Home and garden

Stepping into MJ and Richard Woods’ garden on Dartford Creek north of Wandermere made me think I was stepping into the English landscape from the children’s story “Wind in the Willows.” All the elements of Mr. Toad’s landscape are here except that the storybook characters have been replaced with deer, moose, turkeys and quail.

When it comes time to sell your home, lighting is one of the key elements that stands out. Most potential buyers embrace not only natural light but fixtures that are modern and up-to-date.

There are several events in a large building project that I find to be exhilarating. One of them is nailing in place the last rafter in a common-framed roof. Standing at the top of the roof skeleton looking down into the house fills me with a sense of pride and accomplishment. There’s more to do until the house is move-in ready, but reaching this plateau is very satisfying.

On a recent Wednesday morning, the Friends of Manito plant sale yard at Spokane’s Manito Park was bustling with folks carefully tending and trimming pots of plants getting them ready for their annual spring sale. And this Saturday, you will be the beneficiary of their hard work.

Several days ago, I was on magical Mt. Desert Island in Maine. I was visiting my daughter and granddaughter. Seven years have passed since I helped build her quaint three-story home with an attached garage. I was the plumber, electrician and radiant heat installer.

I quit tilling my garden beds years ago and have been rewarded with one of nature’s greatest gifts, earthworms. Lots of them. When I dig into the soil, I always bring up a few wiggly, dusky red creatures that I carefully put back in the soil to do the tilling for me.

Styling a home is less about the big pieces and more about the final touches, especially the accessories. The most successful spaces feel curated rather than decorated, spacious and open as opposed to overwhelming.

Last week, I shared my broken boiler saga. Even though I did the repair myself, I was still out of pocket almost $540. Had I been forced to hire a professional to do the repair, the total bill would have approached $1,000. I’m sure he would have marked up the $387 fan at least 30%.

Furniture markets like the annual spring market in High Point, North Carolina, often function much like runway shows in fashion, revealing the newest trends in furniture and home décor. Curvy lines are prominent as are clean lines and neutral color palettes and natural materials. The trend is understated and minimal as opposed to bold and bright. Scandinavian influences and organic materials ...

And now for the finishing touches in the garden. Deck pots filled with colorful annuals, grasses, vegetables, herbs and even fruit. Even the smallest garden or apartment deck can be brightened up with a few well-chosen pots. Best of all, it’s easy to create and maintain them.

Homeownership has historically been the most common way for families to grow wealth and pass it on. Homeowners ages 70 and older hold $13 trillion in housing wealth, or roughly 1 out of every 4 dollars’ worth in the country, according to a March analysis by real estate platform Redfin.

Several days ago, I found myself without heat and hot water at 6 p.m., just as I was washing dinner dishes. My propane-fired modulating combi boiler, which does double duty, heating the house and my hot water, decided to stop working. It’s still chilly in central New Hampshire, where I live. The fan that sucks in combustion air and blows out exhaust gases stopped spinning. The sensors and internal computer lock out the boiler burner when this happens.

Recently a reader contacted me asking why there were so many ponderosa pine cones this year. He has been picking them up by the bagful and a friend has taken multiple pickup truck loads to the transfer station. My editor chimed in that a snow shovel would be useful for scooping cones out of her driveway. Me? I am more than tired of rolling my ankle on these pesky land mines.

I’ve shared in past columns how I’ve been blessed to help my son complete a massive remodeling project. He purchased a new single-story three-bedroom home four years ago. This house had a massive, wide-open, full basement beneath all the upstairs living space.

Furniture layout and placement are often a dilemma for many homeowners. Aspects such as where to place a sofa and where a television should be placed are often visual hurdles. Strategic furniture placement often comes from pre-planning, taking the time to create a floor plan and evaluating where items should be placed in a room. When laying out a room, here are some common furniture ...

The 34th annual Mother’s Day Home Tour showcases some of Browne’s Addition’s most iconic historic mansions.

It looks like we are in for a long , dry summer. The lack of winter snow and rain left the soil dry to start the spring. The forecast for the first half of May is dry, and there is a strong chance an El Nino will settle in by late summer or early fall and bring even more drier and warmer weather. Some forecasters are saying this El Nino may be “aggressive.”

Has it really been 25 years? What started as a small plant sale run by the Inland Empire Gardeners garden club somehow grew into Garden Expo, the mecca for all things garden in the Inland Northwest.