Ideal Home |
- These vintage bedside tables were given a contemporary makeover for under £30
- Best cordless vacuum cleaners 2021 – our top 12 stick vacuums, reviewed
- This 1950s bungalow has been given a totally new look with a timber clad extension
- Jobs to do in the garden in September – maintenance, planting and harvesting
- How much your home Instagram account could be earning you - and tips on setting one up
| These vintage bedside tables were given a contemporary makeover for under £30 Posted: 31 Aug 2021 05:30 AM PDT When one woman spotted a pair of boring bedside tables for €30 (around £25) on Facebook Marketplace, she was struck by an incredible idea to transform them into bespoke, vintage numbers. Hema Kasi-Patel, from Porto, has a self-admitted ‘weakness for vintage furniture’ – but told Ideal Home that ‘not all have that 'classic' look’ so she often has to brainstorm upcycled furniture ideas to achieve the look herself. When the 50-year-old saw the bedside tables on Facebook Marketplace she told us that the shape was the best thing going’ for them. ‘I didn't want to deter from the elegant outline,’ she added. ‘I knew what I was going to do, as soon as I saw them.’ Vintage bedside table makeoverBefore Image credit: Hema Kasi-Patel ‘After a good clean, I filled in the areas where the veneer had come away,’ she said. Then, Hema sanded the tables, and painted them with Frenchic's Loof black chalk paint, one of the best paints for furniture out there. Next, Hema applied clear wax to the legs and applied Polyvine's Dead Flat as a protective topcoat. She then added new handles to the drawers. ‘I wanted simplicity, elegance and for your eyes to be drawn to those legs,’ she added.  Image credit: Hema Kasi-Patel ‘In total this project cost me less than £30," she revealed. Hema told us that the handles were €2.25 from Amazon – and she already had the paint, wax and topcoat from previous upcycling missions. Hema continued the minimalist, on-trend, vintage look by arranging an array of monochrome accessories on top of her newly-upcycled bedside tables – including beautifully framed drawings and artwork. Coupled with that, Hema added leafy green plants – also in black and white vases – to really complete the look.  Image credit: Hema Kasi-Patel Hema began documenting her upcycling projects on Instagram last year, under the name Alma Nova Porto. ‘I always try to re-use, [and] recycle, so Alma Nova Porto has allowed me to follow my heart and beliefs,’ she said. ‘My pieces are unique, [and] only produced once.’ We would wake up on the right side of the bed every morning if we had these unique, vintage numbers as our bedside tables. The post These vintage bedside tables were given a contemporary makeover for under £30 appeared first on Ideal Home.  |
| Best cordless vacuum cleaners 2021 – our top 12 stick vacuums, reviewed Posted: 31 Aug 2021 03:30 AM PDT They may look alike, but the best cordless vacuum cleaners in 2021 will offer a range of different features that make them perfect for hardwood floors, carpets, and even pet hair. All 12 of our best cordless vacuum picks have been reviewed hands-on by members of the Ideal Home team, so if you’re looking for reviews of Vax, Shark, Miele, Beko, Bosch, Halo, and Dyson cordless vacuum reviews, you’ve come to the right place. Some will be looking for a cordless vacuum under £200 to keep on top of day-to-day dust and pet hair, whereas others will be looking for something powerful enough to replace even the best vacuum cleaners with corded or canister capabilities. Of course, cordless vacuums have so many advantages over corded vacuums too. They’re designed to be lightweight and because they don’t need to be plugged in you can use them to dash around your home if you’re in a rush to neaten things up, with no plugging and unplugging to get in the way. While they used to lack the power of their canister alternatives, the best stick vacuums are now more than capable of rivalling them when it comes to picking up pet hair and dust. And like traditional vacuums, you can even buy bagged cordless vacuum cleaners to make emptying the dustbin easy. What is the best cordless vacuum?With a great balance between value and high performance, the Beko Powerclean VRT94929VI Cordless Vacuum Cleaner is our top pick of the best cordless vacuums. We have voted the Dyson V11 Absolute as the best cordless vacuum cleaner in 2021 if money is no object. The Vax ONEPWR Blade 4 is our favourite budget vacuum cleaner. Best cordless vacuum cleaners 20211. Beko Powerclean VRT94929VI Cordless Vacuum CleanerBest cordless vacuum overall
Bagged or bagless? Bagless The Beko Powerclean has a similar design to some of the best Shark vacuum cleaners, featuring an elbow feature that can bend down to reach under furniture without making you reach so far. It’s immensely powerful, too. There are three strength modes, but we found that we hardly needed to use the stronger settings because the lower mode was more than capable of tackling most messes. With the Beko Powerclean you get a good range of attachments, including the crevice tool, carpet and hard floor brushes, mini motorised brush head, flexible extension, and dusting tool. Switching out the tools is easy enough, but you need to twist a little screw attachment to remove the brush rolls and switch between hard floor and carpet. This takes a minute or so, but we also experienced that both carpet and hard floor attachments were versatile enough to do a good sweep of the entire home without switching. The vacuum has a stand included, with a groove to hold the vacuum handle and charge it when not in use. Charging takes three hours, and the battery life is about 45 minutes. Controls work with a thumb trigger, and above this are the plus and minus buttons you’ll need to adjust strength. From the LED headlights to the incredibly strong suction the Beko Powerclean VRT94929VI Cordless Vacuum Cleaner seriously wowed us. Ideal Home's rating: 5 out of 5 stars Read our full Beko Powerclean VRT94929VI Cordless Vacuum Cleaner review 2. Dyson V11 AbsoluteBest cordless vacuum for power
Bagged or bagless? Bagless The Dyson V11 Absolute promises twice the suction (at the cleaner head) of any cordless vacuum cleaner. But it also costs twice as much as competitors. So is it worth the money? We found that the 60-minute battery life holds true as advertised. Not only did it pick up the dirt we could see, it managed to catch a lot of invisible dust from carpets and even hard floors. We love the look, which is as high-quality as you would expect from an expensive Dyson vac. It doesn’t take the number one spot because it’s undeniably expensive compared to some other five-star options. Attachments include a fluffy hard floor roller and four smaller accessories. The fluffy roller did well on wooden floors, but what we loved was the high torque floorhead which cuts back on power when working on hard floors and automatically increases it on carpets. You can monitor this with the bright display, which also shows how many minutes are left in your current mode. Not quite done? Just switch to a lower setting to make the most of your vacuum life. Capacity is higher than ever and it's easy to empty. But the run time and power controls are the stars of the show. If money's no object, buy the V11: you won't be disappointed. Ideal Home’s rating 5 out of 5 stars 3. Vax ONEPWR Blade 4Best value cordless vacuum
Bagged or bagless? Bagless This stick-style cordless vacuum cleaner has a slight design difference to most of the vacuums in our guide: the cyclone cylinder sits sideways. But the thing that really stands out is its comfy grip. It's perfectly shaped and has a soft touch. It feels nice enough in the hand that its 3.1kg weight doesn't feel too heavy. Buttons are under your thumb and responsive. One turns it on and off, another cycles between the two power settings (it remembers which one you were on last time) and the third turns on the floorhead's powered brush and headlights. It boasts triple filtration and runtime is quoted as 45 minutes but it will be much less on high power, using the floorhead. Its vacuuming was impressive on both power settings. Tools are impressive too. It comes with a crevice nozzle and dusting brush, both of which are well designed. But at the time of writing it also came with a free Cordless ProKit 2 accessory pack. This gives you an extendible, flexible crevice nozzle for tricky gaps, an upholstery tool, a stiff brush for tough dirt and a stretch hose so you can use the tools without the weight of the cleaner in your hand. The toolkit comes with a fabric storage bag too, but it would have been great if this could clip to the Vax. The battery comes off and docks in a charger. And the Vax comes with a wall mount, so you can hang it up when not in use. Meanwhile, the 0.6-litre capacity dust canister isn't large but it comes off easily and then is straightforward to empty. We were really impressed with the Vax's comfort, array of tools and cleaning performance for a mid-priced machine. Ideal Home's rating 5 out of 5 stars 4. Roidmi RS60Best cordless vacuum cleaner and mop combo
Bagged or bagless? Bagless A mop and cordless vacuum rolled into one, the Roidmi RS60 has a high-quality, weighty feel that isn’t burdensome, but does feel like it’s designed to last. Other attachments include a mattress cleaner, soft roller, and crevice tool. There’s even a pet brush, which is designed to literally suck up the hair from your pet as you brush it. A smart idea, if you can get your cat or dog to cooperate. It has a medium-sized dustbin of 0.55 litres, which does require regular emptying, but is easy to eject once you’ve removed the stick attachment. One of the most impressive things was the battery life, which lasted over an hour in testing, making it more than adequate for large homes. The LCD display shows which of the three power modes you’ve opted for, and when you’re done cleaning, it even displays the amount of calories burned. The on button is lower down than the button that you use to switch modes, which we did find a little fiddly, but it’s useful if you switch between different power modes on a regular basis. While it’s not cheap, it’s a quality pick. Ideal Home’s rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars Read our full Roidmi RS60 review 5. Dyson V11 OutsizeBest cordless vacuum cleaner for large homes
Bagged or bagless? Bagless The Dyson V11 Outsize has re-engineered the Absolute to include a 150% larger bin, 25% bigger cleaner head, with up to 60 minutes of runtime. It also offers 20% more suction compared to the V10, which was a popular model just a couple of years ago. Our reviewer was impressed from the start since the vac arrived in packaging made from recyclable cardboard, and how easy it was to assemble. It also already arrives with 20% of it’s 60-minute battery life so if you just can’t wait to take the V11 Outsize for a walk around the home, then this allows you to do just that. We found that this battery life – when fully charged – was more than suffice for whipping around a 2-bed terraced home. You also have the ability to adjust the cleaning modes which can make a difference to the battery life, and noise level. It performed exceptionally well on large rugs and hard flooring (with the soft roller head attached). The suction is really good and the larger floorhead helps to cover more ground, quickly. Turning to a smaller rug with a 60cm dia, however, the cordless vac either wanted to move it around or just grind to a halt. Using with the attachments such as the mini motorized tool and combination tool were useful around the home, across all levels, but there are 11 tools in total to opt for to give you yet more freedom to clean. There is no way to store these attachments on board the stick vacuum cleaner, however, so finding some suitable cupboard space for this would be useful. And lifting up the vac to use as a handheld is slightly heavier than previous models because of the enlarged dust tank although it’s not too uncomfortable. Ideal Home’s rating: 5 out of 5 stars 6. Bissell ICON 25VBest designed cordless vacuum cleaner
Bagged or bagless? Bagless The Bissell ICON 25V really impressed us. It performs really well and the design includes impressive attention to detail. Bright headlights on the floorhead illuminate cleaning. Run time is up to 50 minutes but it will be much less on high power. There are three power levels and the medium one is fine most of the time, but the vac doesn't remember your last setting, it always starts at top whack, which reduces battery life. The floorhead claims to beat the problem of hair tangles and we certainly didn't manage to get it badly tangled. It's also smaller than the Shark Anti Hair Wrap IZ251UKT floorhead. The 0.4 litre bin isn't the easiest to empty but it's ok. Weighing in at 3.2kg, the design is a top-heavy stick that converts to handheld. It comes with just one tool, a crevice nozzle that converts to a brush. That's great: you only really need those two tools. Though ironically the designers have given you space to store multiple tools at the charging dock. We were even bowled over by tiny design details. For example, built into the inside of the dock is a little spirit level, to make it very easy to mount the dock level. Another one: the tip of the crevice tool lights up when it's in use. We could go on. It's a mid-priced cleaner but the performance and design combine to impress. Ideal Home's rating: 5 out of 5 stars 7. Miele Triflex HX1 Cat&DogBest cordless vacuum cleaner for pet hair
Bagged or bagless? Bagless Miele's first cordless claims to be powerful enough to be your only vacuum cleaner. It's also supremely convertible: you can rearrange the pieces to convert from an upright cleaner (bottom-heavy, perfect when you're just vacuuming floors, stands up by itself) to a stick cleaner (top-heavy, very manoeuvrable) to a handheld. It comes with three tools: crevice nozzle, dusting brush, flat upholstery tool. We weren't convinced that you need the pet turbo brush unless your furniture is plagued with pet hair. But a second battery might be worthwhile. The Miele Triflex HX1 Cat&Dog is easy to use, well designed and impressively powerful on floors and more. It really offers the cleaning power you'd expect from a corded cleaner. But the ‘up to 60 minutes’ run time is 34 minutes if you're using the floorhead (which you probably are) and just 17 minutes at top power. Fortunately the lower power setting is good enough and 34 minutes is long enough for a couple of rooms. You wouldn't be able to vacuum a whole house thoroughly on one charge. You'd need a second battery or to clean little and often. Its 0.5-litre capacity is on the small side too. You'll need to empty the dirt canister regularly, but this is easy and isn't messy. The Miele Triflex HX1 gives Dysons a run for their money. We missed the Dyson V11 Absolute's charging dock and fluffy hard floor roller, but the Miele's convertibility and sheer cleaning power won us over. If you don't mind the price, the HX1 is a great buy. If you want the best vacuum cleaner for pet hair, we’ve also got another dedicated guide. Ideal Home's rating 5 out of 5 stars 8. Dyson Micro 1.5kgBest cordless vacuum cleaner for small homes  Image credit: Dyson Bagged or bagless? Bagless The Dyson Micro 1.5kg is part of a new fleet of cordless vacuum cleaners from Dyson. It’s the lightest and smallest cordless vacuum in this guide, and with an entry-level price when compared to other Dyson models. The vacuum is very powerful, and we were impressed with the way hair didn’t get stuck around the roller brush. Attachments include a soft roller cleaner head, mini motorised tool, and combination tool. While there is no roller for carpets, the mini motorised tool worked well on rugs and car upholstery in testing. We found that the battery life was just shy of half an hour, which is a way off Dyson’s 50 minute promise, but because the vacuum glides so effortlessly across floors, it made quick work of kitchen floors and hallway dirt and dust. While it’s probably not a top pick for large homes thanks to the small size of the dustbin, the Dyson Micro is well suited to flats and would also be a great pick for those who have an upright or canister vacuums for their heavy duty cleans, but want something for those midweek sweeps that can sit pretty when not in use. Ideal Home’s rating: 4 out of 5 stars Read our full Dyson Micro 1.5kg review 9. Bosch BCS122GB UnlimitedBest cordless vacuum cleaner for cleaning time
Bagged or bagless? Bagless The Bosch BCS122GB Unlimited has an innovative design. It may look similar to other stick cleaners but its buttons are extra well thought out and the two interchangeable batteries let you extend its run time, much like you would a powertool. It also comes with not one but two chargers. Its wall bracket includes a neat charger plus space to store the two tools (one upholstery and brush tool, the other a long, flexible crevice tool). There's also a separate, fan-cooled fast charger. Unless you're in turbo mode, run time is 45-60 minutes. But then you can swap to the second battery pack. In fact, charging time is only 60 minutes, so you can keep swapping – and therefore cleaning – for as long as you want. Our only quibbles were that emptying isn't effortless and the wheels on the floorhead are loud on hard floors. But the Bosch is light to steer and its suction and brush floorhead are powerful enough for most uses and great in turbo for stubborn dirt. It's a bit pricey but it's impressive. Ideal Home’s rating: 5 out of 5 stars 10. Vax Blade 32VBest cordless vacuum cleaner for affordable power
Bagged or bagless? Bagless The Vax Blade 32V’s cyclonic stick design is reminiscent of Dyson handhelds, but the chamber is horizontal. Tip it to one side and press a button to empty. Twist the other side to remove the washable filter. Handling is similar to the Dyson V11 Absolute in terms of size, feel and excellent manoeuvrability. But it comes with just one big brush head and two detail tools (a brush and a crevice tool). Fewer tools then, less to store, but we miss the Dyson V11 Absolute's soft head for hard floors. The trigger is under your thumb and you just press it once, you don't have to hold it down. Lights indicate charge and there are two extra buttons: one turns boost mode off (the default is on, which increases suction but halves battery life), the other makes the brush bar spin (the default is off). Cleaning is impressive. It could replace the main vacuum cleaner in a small home and is superb for stairs and quick clean-ups. Again it's too top-heavy to stand up on its own. It comes with a very simple wall bracket that doesn't include the charger – you'll have to plug it in each time. Ideal Home's rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars 11. Shark Anti Hair Wrap IZ251UKTBest workhorse cordless vacuum
Bagged or bagless? Bagless The Shark Anti Hair Wrap IZ251UKT is big and heavy (4.1kg) enough that you might forget it's cordless. So although it's a top-heavy stick design, you won't be waving it around. But you'll also forget because the cleaning power is impressive. Its multi-stage powered floorhead whips up dust and hairs brilliantly and boasts ok headlights. Battery life is up to 40 minutes and we tested the pet version that comes with two batteries, so you can double it. It also comes with a host of accessories, but that isn't necessarily a good thing: where are you supposed to store them? There's a crevice nozzle, brush, upholstery tool, an adjustable thin wand that's good for getting behind radiators and under furniture, and because it's the pet model a small motorised turbo brush too. The bulky floorhead does a great job of cleaning: the combination of powered brushes seems to lift everything. They're also designed not to get tangled with long hairs and our test bore this out. There are two power settings under your thumb, one for hard floors and one for carpets. But you can also pull a trigger with your index finger for a temporary power boost. Just as impressive was storage: push a button halfway down the tube and the whole vac folds in half so you can stow it away in a cupboard. It makes a good handheld vac too, and the dust canister is easy to empty once you remove the tube to convert it. But with the tube, we found the machine too heavy for it to feel easy in the hand for cobwebs. In all, with two batteries and powerful cleaning, it makes a good replacement for a corded upright cleaner. You don't have to plug it in but it's not really lighter or more manoeuvrable than a corded model. It features in our best Shark vacuum roundup, too. Ideal Home's rating: 4 out of 5 stars 12. Halo Capsule VacuumBest lightweight cordless vacuum cleaner
Bagged or bagless? Bagged This new contender has an unusual design, with a lightweight (2.6kg) carbon fibre body and curvaceous styling. The handle is unusually positioned at the top too. It's a stick-style cleaner with a powered floorhead (no headlights) and two tools: a crevice nozzle and a dusting brush. They push on to the cleaner with the tube for cobwebs and awkward corners, or straight onto the body for use as a handheld vac. It's a bagged cleaner with a decent capacity of 1.6 litres. It comes with 53 compostable paper bags, enough to last years. The run time is up to 60 minutes, but will be much less on high power, using the floorhead. The controls are good. A power button under your thumb turns it on and it always starts at the middle one of the three power settings. You press the other yellow button to cycle between them. This works well as you rarely need the top setting and the low setting is a bit weedy. The thin blue button in between turns the powered brushes of the floorhead on. Every time you turn the vac on, you have to push this again. That's a bit annoying. Also annoying is the way the floorhead easily clicks to lock at 90 degrees… this top-heavy cleaner can't stand up by itself, so what's the point? It's annoying when it happens mid-cleaning. But the floorhead cleans well, with and without the brushes spinning. And we love the fact that the Halo Capsule is lightweight. Even the charger is petite. It leaves us wishing that the tube was in two pieces, so that the whole cleaner could pack down into a small kitchen cupboard: that would be novel. Ideal Home's rating: 4 out of 5 stars Everything you need to know about buying a cordless cleanerWhat are the different types of cordless vacuum?
How much should I spend on a cordless vacuum? Image credit: Vax Budget around £150 for a good-quality cordless with decent cleaning power. But you can spend more than three times as much on premium models. More money can buy you powerful suction, longer battery life or better tools. Some of the best cordless vacuums we tested came in at the £250 mark. If you can afford it though, it’s worth spending the extra money. More power and longer battery lives will pay off in the long-run, and the convenience of a cordless vacuum won’t be outweighed by limited power. What other key questions do I need to ask about cordless vacuums?Bagged vs bagless? It’s a tricky choice. On the one hand, bagless vacuums reduce the environmental impact and the expense of buying vacuum bags, only to throw them away. However, removing dirt from a bagless vacuum isn’t without its challenges. Hair can get wrapped around the filter and you’ll likely let off a bit of a dust cloud. Of course, brands like Dyson are constantly developing solutions to this. The new Dyson range has ejector technology that makes emptying the dustbin completely hands-free. For this tech though, you will have to pay. Charging your cordless vacuum It can take anywhere from three to six hours to charge a cordless vacuum in-between uses. If you plan on using it as your main vacuum cleaner, you need to opt for one with the battery life to make it through your home before you have to recharge, or you’ll have to go back later for different rooms. Some cordless vacuums come with replaceable batteries, meaning you can switch out for a new, fully-charged battery if the one you’re using dies. We did text every vacuum in this guide for battery life, the most successful being the Dyson V11 Absolute with a mighty 60 minutes. The post Best cordless vacuum cleaners 2021 – our top 12 stick vacuums, reviewed appeared first on Ideal Home.  |
| This 1950s bungalow has been given a totally new look with a timber clad extension Posted: 31 Aug 2021 03:09 AM PDT  Wanting to make room for their ever-growing family, a couple transformed their 1950s bungalow with two modern additions. The result is a highly inspiration timber clad bungalow exterior makeover. The homeowners had been searching for a location with good transport links to London 'The key criteria for us was to live close to the train station, however, most three bedroom houses within close proximity were out of our price range'. When the couple found the house online, it was obvious that it needed updating both in terms of layout and cosmetically, but structurally it was sound. 'What really struck us both was the warm, homely feeling the house had,' they say. Updating 1950s bungalow: Before Image credit: Richard Chivers Although they never worked on a renovation project before we were keen to modernise the property and add two more bedrooms to accommodate their three children. Their chosen extension idea for the bungalow saw them adding two timber cabins, one at the side and one at the rear. Doing it this way meant they could add the spaces without requiring planning permission as the additions to both the side and rear fall under Permitted Development rights. They chose to live in the house while the work was done, which took six months in total. The existing extension was demolished, new foundations were laid, the new external walls and roof were built and then finally, the windows went in. ‘We erected a huge 12-man tent in the garden where we put all our furniture and we slept, cooked and ate in just a couple of rooms for several months, washing up in the bath and cooking on a portable hob. We had a six-month old baby at the time, which as you can imagine, created additional challenges!' The extended bungalow: After Image Credit: Richard Chivers Now, the open-plan kitchen and dining room looks onto a beautiful, secluded garden and from mid-morning until sunset, sunshine streams into the space. The overall layout means they can all be under the same roof but still spread out if we need to have some space. 'Our bedroom is accessible only through a secret sliding wall – which adds a fun element,' they explain. 5 things you need to know about Timber cladding Image credit: Richard Chivers Simon Graham at Yard Architects shares his expert advice on using timber cladding, ‘It’s ideal for modern homes. For a contemporary look, use a hidden fixing system or a cladding profile which allows you to cover the screws with a premium grade cladding with as few knots as possible.
 Image credit: Richard Chivers The stylish black kitchen idea beautifully echoes the new timber clad exterior. The touches of natural wood and woven pendant lights help to soften the look and add warmth to the overall scheme. The post This 1950s bungalow has been given a totally new look with a timber clad extension appeared first on Ideal Home.  |
| Jobs to do in the garden in September – maintenance, planting and harvesting Posted: 31 Aug 2021 02:00 AM PDT  With the changing of the seasons there are lots of jobs to do in the garden in September. With autumn approaching and summer almost over, there are plenty of tasks to tackle to get ahead before the cold, harsh winter months. ‘September is the perfect time to prepare your garden for beautiful autumn and spring colour. The transformation autumn brings to your garden is a sight to behold’ enthuses Sarah Squire, Chairman of Squire's Garden Centres. Jobs to do in the garden in September‘Autumn is the time of year to get your ducks in a row before winter, preparing for a healthy revival in spring’ says Sarah. ‘It's not just about making the garden look good, although that is a big part of it, but it's also about giving your lawn, trees and plants some due care so that they are all set for winter conditions before spring comes back around.’ Follow our easy tips and Sarah’s expert advice to reap the rewards now to enjoy autumn and be well prepared for spring garden ideas. 1. Have a general clean up Image credit: Future PLC/ Colin Poole Sarah of Squire's Garden Centres advises to start simple, by having a transitional sort out. ‘Look around. The hose to the sprinkler is unfurled, the clothesline doesn't need to be left up, that BBQ won't be used for months, nor will a lot of your garden furniture, the greenhouse needs sprucing up and there's algae spreading on the fence too.’ ‘Maybe you have all these issues, maybe just some, the point is every garden has things that can be sorted, put to the side or away entirely for winter to make it appear less messy.’ Our free garden ideas offers simple ways to improve gardens without spending a penny!. 2. Maintain your vegetable garden Image credit: Future PLC Tim Young Clear stems and leaves from vegetable beds and sow final crops of lambs lettuce and oriental salads (the latter can also be sown as an edible green manure, instead of covering beds with compost if you are otherwise going to leave them fallow for a season). Water tomatoes, beans and courgettes sparsely as their production period is coming to an end; continue to water autumn and winter vegetables regularly. Make sure you harvest fruit and vegetables regularly this month; leaving crops on the bough can lead to rot and disease setting in. 3. Tidy garden borders Image credit:Future PLC/ Mark Bolton ‘Look at your borders and remove any dying leaves and stems, weeds, and old mulch’ says Sarah. ‘Using a pair of secateurs, cut back any trees and shrubs that are overgrown and deadhead spent flowers.’ 4. Add a layer of mulch to beds and borders‘Once your borders are looking neat and tidy, you can spread a thick layer of compost, or a new layer of mulch, which is organic matter that you spread over the soil. Mulch helps the soil retain moister, inhibits weeds and protects the roots of plants’ explains Les, Plant Manager at Squire's Chertsey. ‘Short of time? Just mulch the base of plants.’ What is mulching in gardening and what are the benefits? Lawn expert Andy Wain explains all 5. Collect seeds Image credit: Future PLC/ Sussie Bell ‘Lots of plants are at the right stage to harvest their seeds in autumn. Different plants make seed heads in different ways, so be aware of what type of seed head your plant makes as it will dictate the best time and method to harvest their seeds’ Sarah explains. ‘When you have the right method, collecting their seeds isn't too difficult at all. When seeds are ready to harvest just collect them in a freezer bag or paper envelope. Dry them out for a few days which you can do by leaving them on some newspaper in a cool, dry area. Then they'll be ready to store for sowing in spring. Just be sure to label the bag or envelope so you know what seeds you have.’ ‘Consider also leaving some seed heads on your flowers to bring decorative structure to your borders that look striking in winter with a covering of frost.’ It is best to harvest and store your own seeds in the middle of a sunny day, when moisture levels are at their lowest. Only harvest ripe seeds that look hard and brown. Store them in paper bags or envelopes; label these with the name of the plant and the harvest date, then snip the seed head off and place the whole thing into the envelope. 6. Collect falling leaves Image credit: Future PLC/ Amateur Gardening ‘Sweep any fallen leaves from your paths, borders or lawn. If leaves are left in dense piles on the lawn, they will kill the grass underneath and leave you with a patchy mess’ Sarah explains. ‘If left on your borders they will attract slugs and could also start to rot away your plants. And leaves on paths are a slippery trip hazard. But don't despair, leaf piles in out-of-the-way parts of the garden are fine and can provide shelter for overwintering wildlife like hedgehogs.’ Top tip: Sarah offers this key piece of advice, ‘Use leaves to make leaf mould, which is a great soil improver. To do this, pack the damp leaves fully in a black bin liner, tie it up, and pierce a few times. Leave it somewhere for about a year and the crumbly brown leaf mould will be ready to use. Your plants will love it!’ 7. Plant containers for colour Image credit: Future PLC ‘Containers are a great way to add colour to your garden’ in autumn, explains Sarah. ‘Use a loam-based compost such as John Innes to retain moisture and nutrients, but prevent water-logging. ‘Put life back into your beds and containers with violas, cyclamen and pansies’ advises Tom, assistant manager, Squire's Badshot Lea. ‘Asters and chrysanthemums give great autumn colour, as long as you deadhead them.’ ‘Ensure all your plants require the same amount of light and moisture. This way your plants will harmonise more effectively giving a better display’ advises Anna, Assistant Plant Manager, Squire's Cobham. 8. Prepare the lawn for seasonal changes Image credit: Future PLC/ Colin Poole ‘Prepare your lawn for winter by aerating, scarifying, fertilising and over-seeding. It'll be lush, thick and full of vitality when spring comes around. Trim your borders to really finish the look that a neatly cut and edged lawn provides too. Cut for a final time with the blades higher than usual to leave the grass longer over winter. Feed with Evergreen Autumn Lawn Feed & Moss Killer to protect and strengthen.’ Top tip: Sarah advises, ‘Cutting your grass on the lowest setting all the time is called 'scalping' and hinders a healthy lawn. You should cut your grass on a higher setting generally but cut it on the highest setting for the last cut to see it through winter.’ Now is also the best time to lay new turf and sow grass seed, as the soil is still warm from the summer sun and moist with autumn rain. Consider artificial grass for a low-maintenance lawn idea. 9. Plant autumn berries, trees and shrubs Image credit: Future PLC/ Olly Gordon ‘With the soil still warm from the summer sun but moist from autumn rain, it's a perfect time to plant’ says Kate, Plant Manager, Squire's Long Ditton. ‘You have a lot of choice when it comes to introducing colour to your garden landscaping idea in autumn.’ Kate advises planting:
10. Grow on-trend grasses Image credit: Future PLC ‘Plant grasses now to give great height, texture and movement to your garden’ advises Tom, assistant manager, Squire's Badshot Lea. ‘I recommend Festuca 'Intense Blue’ and Pennisetum 'Fountain Grass'.’ 11. Sow and plant spring flowering bulbs Image credit: Future PLC/ Annaick Guitteny To guarantee you have flowering trees and plants in your garden next spring, you need to sow and plant this autumn. ‘Now is the time to plant bright and cheerful spring-flowering bulbs, such as crocus, chrysanthemum and dahlias’ advises Sarah. ‘New season's bulbs come into the garden centres from mid-August. The earlier you buy them the fresher they are and there will be a greater selection to choose from.’ ‘There are bulbs for all situations, from naturalising in grass to borders, pots and window boxes and even for indoors. From the first Snowdrops to the last Tulips and Anenomes, they will flower for almost five months, at least into May. Bulbs make a particularly good combination with winter pansies, wallflowers and forget-me-nots.’ ‘Make sure that you plant the bulbs deep enough (the packet will indicate the planting depth). If not, the result will be adequate in the first year but may be disappointing thereafter. This is a particular issue with tulips which require a planting depth of about 15cm. Sarah offers her expert advice on what to plant:
Doing the work yourself now, and watching things grow, will not only save you money (buying seed to sow and grow now is far cheaper than buying plants next spring that have been grown by someone else), it will provide you with healthier plants and the pleasure of knowing you have created your spring garden yourself. 12. Order small ornamental bare root trees Image credit: Rowan Isaac As with plants grown from seed, bare root trees and shrubs (the roots are visible) tend to be healthier and cheaper to buy. Bare root plants should be planted between November and March but you can place your orders with nurseries now. Soak roots in water until you have dug your hole or trench, if you are planting a hedge, and are ready to place them in the ground. Set the plant into the hole, backfill and heel in the soil. Water thoroughly and leave to settle, then water again and mulch. 13. Clip, cut back and use foliage Image credit: Future PLC Clip hornbeams and give beech hedges their second clip of the year. You can also start to tidy and cut back plants grown for cutting, and make the most of the glorious foliage, hips, berries and haws in flower arrangements. 14. Harvest or plant fruit trees now Image credit: Future PLC ‘For a glorious blossom come spring, plant fruit trees now’ advises Shaun, plant manager, ofSquire's Crawley. ‘Plant fruit bushes such as raspberries and blackcurrants and be rewarded with an abundance of summer fruit. If you're short of space then grow suitable varieties in containers.’ This early in the season, if you already have established fruit trees, eat them now and enjoy their rich, fresh flavour. a homegrown apple should be in every coat pocket, picnic hamper or lunchbox this month. 15. Lift and divide summer-flowering perennials Image credit: Future PLC/ David Brittain Dividing these plants will help to re-energise them, encouraging them to reboot, to grow back next year with more vigour and true to form once more. If any or all of the plants look as though nothing will restore them to their former glory – although one hopes the latter will not be the case – then be ruthless and take them out altogether and replace them with something else. 16. Plant now for Christmas Image credit: Future PLC/ Mark Scott In addition to planting your spring-flowering bulbs outside, now is the time to start preparing indoor plants that will flower in time for Christmas. If you are going to give them as presents, enjoy the process not only of planting up but of choosing the container and the plant to suit, to create the perfectly personalised present. Fragrant hyacinths, hippeastrum and narcissi are easy to grow but you could also try poinsettia and cyclamen and orchids. Will you be tackling any of these September gardening jobs? The post Jobs to do in the garden in September – maintenance, planting and harvesting appeared first on Ideal Home.  |
| How much your home Instagram account could be earning you - and tips on setting one up Posted: 30 Aug 2021 11:00 PM PDT At some point, we’ve all taken a particularly Instagrammable photo of our coffee table, sunlight streaming in, and wondered if we should set up our own home account. As well as being a place to share our new cushion covers and DIY and decorating projects, a home account could be a profitable endeavour. Estate agents Ellis & Co recently carried out some research to find out how much a successful account might earn you. If you’re embarking on a big home renovation project and documenting the process, why not?  Image credit: Loaf The estate agent company looked at 100 Instagram accounts dedicated to documenting interior design, renovations and period properties. Ellis & Co also analysed those from celebrities and influencers. The study suggests home accounts like Susanna Hawkins – @shnordic – who has 433k followers, could be earning over £1,300 per post. Celebrities from the world of reality TV, such as Olivia Bowen and Billie Faiers could be even be earning up to £2,513 per post. Not too shabby – but we’re sure it’s more of a commitment than it looks. Both stars have a secondary Instagram account dedicated to sharing their homes: @thebowenhome and @homewiththesheps.  Image credit: Loaf It’s no surprise that home Instagram accounts (like podcasts) are booming right now. Even pre-pandemic, we were already a nation obsessed with decorating our homes, jumping at any Bank Holiday to head to B&Q. Now, social media has become a key source of inspiration and a way of finding out about home decor trends – alongside Pinterest, YouTube and shopping in-store. And following home accounts is the digital equivalent of peering into cosy living rooms on our walk home from work, without the risk of looking weird. Dr. Geraldine Tan from @littlebigbell has shared her top tips for setting up a successful account. ‘Create content that is unique, rather than follow what everyone else is doing,’ she tells us. Geraldine also says it’s important to stay true to your style and aesthetic with what you share. The homefluencer recommends that you aim to post at least every other day, as well as interacting with your followers. ‘Learn not to be too concerned about the number of likes you get or the number of followers you have,’ adds Geraldine. ‘Create the content you love and what makes you happy, and do not compare yourself to others.’ Wise words indeed. Brb, we’re off to come up with a name for our home Instagram account… The post How much your home Instagram account could be earning you - and tips on setting one up appeared first on Ideal Home.  |
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