Anne-apolis

If you are thinking of building a new house, or altering your existing one, choosing an architect is a very personal decision, one that will impact you and your family for many years. There are always many design solutions, some of which will appeal to you and suit your lifestyle, and others that are not such a good fit. If a friend or relative has recently completed a building project, do you find it suits your taste? Try to imagine the spaces with your furniture and artwork - does this create a harmonious feel, is it too formal, maybe too minimalist, maybe too "cutsie-cozy"? A good architect will be very versatile, but even so, they will have a repertoire of preferred design solutions that they will tend to use when interpreting your needs. A small house in a Victorian style If you don't know of an architect, have a look on the South African Council for Architects website, where you will find a list of registered architects . You can search by name (you may have seen a ...

  Most people know that you need to get plans passed by your municipality if you want to build a new house, but are not sure when you need this for alterations. Increasingly, people are finding, when they want to sell their property, that the plans lodged at the municipal offices are not up-to-date with all the alterations that have happened in the building's history. The buyer should insist on getting a set of approved plans before taking transfer, as there may have been alterations that do not comply with the Building Regulations, the municipal by-laws or the title deeds. This could result in very costly alterations, and could even require demolition of part of the house, for example if it was built over the building line next to the neighbouring property. As a general rule, any changes to the structure of the house need plans, whether this is the addition of a new room, or the removal of a wall that is part of the structure, say to make an open-plan kitchen. If you are changing ...

  Whether you have just moved into a new place, or have rearranged your living spaces, or simply want to refresh the look of your place, pictures play a vital role in giving life and interest to a room. You probably already have some pictures or framed photos that you want to display, so let's start with these. The first thing is to decide which room - think about the colour of the walls, curtains and furniture and the style of furniture and use of the room. You don't have to be too rigid - I once saw an original Andy Warhol Campbells Soup Can silkscreen in a kitchen! On the other hand, graduation certificates look great in a study, but don't work so well in a living room,  where you would want something with more visual interest. Also think of grouping pictures - bold colours on one wall can be balanced by monochrome or black-and-white on the other walls. Also look at combining big and smaller pieces. Two large pictures balance a set of four smaller ones I like to lay out ...

  At the change of season, it is a good time to review our living environment whether to redecorate completely, or just to make some small adjustments such as swapping out some pictures or getting new throws and cushions. This is a good opportunity to work positively with colour to enhance our spaces.  If you are renting your place, first check your lease agreement: many landlords have a clause that prevents you from repainting in any colour other than white, or requires you to restore to the original paint colours when you leave. This could prompt you to focus on the soft furnishings and removable items such as pictures. If you own your property, then you have a completely free hand and can view redecoration as an investment. To begin, I would first analyse the space, before deciding on a colour scheme: how big is the room; is it dark or brightly lit in daytime; is it on the warm or cold side of the building? A large room or an open-plan layout offers great opportunity to use...

  As the leaves start turning colour, our thoughts need to turn inwards to our home in preparation for winter. Houses in the southern hemisphere tend to be designed for summer, and are not that well adapted to colder seasons, leaving us  freezing for a couple of months or with huge heating bills. This said, when we adapt for climate, we want to be sure that we are optimising for summer as well as winter. A room may be cold for any one of a number of reasons: it may face away from the sun, all day or maybe only for part of the day when the room is in use; the sun may be blocked by vegetation; the ceiling may lack insulation; the house may have an open-plan layout. Let's look at each of these to see how we can make our home more comfortable for winter. We can set aside one room as a "snug" with the best orientation (north or west) for our main winter living room. When I was a child, we lived in an open-plan house which was cool and airy in summer, but in winter, we holed up...