Cupboards full? Try these kitchen ideas for working more valuable storage into your cooking space

Kitchens have to accommodate a great variety of stuff. All but the biggest kitchens are under pressure to store utensils, pans, crockery, the food we eat and the appliances we use to cook it, and everything we need to clean it up afterward. As most of us don’t have banks of cupboards and acres of floor space in our kitchens, it can make fitting in that wine rack or finding a home for your new food processor tricky. It’s time to get creative.

Save yourself the cost of replacing your old floorboards with these tips for a new finish

If you live in a property benefiting from wood floorboards, you can save a tidy sum on carpeting and make a style statement by incorporating them into your decor. Wood floors are easy to maintain, and wood that has already been in place for many years is unlikely to warp or shrink (provided you treat it correctly). Bare floorboards are also a practical choice, requiring only a quick vacuuming and mopping to keep them looking their best. There are numerous techniques to consider for finishing your floors — here are some favorites.

6 ways to transform a landscape eyesore into a landscape feature

At last you’re ready to install the deck of your dreams. Before you begin construction, it’s important to consider how to address the underside of the deck and accompanying staircase. If the deck will extend from the second story, this can be quite a lot of potentially usable space. There will be less space to address if the deck will extend from the ground-level story, but the eye will still be drawn to that dark (often weedy) slit of earth.

So how do you maximize this awkward space? Whether you want to completely hide this area, create a semiprivate screen or turn it into storage, here are six ideas to help transform what’s often a landscape eyesore into a landscape feature.