Setting the scene: a home with a dramatic flourish

A theatrical background underpins this designer’s colourful home

When lockdown was announced, Maria Fernanda Guirao’s north London neighbours leapt into action. “Within a few hours, we’d set up a WhatsApp group,” says the interior designer. “Everyone pulled together to donate money to a local charity and help out with pharmacy runs or dog walking.” She watched as long-standing feuds were resolved – with the clink of wine glasses over garden fences. Ingredient swaps – sugar, flour, yeast – took place on doorsteps. The camaraderie confirmed what Maria, who has lived on this street for 15 years, has always known. Her “charmed” corner of Stoke Newington, with its Turkish grocers and independent shops, is “a great place to live”.

Staying inside the terraced house she shares with her three children and husband Matthew Morgan, a writer, was no hardship either. The Argentinian-born designer, who has a background in theatre, has a knack for expressive but practical interiors. Her Victorian home is a case in point. By knocking down walls and layering colour with pattern, texture and art, she’s turned the five-bedroom house into a place to work, relax and socialise.

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Setting the scene: a home with a dramatic flourish

A theatrical background underpins this designer’s colourful home

When lockdown was announced, Maria Fernanda Guirao’s north London neighbours leapt into action. “Within a few hours, we’d set up a WhatsApp group,” says the interior designer. “Everyone pulled together to donate money to a local charity and help out with pharmacy runs or dog walking.” She watched as long-standing feuds were resolved – with the clink of wine glasses over garden fences. Ingredient swaps – sugar, flour, yeast – took place on doorsteps. The camaraderie confirmed what Maria, who has lived on this street for 15 years, has always known. Her “charmed” corner of Stoke Newington, with its Turkish grocers and independent shops, is “a great place to live”.

Staying inside the terraced house she shares with her three children and husband Matthew Morgan, a writer, was no hardship either. The Argentinian-born designer, who has a background in theatre, has a knack for expressive but practical interiors. Her Victorian home is a case in point. By knocking down walls and layering colour with pattern, texture and art, she’s turned the five-bedroom house into a place to work, relax and socialise.

Continue reading...

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Outside chance: hardening off the easy way

A loving touch will get seedlings ready to plant

As spring turns to summer, gardeners everywhere will be itching to plant the seedlings and cuttings they’ve been raising indoors out in the garden. However, particularly for newbies, the effects of this transition from the cosseted conditions of a warm windowsill to the great outdoors can be a significant hurdle.

The reason why this switch is tricky is that plants have the amazing ability to adapt their anatomy to shield themselves from environmental threats, however they are only triggered to do so when stimulated by the threat itself. Indoors, plants enjoy stable temperatures, limited air movement and much lower light levels (as window glass filters out UVB rays). This means they tend to direct most of their energies into growing, instead of investing in these defences.

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Outside chance: hardening off the easy way

A loving touch will get seedlings ready to plant

As spring turns to summer, gardeners everywhere will be itching to plant the seedlings and cuttings they’ve been raising indoors out in the garden. However, particularly for newbies, the effects of this transition from the cosseted conditions of a warm windowsill to the great outdoors can be a significant hurdle.

The reason why this switch is tricky is that plants have the amazing ability to adapt their anatomy to shield themselves from environmental threats, however they are only triggered to do so when stimulated by the threat itself. Indoors, plants enjoy stable temperatures, limited air movement and much lower light levels (as window glass filters out UVB rays). This means they tend to direct most of their energies into growing, instead of investing in these defences.

Continue reading...

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The seedling race gets under way

And they’re off! The baby peas and beans are out on their own. But will they survive?

Sleep restless, anxiety dreams, and if there wasn’t enough to be concerned about I am worrying about our baby beans and peas.

It is often like this in spring. The responsibility, it comes with the shorter nights and longer light, maybe I have more time on my hands. I have saved two hours a day on travelling and I only work a few miles’ walk from home. This extra time has now become a trip to the plot, or perhaps pottering on the terrace. A more intimate gardening relationship cemented in the spring mornings. Deepened, more dependent.

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The seedling race gets under way

And they’re off! The baby peas and beans are out on their own. But will they survive?

Sleep restless, anxiety dreams, and if there wasn’t enough to be concerned about I am worrying about our baby beans and peas.

It is often like this in spring. The responsibility, it comes with the shorter nights and longer light, maybe I have more time on my hands. I have saved two hours a day on travelling and I only work a few miles’ walk from home. This extra time has now become a trip to the plot, or perhaps pottering on the terrace. A more intimate gardening relationship cemented in the spring mornings. Deepened, more dependent.

Continue reading...

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What’s the difference between leasehold and freehold? Nottingham Estate Agents

The two most common forms of property ownership in the UK are freehold and leasehold but what do these terms mean in practice? Leasehold With leasehold you are buying for a fixed period, usually 99 years if the home is new though leases can be much shorter. However, you do not own the land the property […]

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