We feature Festive Folk in our decorating shoot, a celebration of characterful, handcrafted decorations. This issue also features wonderful real homes, with Sky McAlpine’s beautiful home a highlight. Chef and cookbook author Clodagh McKenna brings us beautiful Christmas decorating ideas – plus, of course, her tasty twists on traditional Christmas dishes. We will be trying them all at home this festive season. There’s a winter garden to enjoy, plus The 12 Days of Christmas, our amazing gift guide....

The Instant Pot Duo Plus is a popular model among the best Instant Pots that’s available in three sizes. It strikes a good balance between offering a useful range of functions while remaining straightforward to use. Plus, with the addition of some safe and smart design features, it makes pressure cooking a breeze, even if you’re a novice. I used this Instant Pot at home in my own kitchen and made a range of different meals and foods to put it through its paces....

The rise of Wabi Sabi has ensured that the Orient is front and center of the decorating world and Interior design trends, but there is always a danger of overdoing things and ending up with a pastiche of a look. Follow Kelly’s style rules, however, and you will be on track to pared-back perfection. 1. Incorporate a Chinoiserie print This delicate blossom motif is lent opulence by its gold backdrop, but Kelly is careful to keep to a monochrome palette elsewhere....

In June 2019, he and his partner, fellow designer Duncan Campbell, rented a second home close to the village of Churchill in Gloucestershire, where they live along with Merlin, their silver fawn whippet. In an exclusive discussion with H&G, Luke shared the secrets to his life in the country. I love it in Gloucestershire… … There are wonderful grand houses and hidden gardens to visit, like Sezincote, Chastleton, Upton Wold, and Kiftsgate....

Whether it’s decking the halls, the doors, the fireplace, or the tree, investing in beautiful, high-quality Christmas decorations can make all the difference for your Christmas decor. We’re here to bring you a list of some incredible sales on baubles, garlands, candles, and more, available across some of our favorite brands. Luxury Christmas decorations We’ve brought together some of our favorite deals on luxury Christmas decorations and Christmas ornaments (opens in new tab) to help you make your holiday season affordably fabulous....

So who better for us to ask to give a masterclass than interior designer Penny Morrison and Charlotte Gaisford, British fabric and wallpaper designers, both of whom are known for their expert pattern combinations in interior design? ‘As a fabric and wallpaper designer, I embrace using lots of pattern in my room schemes and I do not shy away from it at all,’ explains Charlotte Gaisford (opens in new tab)....

See: Monty Don reveals the benefits of planting bare root roses As their name suggests, bare root trees have no soil at their roots, and have been dug up from the ground while dormant. They might look barren in their inactive state, but will soon spring back to life after planting. They have several benefits over potted trees, too. ‘Bare root trees tend to be cheaper and better quality,’ says Don in his book The Complete Gardener (opens in new tab)....

But scroll through the listing’s 89 photos and you stumble upon what looks like a small town centre in the basement, and it is large enough to fit an actual car, or three. Currently up for sale in the affluent DC suburb of Potomac, Maryland, this estate is not wanting for space. Measuring just over 12,000 square feet, it has every amenity one can expect from a property that is on sale for $4....

Below, Bobby talks interior design, Covid and how he gets his creative juices flowing. 1. Ensuring people trust the Fab 5 implicitly ‘One of the biggest challenges in working on Queer Eye is also one of my favorite aspects. I love how truly blind we walk into our heroes’ story and have little time to transform them, their space and deliver a wow-factor moment every time,’ the 39-year-old designer tells H&G....

Medwyn first started growing radishes, mustard and cress when his father introduced him to gardening at the age of eight. For Virtual Chelsea, he shares his passion for growing all kinds of amazing vegetables. TIPS FOR GROWING VEGETABLES 1. PARSNIPS Anyone who’s been growing for a few years knows that good timing is key to a successful vegetable plot. For me, the ultimate midwinter delicacy is a parsnip, roasted in goose fat and honey; it’s a truly British vegetable, as our friends on the Continent tend to just use them as cattle feed!...

See: How to plant roses – an essential guide The floribunda rose with large clusters of elegant, hybrid tea-shaped blooms in creamy apricot tones, will be launched at the 2019 Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival. Introduced in 1982, the aim of Rose Of The Year is to discover by trials the best rose in any given year. A worthy winner, the rose shows outstanding disease resistance, has a strong, bushy, upright growth habit and glossy dark-green foliage....

Located on the Lower Ground Floor of the luxury shopping location, the cafe features a striking interior décor which mirrors that of the famous Blue Box Cafe in the Tiffany flagship store on Fifth Avenue in New York City, with unique design touches created exclusively for the Harrods location. The brand’s iconic shade of Tiffany Blue® will be infused throughout the cafe, creating the illusion of dining inside one of Tiffany’s famed Blue Boxes....

With that in mind, it’s perhaps unsurprising that there has been a rise in the demand for trimmings to adorn curtains, cushions, furniture and more, each adding a fanciful layer that feels tailored to the individual. Trimmings – or passementerie, as the French call it – allows us to express ourselves as simply, or as kitsch as we like. There are tremendous new offerings from Villa Nova, Neisha Crosland for Schumacher and Samuel & Sons....

The home, built-in 2014, ‘has been ‘smized’ with a wow factor,’ Tyra shares. But what makes it one of the world’s best homes? Here, we take a tour of the stylish SoCal estate. Situated amongst a hillside enclave above the Caruso Village center (a retail haven with 40 exclusive restaurants and boutiques), Tyra Banks’ home balances city, mountain, and coastal living. Though, while the surrounding exterior is something to behold, the interiors are equally noteworthy....

To keep the wanderlust alive, Official-esta.com has rounded up some of the best bucket-list virtual tours you can experience around the world from the comfort of your sofa. See: Six of the best virtual museum tours for an at-home culture fix If visiting the wonderful archipelago of the Galapagos Islands, snorkelling the Great Barrier Reef and gazing up at the Northern Lights are on your bucket list, these virtual tours have got you covered....

If you’re looking for the best ways to add value to your home this spring, a new study by online real estate marketplace Zillow (opens in new tab)suggests adding a meditation spot or emotional escape room could add more than $12,000 to the typical U.S. property. Pinteres (opens in new tab)t has previously predicted that emotional escape rooms will be a significant home trend this year. The social media image platform says 2022 will see us seeking out safe spaces in our homes and gardens where we can forget all our troubles and indulge ourselves, by reading, enjoying music or crafts, or simply relaxing....

Primarily made from lime and water, limewash is available to buy as a ready-to-use paint with a lovely matte paint finish. Natural pigments add color and it’s easy to use, achieving a velvety mottled effect that can help add character and depth to any interior, no matter how modern it is. Another benefit to limewash is that it’s a breathable paint idea for exterior brick walls or stone landscaping. Just keep in mind that it should never be used on non-porous surfaces such as cement renders, granite, slate or hard engineered bricks....

But if your practical skills extend to unclogging a toilet, you can certainly tackle the problem yourself. The approach you take when unclogging a sink that won’t drain really depends on the cause of the blockage. ‘There are a variety of reasons why a sink could be slow-running or blocked,’ says Kevin Began, director at Blockbusters Drainage and Plumbing Services (opens in new tab). ‘One common problem is food debris caught in the U-bend or trap under the sink....

THE PROPERTY Dating back to 1870 and part of an enclave of Victorians that make up the village of Rhinebeck’s historic district, the 2,200-square-foot home hadn’t been altered or updated since the 1970s. With Marla’s deft touch and eye for pattern and colour, as well as a little help from her architect husband, Brian Walker, she was able to preserve the historic Victorian’s classic beauty while fully modernising the interior and transforming the vintage home into a comfortable and colourful, family-friendly space....