The right top layer-—about 3 inches thick—discourages weeds, retains moisture, adds nutrients, and keeps the soil where it belongs.Use these to improve the soilSTRAW OR HAY: Straw (harvested grain stalks) stays put, doesn’t mat, and insulates the soil. Hay (alfalfa or a grass) breaks down faster, enriching the soil; but avoid the fresh stuff used for animal feed—it contains weed seeds. Instead, spread salt hay (a marsh grass) or old feed hay that has started to decay; their seeds won’t sprout. FALLEN LEAVES: Another boon to soil fertility, if you can find enough of them in the spring. Grinding them…

When lighting designer Chris Millard and interior design Flo Millard relocated from London to the fishing village of Rock in Cornwall, they hoped and dreamed for exactly this sort of project. A one-time dinghy club and restaurant perched on the waterfront in tiny, steep Polruan, on Cornwall’s south coast, the wooden structure had long ago been converted into living quarters, but was in need of a top-to-bottom rethink. “The house had been reinvented several times over the years,” Flo tells us, “and the result of these reiterations meant it was a patchwork of rooms with a rather confusing layout.” Millard…

Discovered via our designer friend Cassandra Ellis: third-generation antiques dealer Matthew Cox, who operates between Stamford (where he’s based) and London. He lives in the same town he grew up in, in a “very old, very large house on the town square; I pretty much live in the equivalent of my childhood home,” he says. “History is repeating.” “Matthew is an antiques dealer and maker of incredible pieces of furniture and lighting,” Cassandra says. “He manages to combine pieces in a way that is comfortable, modern, and traditional. Telling stories through objects and the magical ‘Ma.’ or space in between.…

Oscar winner Sandra Bullock is not only diversified when it comes to the rolls she plays from awkward and lovable girl next door in Miss Congeniality to romantic comedy in films like Hope Floats, a film in which she not only starred but was also executive producer. Her highly successful film career has also given her the wealth to own almost any home she chooses, and she doesn’t choose like other celebrities who vie with each other to own the latest and greatest Hollywood pad. In fact, While You Were Sleeping, Sandra has quietly been building a diversified real estate…

Slightly moody and never obvious, the best paint colors in the UK look as if they were created against the soft gray light of the British Isles. In addition to longtime favorite Farrow & Ball, here are five English paint lines we love. 1. Little Greene Above: Little Greene is a paint manufacturer founded in 1773 as the Little Greene Dye Works of Collyhurst Wood, on the outskirts of Manchester. Known for depth of color, Little Greene paints have a complex pigmentation that provides character and definition. The company’s water-based paints have a low-VOC rating, and its oil-based paints are…

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