Homes & Gardens

Ever since I began studying Feng Shui back in the early 90s, I noticed that there seems to be a great deal of misinformation and ignorance about it. Although many articles have already been written on the subject, some people still think Feng Shui is about superstition, decorating a building with Chinese ornaments, ‘impractical mumbo jumbo’ and only relevant to Chinese culture. Over the years, it has been commercially exploited, with the sale of so-called ‘lucky’ trinkets, and this has given it a somewhat shallow reputation. However, this is a small and tarnished fraction of the full...

Overbeck’s, the exotic garden perched high on the cliffs above Salcombe, has its first ever Artist in Residence – local illustrator Charlotte Atkinson.

Charlotte has set up her studio in a small outdoor building within the sheltered Banana Garden, home to some of Overbeck’s most tender tropic plants. She will be documenting a full year in the garden, from this summer to next, capturing and preserving the plants, flowers and vistas as they change through the seasons. These works will be exhibited at Overbeck’s for all to see.

Born in Devon and trained as an illustrator,...

Latest Ofgem figures reveal that over the last year the South West has topped the ‘league table’ for households installing solar panels, with more than 15,000 confirmed installations and around 57 MW installed capacity. This compares to the next closest region, the south east with 13,000 followed by the east midlands with just over 12,000 installations. In the last year Bristol and the surrounding areas alone contributed around 3,000 installations, about 10 MW of installed capacity, testament to the high uptake of green energy in the region. The South West also tops the leader board for...

How many of us have walked in and out of showrooms looking for inspiration or something different? How refreshing to walk into a showroom to see a handcrafted kitchen sporting a beach house design and spectacular, sleek kitchen island styled as a boat complete with sails – truly unique!

Known for their cutting-edge, bespoke kitchens, made locally - Ashgrove Kitchens at Crediton were recently approached by renowned and respected Exeter Company, Beach Bros, looking for just that – a kitchen display that would showcase their quality real wood worktops in an imaginative way.

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