7 gray paint colors that are anything but sad and dull

Designers share gray paint colors to help you create a serene and stylish space.

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To the rescue: transforming an old ambulance station in Sussex

This tired municipal building in Rye has been transformed into a lovely home

In the heart of the medieval town of Rye in East Sussex, a former St John ambulance station has been transformed by Marta Nowicka. “As an interior architect, my passion is to purchase commercial buildings and change them to residential,” she says.

Marta was inspired by the rambling, ancient town in which the building sits. “Rye is full of historical narratives and spatial idiosyncrasies, which I wanted to work with, keeping indigenous flavours like the proportions of the bedrooms, the beams, bricks, peg tiles and the window alignments, with a new staircase creating a dialogue between the old and the new.”

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Kelly Hoppen: ‘I’d rather have more sex, because I’ve got money and fame’

The interior designer and author on learning to cook during Covid, a reading confession and being horrid to her mum

Born in South Africa, Kelly Hoppen, 65, created her first interior design project at 16. Her portfolio spans commercial properties, hotels, cruise ships and private homes. From 2013 to 2015, she appeared on the BBC show Dragons’ Den, and she has published 13 books. In 2009, she was awarded an MBE, and in 2021 she was appointed a CBE for promoting British creativity and business. This month, she launched a homeware range with M&S. She has been married twice, raised a daughter and two stepdaughters, and lives in London and the Cotswolds with her partner.

What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
Fear of flying.

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How can I hang heavy art without damaging the wall?

I want to hang a piece with 25 Moroccan tiles on a stucco wall in our screened porch. What are my options?

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Have a damp, shady yard? Ditch the grass for cheap, eco-friendly moss.

A low-maintenance moss lawn needs just low light and rain or high humidity to thrive

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Lessons in landscaping — and diplomacy — from a 37-year career

Stephen Crisp says goodbye to his role as the head gardener at Winfield House, the U.S. ambassador’s residence in London.

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* This article was originally published here

Lessons in landscaping — and diplomacy — from a 37-year career

Stephen Crisp says goodbye to his role as the head gardener at Winfield House, the U.S. ambassador’s residence in London.

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Fridgescaping is everywhere. But is it safe?

The social media trend is taking refrigerator organization to a whole new level. Here are the pros and cons.

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Changing rooms: an ever-evolving apartment in Denmark

This home is designed to be rearranged when the mood suits its creative inhabitants

From early childhood, Sif Steendahl Grandorf always knew that someday she would make a living from designing and making furniture – and it all started with cardboard and tape.

Grandorf grew up in a commune on a large farm in Denmark where the adults were always busy building or fixing something. The farm’s old workshop doors were permanently open, as was the basement, which was filled with hundreds of paint pots in all colours. Grandorf spent many hours building model landscapes and cities, but it didn’t take long for the cardboard and tape to be replaced with wood and screws.

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How can I restore the dull finish on an antique wood piece?

Should we try to remove the varnish? Or just apply a really good beeswax furniture polish and leave it at that?

* This article was originally published here

* This article was originally published here

How can I restore the dull finish on an antique wood piece?

Should we try to remove the varnish? Or just apply a really good beeswax furniture polish and leave it at that?

* This article was originally published here

KitchenAid’s gorgeous new mixer sold out. Bakers won’t touch it.

The model features an eye-catching wooden bowl. But can you whip egg whites in it?

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Crystal Palace’s radical gardeners | Brief letters

John Claudius Loudon and Joseph Paxton | Fearful poetry | Train horror | Lost Consonants | Starmer’s new clothes

It was not just standard nuts and bolts that made the Crystal Palace possible (Solved: the mystery of how Victorians built Crystal Palace in just 190 days, 16 September). The whole building was built from interchangeable parts, many prefabricated, by methods designed not by engineers but by two gardeners, John Claudius Loudon and Joseph Paxton (the architect of the Palace), and perfected in the construction of greenhouses. It is just one example of how the technology of gardening has changed all our lives.
Roderick Floud
Author, An Economic History of the English Garden

• Kurt Schwitters (The Cumbrian barn-stormer: is Kurt Schwitters’ last masterpiece finally about to be restored?, 16 September) was instrumental in saving George Melly from grievous bodily harm in the early 50s. According to Melly, he was confronted by three young thugs late at night and managed to repel them by reciting Schwitters’ poem Ursonate. The fearful nonsense he uttered soon sent them beating a hasty retreat.
Phil Rhoden
Low Habberley, Worcestershire

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Are people still doing accent walls? Your paint questions, answered.

Reporter Rachel Kurzius and color curator Joa Studholme answered your paint questions during a live chat.

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And so farewell, it’s time to say goodbye to my gardening column

After 25 years at the Observer, I’m moving on – but the plot and the shared pleasure of growing will continue

So here, my final Observer column. Plot 29 has reached its autumn. Maybe me, too.

I stepped away from the Observer on Friday 13. Twenty-five years on my favourite paper. Ten as editor of the weekly magazine, 14 on the food monthly.

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Beneath the surface: the stories in an artist’s Belgian home

Every object in this stunning art-filled townhouse in Antwerp has a meaning

Bart van Nuys is a maverick, a multi-disciplinary artist and interior designer, plus an art and antiques dealer. His home, a three-storey townhouse in central Antwerp built in 1856, is testament to his creative spirit.

“I sculpt the space and ‘paint’ it with objects. I look at a room like a piece of paper and fill it with a 3D composition. It is intuitive, a neon light here, a touch of fur there, light over here, darker there. I am trying to fill the paper, tuning the space until there is a moment when I think: there, I have found it.”

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Frayed cables and yellow pillows: how to fix, reuse or ditch 12 confusing kinds of household clutter

Different parts of Australia have different laws on recycling but there are also services to fix many common objects

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The mantra “buy once, buy well” never feels more relevant than when you’re faced with mounting piles of household clutter. It’s hard to know what to do with things that might not be worth fixing (thanks to this era of built-in-obsolescence), can’t really be donated (remember the rule: if you wouldn’t give it to a friend, it shouldn’t go to charity) and don’t belong in household bins.

Decluttering can be even more difficult given that each state in Australia has different laws dictating what waste is allowed to go where. For example, electronic waste is banned from landfill in the Australian Capital Territory, South Australia and Victoria.

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In celebration of being a terrible gardener

There are as many ways to fail in the garden as there are plant varieties.

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You’re probably spending too much on shampoo and conditioner

Experts agree: Many budget-friendly products perform just as well as their pricier counterparts.

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Designers are hoarding incandescent lightbulbs before they disappear

Energy-efficient LED bulbs tend to have a cooler look that interior designers find noticeable, even in bulbs designed for visual warmth.

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Who gets the dog in the divorce? Now a judge might decide.

Pet custody arrangements are on the rise, though they might not be in the best interest of the animals.

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‘For a short few weeks you realise the desert is truly alive’: Guardian Australia readers’ favourite wildflower spots

From desert blooms to city parks, readers share their favourite places for native seasonal flora around the country

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While a few Guardian Australia readers told us their own back yards are the best spots in the country to watch wildflowers bloom, many recommended places a little farther afield.

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* This article was originally published here

* This article was originally published here

‘For a short few weeks you realise the desert is truly alive’: Guardian Australia readers’ favourite wildflower spots

From desert blooms to city parks, readers share their favourite places for native seasonal flora around the country

• Get our weekend culture and lifestyle email

While a few Guardian Australia readers told us their own back yards are the best spots in the country to watch wildflowers bloom, many recommended places a little farther afield.

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* This article was originally published here

From sketchbook to wallpaper: Behind the scenes at Rifle Paper Co.

How a hand-painted work eventually becomes a ubiquitous pattern.

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Elephant’s Breath. Disco Nap. How paint colors get their names.

Names must be memorable and different from everything else on the market — and fit on a paint chip.

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It’s anti-tech. It’s quiet luxury. It’s brown, and it’s everywhere.

Brown is enjoying a rare moment as the current color du jour.

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Cool Bretagne: a converted depot with a sea view

An old surf shop in the dunes of the French coast is now a stylish home

It was in 2017 that Joran Briand and his partner, Flavia Rouger, discovered what, at first glance, resembled “a monolith emerging among the wild dunes”.

“It was originally my neighbour’s boathouse,” Joran explains. “One day, after a surfing session, I saw him holding up a for sale sign. I slammed on the brakes and asked him if I could visit. He opened the large garage door and the light flooded into the empty space in a beautiful way. I immediately imagined myself living there.”

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