C'mon, baby, light your fire....

Rebecca Rogers, 12, roasts marshmallows at a portable firepit in the backyard of her home in Toronto.
Photograph by: Tyler Anderson, National Post

Back in the day, no self-respecting backyard would be caught dead without a display of patio lanterns.

Now, it's all about firepits and firepots, stylish gizmos that cast a merry glow, can help warm the cool evening air, and run on everything from propane to ethanol.

They range from the $399 Jackson Patio Fire, a Jackson Grills firepit available at Romantic Fireplaces & BBQS in Orléans and dandy for a wiener roast, to the four-footlong, decorative Linear Patio Flame by Napoleon Grills ($1,299 at Ottawa's The Fireplace Center & Patio Shop).

Both products are made in Canada and are even safe for backyard decks. Whereas strict regulations govern open-air wood fires, natural gas, propane and ethanol-fired appliances like these are permitted in the City of Ottawa.

"People like creating backyard oases," says Mike Pilon, president of Romantic Fireplaces & BBQs (romanticfireplaces.com). "These give you some heat and comfort and extend the season."

Pilon's company also designs and builds larger, custom firepits starting at $1,500. They include traditional campfire-like models and sleek, contemporary designs.

Some off-the-shelf products use a standard barbecue-style propane tank or alcohol-based gel fuel. Others tap into natural gas lines or large propane tanks, requiring professional installation.

Big box stores have got into the act. Home Depot (homedepot.ca) sells the Paramount line including the mood-creating, table top Gel Pot Cream. At $39.99, the seven-inch-tall ceramic firepot has river rocks cradling a small, central flame. It runs on clean-burning gel fuel.

http://www.househunting.ca/montreal/homes-and-gardens/baby+light+your+fire/4837016/story.html

WIRED OR WIRELESS?

Pulling cyberspace into the home can be a daunting experience for those not familiar with terms such as 801, 12a, b, g and n Wi-Fi; Cat-5 Ethernet cables and Gigabit routers. For the average Canadian just wanting to set up a simple home network, it can all be a bit overwhelming.

Fortunately, the debate over wired versus wireless home networks is easy to resolve. Deciding which option to choose is "really all about choice and how a family uses their Internet," said Chris Fudge, HP Canada's vice-president of consumer business. "Both options have benefits and drawbacks, so the choice really comes down to personal preferences and factors like installation, cost, reliability, performance needs and security."

Let's talk tech: A wired network uses Cat-5 cables to physically link computers, a broadband modem (for connecting to the Web), a router, and perhaps Internet-capable TVs, game consoles and Internet radios (audio devices that tune to Web-based radio stations). In contrast, a wireless network uses radio waves to link these devices. Each device transmits and receives signals over the air. This is why setting a password on the wireless router — the electronic gatekeeper that manages and controls the network — is a must. A password keeps out intruders, just as a front-door lock keeps out burglars.

Because a wired network uses physical cabling that is immune to wireless hackers, it is more secure than wireless. Wired networks also move data much faster than wireless networks can, are more stable and have more carrying capacity. These capabilities matter if you want to stream high-definition movies from your home computer to your HDTV set, said Ted Kritsonis, spokesman for online retailer NewEgg.ca."Unless your wireless-connected TV is really close to your wireless router, the signals can experience dropout," he said. "This makes your video stop and start, an effect known as stuttering."

Given that wired networks are operationally superior to wireless networks, why would anyone want to go wireless? One reason is mobility: "With a wireless network, you can move around the house with your laptop and stay connected," said Darryl Rosenfeldt, director of Future Shop's ConnectPro installation services division. "A wired network forces you to stay wherever the Cat-5 cable connections are."

Wireless networks are also easy to add new devices to. With a wired network, you have to literally run a new cable from the router to the new device. This means either having cables running along the floor, or opening up the walls and building them in. In contrast, adding a new wireless device is easy: Just turn it on, connect to the wireless router, enter in the password, and presto: You're on the home network!

On the negative side, wireless networks are prone to performance issues due to radio interference. Warning: The more people who use wireless in your neighbourhood, the more likely your network performance will slow down due to interfering signals. In some areas of North America, the airwaves are becoming so congested that wireless networking isn't practical. Add the fact that some wireless networks run on the same radio bands as baby monitors and cordless phones, and the chances for interference are very real.

http://www.househunting.ca/montreal/decorating/Wired+wireless/4826763/story.html

How Do You Spell Curb Appeal?

It doesn't matter if you're just starting out in a new home, thinking about selling, or staying put - buffing up the curb appeal of your house is an absolute must. How your home looks from the outside is the first impression viewers get of who lives inside.

And real estate agents will tell you when it comes to selling, there is no bigger turn-off than a messy front yard or sad-looking front door.

We gathered sage advice from area gardening and home professionals to help you spruce up the front of your house.

Clean up: The cheapest way to put a shine on the old address is to grab the rake and get busy.

Weed, trim edges for a clean appearance and prune and shape overgrown bushes. Snip off lower branches of pines for a good neat factor.

Add mulch or stones under cedars and around flower beds. Just like a new haircut, you will feel lighter by the end of the day.

Urban choices: Most of us live in the city, be it a tight bit of city bliss or in a suburb where neighbours are within touching distance. Choose trees carefully, says Trevor Cullen, co-owner of Cullen Landscaping on March Road.

Look for compact trees, including the Canadian Serviceberry or the Japanese Silk Lilac, suited to smaller urban lots. They will grow to 4.5 metres (15 feet). If you desperately love maples, be sure they are planted at least 12 metres (40 feet) from your house, says Cullen.

Smart Planting for the dry days of summer

Ewan MacKenzie has his eye on the weather. He sees that heavy rain is in the forecast, but he also knows things are going to change.

Summer is coming and just as sure as there are puddles everywhere in spring, there will be parched earth and thirsty gardens once we get a string of sunny days.

“Eighty per cent of the year we have a problem getting rid of water here,” says MacKenzie, co-owner of Exemplar Horticulture, of Abbotsford.

“And yet, come summer, we are all on watering restrictions. We can get 60 to 100 inches of rain a year and the same area can be bone dry in summer. It sounds a little crazy but that is the reality in many gardens.”

MacKenzie thinks the answer for many gardeners looking for a low-maintenance landscape is to make better use of drought-tolerant plants — ones that are hardy enough to survive the cold and wet of winter, provided soil is well drained, and capable of flourishing with minimal watering through the overheated days of summer.

“When most people think of drought-tolerant gardens, they think of adobe buildings and cactus, which is totally false.

“That may be the case in Southern California or Arizona, but there are a lot of areas here in B.C. where people have drought problems, such as on the Gulf Islands, where many people don’t have their own water supply and have to harvest rainwater from their roof.”

When MacKenzie moved from Scotland to Abbotsford 16 years ago, he was surprised to find a total ban on watering lawns.

“That really drove it home to me that we have got to be more creative in our use of plants. Now we are going to have water metering. There has never been a more important time to concentrate on getting the right drought-tolerant plant in the right place.”

MacKenzie is one of the main suppliers of ornamental grasses in Western Canada, sending drought-tolerant species to the B.C. Interior as well as into Alberta.

He uses the terms “drought-tolerant gardening” and “smart gardening” interchangeably; to him, they are one of the same.




http://www.househunting.ca/montreal/Homes-and-Gardens/Smart+planting+days+summer/4827058/story.html

Designer Karen Hall says bungalows are making a comeback......

"Modern cottage" is the term interior designer Karen Hall uses to describe her renovated Wildwood bungalow.
Bathed in white and light, it conjures up casual summer holidays by the lake, with the amenities of a city. But for all its simplicity, the inviting home has flair.
"It's very European. I mix a lot of old with new," says Hall, owner of CIRCA Interior Designs. "I like the comforts of modern but I love big puffy furniture and old chippy things."
Her sink-down comfy white Montauk sofa sits next to an industrial coffee table made from an old factory conveyor belt topped with glass. It's but one example of "eclectic" in a house where antique wardrobes hold new white linens and a modern kitchen, shiny with stainless steel appliances and Italian marble floors and counters, stands beside a dining room with a primitive farm table, antique chairs and a stunning chandelier.
"That's a personal weakness of mine," says Hall about her nine vintage chandeliers from Sweden, France and Italy.
"I love age. It's like our own wrinkles. It's character. It's history. It tells a story."

http://www.househunting.ca/montreal/Buying-Homes/Designer+Karen+Hall+says+bungalows+making+comeback/4809324/story.html

Buyers Say No To Fixer Uppers

In the overheated housing market of five years ago, buyers often felt they had to accept homes in woeful condition. But these days, most look at "as-is" properties and say, "No thanks."

Photograph by: Thinkstock, Postmedia News

In the overheated housing market of five years ago, buyers often felt they had to accept homes in woeful condition. But these days, most look at "as-is" properties and say, "No thanks."

"I try to stay away from things that need a lot of work," said Michael Lisa of Chestnut Ridge, New York., who is searching for a home in New Jersey.

"Buyers will tolerate nothing," said Maria Rini, a Re/Max agent in Oradell, N.J. A recent Coldwell banker survey found that 87 per cent of first-time buyers said a move-in-ready home is important to them.

"This is absolutely the story of this market. It seems buyers will pay a premium, engage in a bidding war and even overpay just to avoid buying a 'project' house," said Beth Freed of Terrie O'Connor Realtors in Ridgewood, N.J.

As a result, real estate agents strongly advise sellers to fix up their homes for quicker and more profitable sales.

For example, when Kate Conover recently listed a Franklin Lakes, N.J., colonial, she encouraged the seller to replace the roof and driveway, repair ceilings, rip up carpets and paint interiors.

Paying contractors to do the work cost almost $40,000, but Conover estimated it added well over $100,000 to the asking price.

"There is no question homes that have been spruced up for the market sell quicker," said Conover, a Re/Max agent.

But she recommended against major renovations - such as replacing the kitchen and baths. Most agents agree with that philosophy, saying sellers shouldn't risk spending more than they'll get back in the sale price. That's especially true with major kitchen and bath renovations because they're so much a matter of taste.

"No matter what you do, it may not be the buyer's choice anyway," said Antoinette Gangi, a Re/Max agent in Woodcliff Lake, N.J.

On the other hand, agents say that major maintenance and safety issues - such as underground oil tanks and leaky roofs - must be dealt with before the home goes on the market, because buyers are unwilling to take them on.

Beyond those kinds of headaches, sellers can make a big difference with simple and relatively inexpensive fixes: painting the walls, getting rid of clutter and pulling up carpets to show the hardwood floors.

And spruce up the front yard and entryway to make a good first impression. In the same vein, Gangi recommends painting the front door if it's looking tired.

"Curb appeal is very important, and the front door is the first thing you see," Gangi said.

Getting rid of clutter (as part of an overall deep cleaning) is probably the most cost-effective step, agents say. When sellers resist this advice, Rini reminds them they'll have to pack up their stuff when they move anyway.

"You've got to clean it out sometime; if you do it now, it's going to benefit you financially," she said.

http://www.househunting.ca/montreal/Buying-Homes/Buyers+fixer+uppers/4731318/story.html

http://www.househunting.ca/montreal/Buying-Homes/Buyers+fixer+uppers/4731318/story.html