So, if you want to help the environment and make your garden more climate friendly, then try the following hints and tips:

One of the biggest changes you can make is to swap your petrol mower for a manual one. This simple step may mean more hard graft for you, but can annually cut your carbon emissions by 36kg! (And just think of the exercise)!

Be more climate conscious with your garden furniture purchases. Check you furniture comes from sustainable wood sources, to ensure your furniture has not been made from wood obtained from illegally logged forests.

Install a rainwater butt, saving £200 on water bills and 0.6kg of Carbon, every year! (A ‘how to’ guide is available on the BBC website).

Embrace the old fashioned ways and use a watering can rather than a sprinkler!

Nitrogen-rich fertilisers emit nitrous oxide, and should be avoided, as the emissions they create are more than three hundred times more damaging, and more harmful to the environment than Co2!

Use recycled or reclaimed materials for garden paving, walls and/or garden features.

Do not use patio heaters, as they are a terrible waste of energy.

Be creative when it comes to flower beds and try to plant flowers that do not require frequent watering.

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The minor increase means that the cost of an ‘average house’ rose by just over £2000. (example given in The Times - £156,442 in June, as opposed to £154,016 in May). Average house prices are now still nearly 10% lower than they were this time last year.

Hopes of the housing market recovering further were supported, albeit in a fragile manner, by the Bank of England’s ‘approved mortgages’ figures for April and May. Whilst failing to meet Analysts expected figures, the number of approved mortgages did rise, but by less than 250.

However, warnings against advanced surges in optimism come from Howard Archer (a renowned economist) who states that the supply of properties, combined with the employment market, will contribute to the overall economic recovery, and we should continue to monitor buyer interest.

Further news reported on the BBC states that the UK economy contracted by 2.4%, its largest first quarter contraction in over fifty years. Economic contraction meant that ‘real household disposable income’ fell by 2.4%. It has also been reported that although Halifax conducted their own house price surveys which concurred with the Nationwide Building Society, The Land Registry survey into house prices reported that house prices in Wales and England actually fell by 0.2% in May!

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The Daily Mail (20th June 2009), advises that we take a softly, softly, approach to adding a hint of Oriental into our residences, and, although never previously knowingly associated with subtlety, The Daily Mail promoted and encourages the use of flourishing florals, in addition to tasteful eggshell and fiery pink hues.

Try adding a feature wall, decorated with Pompadour wallpaper. A mere £46, for a ten-metre roll, this Oriental style wallpaper is available from Osborne & Little website, and it is the epitome of Oriental chic. But be careful to use it sparingly, so as not to take over the whole room!

For a show stopping item of furniture, The Daily Mail recommends an Oriental style lamp, that, whilst not to everyone’s taste, will certainly be a talking ’statement piece’ of any room. A metal branch style table lamp, with an owl perched half way and topped off with a white and pink lampshade, is available for £325 from the Designers Guild.

If you are looking for stylish flowers and summer florals to complete your Oriental look, then go to the An Angel at My Table website. A potted Cerise Orchid will cost you £30, but will last a lifetime.

If you have cash to splash, then an Oriental floral patterned Norton armchair, costing just under £1400, could be yours from Heals. Finally, The Daily Mail recommends a trip to Knots Interiors for a Florence Broadhurst Rug, a steal at just under £3000.

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All these chemicals can build up in our systems over the years, and manufacturers have no idea what harm they could do!

So, is it possible to clean your house in a more environmentally friendly way? Be kinder to your body, and save money in the process? Stars of Channel Four, ‘How Clean is Your House‘, Kim and Aggie, certainly think so! Fresh from their website, ideas for a more natural way of cleaning.

First off, Bicarbonate of Soda – this is so much more that a baking ingredient. Mix with a little warm water to make a paste, and this will clean everything from fridges to ovens. (Leave the paste on the oven overnight for sparkling clean!)

Clear Vinegar – great for getting stains out! Mix 2 parts of water with one part vinegar and leave overnight. Clean lime scale off bathroom showers and taps by soaking in hot vinegar (wrap kitchen roll around taps), and you can even use a vinegar solution to clean the windows!

Soda Water - fantastic for getting red wine stains out of carpets!

Try unblocking sinks by pouring down some bicarbonate of soda, followed by some clear vinegar. This solution should fizz and bubble up, and give your pipes a good cleaning out!

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Encourage Buds and Thin out seedlings in beddings! June is the ideal time to use a notching technique (where by you just remove a small section of bark) just above any buds that need a helping hand. This should encourage sap to flow to the bud and stimulate growth.

Flower Garden Maintenance! Add some support to Lillies, Sprinkle Roses with special fertiliser, divide Iris and Primulas, once they have finished flowering and replant any congested lumps. Since there is no longer a fear of frost, plant any delicate bedding plants (from your greenhouse).

Cut dead flower stems off Lupins and Perennials, as this can lead to a surprise second flowering!

Greenhouse maintenance – paint windows or put up shades to protect garden plants from strong summer sun. Replant cuttings, but try to use the same compost. June is a great time to take any house-plant cuttings to cultivate in the greenhouse.

General care tips include mowing lawns regularly to encourage a strong healthy grass growth, and tending to and removing any pond weed. It has also been advised to weigh up pros and cons of pesticide use, as the season of pesky pests is upon us! Also a top tip is to place netting over fruit trees, small fruit bushes or even berries being grown in potted containers.

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Experts for Sky News were asked to compile a list of home improvemets that would boost the value of your property, but also to estimate how much these renovations would cost you! The results showed that the most valuable home improvement you could make was adding space to your downstairs. An Extension of the downstairs living area could add as much as £20,000 to the value. Beware of spending more on the extension, than it will actually add to your house!

Next on the list was Loft Conversions. For inner city properties a loft conversion could cost up to £15,000, but in London this could add upward of £40,000 value!

Next up was a fitted modern kitchen, this type of conversion could add up to £8000 to the value of your property. A top tip being to shop for a kitchen during Bank Holiday Sales!

Sky News also recommends that you splash out on a conservatory. Experts estimate that for an initial outlay as little as £3000, you could add upwards of £12000 to the value of your property!

The final improvement regarded central heating, but it was concluded that this is now an expected feature of modern properties, however, new style high efficiency condensing boilers can add value through improvements of the home’s energy rating in the home buyers information pack.

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The baby blue eyed Mr Clark, of the Channel Four Home Show, has come up with a list of helpful, cost effective and safe, home improvement tips (For the full list, see the Channel Four website).

Near the top of Mr Clark’s most pressing ‘do’s’ (when it comes to home renovation), is sort out any problems your house may have before you start renovating! Check your layout plans, and understand any structural issues that may need attention.

The Home Show presenter also advised to beware of picking builders from the phone book, instead suggesting you find a builder based on reputation, and preferably having seen their completed work. It is advisable to get a contracted rate (and ensuring a contract is in place) this should save money, as opposed to paying anyone on-site on a daily basis! Also, try to pay anyone who is contracted on-site on a regular basis, only up to the value of work that has already been completed, and never pay ‘upfront’ for anything! (Beware cowboys!)

Mr Clark also recently stressed the importance of knowing and sticking to your budget, but never trying to cut costs by scrimping on electrics or plumbing, kitchens or bathrooms – you may save money now, but will end up paying for it in the future!

To conclude the top tips from the Architect with the know how and can do attitude, you are advised to never limit the amount of natural daylight you can get into your property (a top design tip stated that natural daylight can make spaces feel bigger!). Also, remember to maximise your amount of space, as extensions can rarely be ‘extended more’ later on!

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The Window Seat Storage Box

An ideal solution for storing away all that curiously essential clutter – which will invariably never be used or looked at again – is through the use of a window seat storage box. As described in its title, this item serves two primary functions: first, it can be used to store clutter; and, second, it makes for a fantastic seating area alongside a window. This has the obvious benefit of creating more seating space in the house, which is perfectly suited to childrens’ bedrooms (although keep windows locked!) and living room areas.

Whilst the window seat storage box can be bought in various home improvement stores, it is often better to create one from scratch to ensure a perfect fit and sufficient storage space. Using an existing sturdy wooden chest, the solid wood lid (unless it has drawers) must be lined with a seat pad that comprises strong and cushioning material. It is also important to add several cushions for added support when people are resting against the window sill itself.

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The Colour Wheel

In order to create an entirely original décor, it is essential that the decorator can visually match colour samples. The most effective way of doing this is to use a palette and add blobs of red, yellow and blue (the primary colours) paint to it in addition to secondary colours of green, orange and purple. Daubs of white and black are also very useful for providing balance and contrast.

The next stage is to get mixing and matching, using sheets of paper initially to see how certain colours work together before moving onto a spare patch of wall. The various ways in which colours match with others can produce entirely different effects for the home. For instance, if the intention is to create a focal point on a wall, this can be achieved by painting it black and then adding a deep red colour in its centre. The red will stand out brilliantly whilst the background back will appear deeper and richer.

Finally, if the colour schemes appear too bold or striking, there is always magnolia!

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Bedroom design

In consideration of MET Office predictions of a hot and dry Summer this year, it is understandable that most homeowners and property developers look to the garden for their home improvements. Indeed, a new garden patio or spot of landscaping will work wonders when barbecue season arrives. Moreover, there is arguably no better place for homeowners to spend the cooling Summer nights than in the comfort of their own garden. However, unless the idea is to spend the entire night laid back in a deck chair with a glass of wine on hand, people looking to improve their homes will be well advised to spare a thought or two about their bedrooms.

Redecorating the bedroom for the Summer involves a re-arranging of furniture and a refreshingly new décor. Especially where the miserable Winter had forced property dwellers to erect blackout blinds and dark tones, a Summer décor is all about letting the light flow throughout the room. Indeed, the bedroom should be a cool, calm and relaxing place to rest and sleep, which is going to be a whole lot harder if the room is cramped, dark and gloomy.

Lighten the Walls, Darken the Bed

The easiest and most straightforward way of opening up a room is to whitewash the walls. White helps to redefine the space available in a room by distorting the mind’s perception of where the boundaries actually lie – in effect, white walls can make a small room look spacious and airy. In contrast, dark walls have the effect of closing the boundaries in considerably, therefore giving the impression of less space than there is in reality. Nevertheless, refreshingly white walls ought to be complemented by bold bedroom furniture colours. The bed in particular must be a focal point in the room, therefore it is advisable to opt for rich, deep colour schemes with vivid and imaginative patterns that will instantly draw the eye’s attention.

Furthermore, it is essential that the bedroom is clutter-free and, unless it is absolutely necessary, electrical equipment in the room should be limited to a radio alarm clock and television – peace is essential.

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