyscrapers

Thursday, 21 August 2008

Skyscrapers, city centre homes and rural villages are key to reducing Northern Ireland’s environmental footprint which is the worst in Europe and the UK, it was claimed today.
Comments: 8

Home sellers risk £1,000 fine without energy certificate

Wednesday, 20 August 2008

Many Northern Ireland householders selling their home face fines of up to £1,000 if they fail to get an Energy Performance Certificate, it was claimed today.
Comments: 3

Tom Mitchelson finds somewhere to lay his head at Gatwick airport during his three day stay.

Terminal blues: What it's like to live in an airport

Wednesday, 13 August 2008

This week it was revealed that a German woman has spent a decade living in Palma's main terminal. But what would it be like to live in an airport? Is it a des-res with multiple bathrooms and ample parking? Or hell on earth? Tom Mitchelson spent three days (and nights) at Gatwick – and wonders how she does it
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Off on your hols? Prevent your garden from becoming a plant graveyard

Monday, 11 August 2008

Putting the key in the lock, with my bags already in the taxi, my main thought on leaving for a week or two's holiday is, "I hope it rains." For most gardeners, unremittingly hot sunshine is a mixed blessing at the best of times, but when you are on holiday and unable to water regularly, it can create a plant graveyard – making steady rain can seem like a gift from heaven.
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Repossession levels soar to 12-year high

Saturday, 9 August 2008

With the housing market heading for its worst crash since the 1990s, and amid more ministerial confusion about a "stamp duty holiday", the Council of Mortgage Lenders reported yesterday that the number of people losing their homes has risen to a 12-year high.
Comment: 1

Northern Ireland property seizures soar due to slump

Friday, 8 August 2008

Home and business repossession cases have soared again in Northern Ireland, indicating that the credit crunch and the slumping property market are continuing to hit home.
Comments: 2

Tracy Mearns is an avid fan of her allotment and growing her own organic food

What a lotta fun growing your own fruit and veg

Friday, 8 August 2008

Having an allotment and growing your own fruit and vegetables is the latest trend to sweep the nation. Ahead of National Allotments Week next week, Judith Cole talks to green fingered devotees.
Comment: 1

Treasury quells stamp duty speculation as house prices plummet

Friday, 8 August 2008

The Treasury has moved to dampen speculation over the future of stamp duty after estate agents and surveyors warned of a potential collapse in the property market prompted by uncertainty over the tax.
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More house & home:

Day In a Page

Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat

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World in Pictures: September 2008

  • An anti-government supporter reacts to a speech by Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej at Government House Thursday, Sept. 4, 2008, in Bangkok, Thailand. In a live radio speech Samak vowed not to resign and to stay on to protect democracy.
  • People wade through flooded streets after Tropical Storm Hanna hit the area in Gonaives, Haiti, Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2008. Three storms have killed at least 126 people in Haiti in less than three weeks.
  • Parents of newly arrived freshmen students sleep in a gym at the Central China Normal University in Wuhan in central China's Hubei province Wednesday Sept. 3, 2008. The university opened its gym overnight to allow parents of freshmen students to accompany their children on their first day of school.

Stunning images from around the world

Heading Out In Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland Nightlife in Pictures

In Pictures: Flooding Northern Ireland

  • A car abandoned on the Westlink Road is seen at the junction with the M1 Motorway in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Saturday, Aug. 16, 2008. Severe flooding swept across Northern Ireland Saturday after torrential rain.
  • This bike fan was unconcerned about the bad weather which led to the Ulster Grand Prix being cancelled
  • A bridge is swept away as the River Straid burst its banks at Nursery Road in Ballymena on Saturday afternoon

Wet and wild photographs from around Ulster

Family Notices

Olympics closing ceremony

  • A general view showing the Olympic flame during the Closing Ceremony for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 24, 2008 in Beijing, China.
  • A general view showing the Olympic flame during the Closing Ceremony for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 24, 2008 in Beijing, China
  • Performers are seen during the Closing Ceremony for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 24, 2008 in Beijing, China

Spectacular show closes 2008 Games

Beach boy Bush at the Olympics

  • U.S. President George Bush watches a practice as U.S player Kerri Walsh warms up at the Chaoyang Park Beach Volleyball Ground at the Beijing 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Saturday, Aug. 9, 2008.
  • U.S. President George Bush watches as U.S. team of Misty May Treanor, left, and Kerri Walsh warm up at the Chaoyang Park Beach Volleyball Ground at the Beijing 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Saturday, Aug. 9, 2008.
  • President Bush gestures toward the back of Misty May Treanor as he visits the practice of the U.S. beach volleyball team the 2008 Summer Olympic games in Beijing, China Saturday, Aug. 9, 2008. At right is Treanor's teammate Kerri Walsh.

US President finds time for some volleyball fun

Entertainment

War in the Caucasus

  • Russian armored vehicles enter a tunnel, moving toward the border with Russia's North Ossetia, 70 km (43 miles) north of Tskhinvali, the Georgian breakaway province of South Ossetia's capital, on Sunday, Aug. 24, 2008. Russia pulled the bulk of its troops and tanks from Georgia on Friday after a brief but intense war but built up its forces in and around two separatist regions and left other positions deeper in the former Soviet republic.
  • Smoke rises from a fire in the Georgian village of Kekhvi, some 15 km (9 miles) north of Tskhinvali, in Georgia's breakway province of South Ossetia on Saturday, Aug. 23, 2008. Many ethnic Georgian villages in South Ossetia and Georgia have been looted and burned down after Russian troops entered Georgia.
  • Fire fighters extinguish a fire on a train carrying oil products after it hit a mine about 10 km (6 miles) east of Georgia's strategic central city of Gori on Sunday, Aug. 24, 2008. Interior Ministry spokesman Shota Utiashvili said the blast hit near the end of the train and one third of its 30 tanker cars were on fire.

A conflict in pictures

Columnist Comments

david_healy

• David Healy: World Cup qualifying - here we go again

Ever since we lost to Spain and failed to qualify for Euro 2008, I’ve been waiting for the World Cup qualifiers to start.

robert_fisk

• Robert Fisk: It's never good to swap people for bodies

Al-Jazeera – much praised by the now-dying US administration until it started reporting the truth about the American occupation of Iraq (at which point, you may recall, George Bush wanted to bomb it) – is back in hot water. And not, I fear, without reason.

adrian_logan

• Adrian Logan: There’s no place like Tyrone for believing

The dream final is on. After yesterday’s thrilling All-Ireland semi-final, it’s Tyrone against Kerry in Croke Park in three weeks time.

laurence_white

• Laurence White: If you’ve finished posturing, can we get on with politics, please?

Maybe DUP leader Peter Robinson is starting to warm to Sinn Fein after all. In a statement in the wake of the Independent Monitoring Commission report which said that the IRA is now a spent force incapable, even if it wanted, of starting up a terrorist campaign again, Mr Robinson made it clear he is not entirely convinced that the Provos Army Council is totally redundant.

frances_burscough

• Frances Burscough: Why I won’t miss smarmy Laurence off my TV screen

Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, the dandy decorator from Dulwich with big hair and an even bigger head, must be one of the most annoying ‘personalities’ on TV, don’t you think?

lindy_mcdowell

• Lindy McDowell: Why Gordon should put a cork in it

Not since the days of Oliver Cromwell have we had a dourer bunch at the helm of the ship of state. Not since the days of Nostradamus have we had to listen to more dire predictions. Gordon Brown’s government has become the political equivalent of a hen house that’s just got a whiff of a prowling fox.

pol_o_muiri

• Pól Ó Muirí: Going back to school teaches us all patience

In January people join gyms; in September they enrol in night classes. Yes, it is that time of year when you decide to challenge the brain and go to that evening class. The impetus varies.

ed_curran

• Ed Curran: Why is it always raining in Northern Ireland newsrooms?

Well, that was the summer that was. Or should I say: wasn't! I missed the worst of August thankfully through being on holiday in eat-your-heart-out, sun-kissed France, followed by the Olympics in Beijing.

billy_simpson

• Billy Simpson: Every swan has to sing sometime

A recent trip to the breathtaking North Antrim coast reminded our writer of growing up in the ‘best location in the world’

cooper_brown

• Victoria Brown: My husband has been kidnapped and sent to prison in Mexico

Recent readers of my husband Cooper's column will undoubtedly know that he was having some problems with the immigration authorities here in the United Kingdom.

Loadzajobs

Northern Ireland Troubles

In Pictures: The Northern Ireland Troubles

A Conflict in Pictures

Miss Universe

  • Miss Venezuela Dayana Mendoza is crowned Miss Universe 2008 on stage during the 57th Annual Miss Universe Competition at the Crown Convention Centre on July 14, 2008 in Nha Trang, Vietnam.
  • Miss Venezuela Dayana Mendoza one of the top 15 semi finalists performs on stage during the final of the 57th Annual Miss Universe Competition at the Crown Convention Centre on July 14, 2008 in Nha Trang, Vietnam.
  • Miss Vietnam Lam Thuy Nguyen one of the top 15 semi finalists performs on stage during the final of the 57th Annual Miss Universe Competition at the Crown Convention Centre on July 14, 2008 in Nha Trang, Vietnam.

Nha Trang, Vietnam


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