Home & Style

Blake Lively shutting down her 'ridiculous' website Preserve

Barely a year after it began, Blake Lively is closing down her website, admitting "it's not making a difference in people's lives".

The unglamourous reality behind perfect Instagram photos

Behind the scenes.

There's a running joke on Instagram that the selfie and the tagged picture tend to be chalk and cheese

The most common furniture stains will make you want to spew

Red wine stains are less common than urine.

You might want to get up from the couch. Those mysterious stains on the sofa have just been named.

Urban farming

How to grow an edible vertical garden this winter

Vertical gardens are snaking their way in to our consciousness.

Loren Smith   Horizontally challenged? Grow vertically.

What diseases can you catch from a toilet seat?

Seat paperer? Talking toilet fear.

Donald McNeil   People really do fear toilet seats. One 1991 British survey of 528 women at an OB/GYN clinic found that 85 per cent said they crouched over public toilets while urinating, and 12 per cent papered the seat. Only 2 per cent sat all the way down.

Winter warmer

In defence of hot showers

Hot showers are better for your soul than your hair.

Jennifer Lopez once declared she washes her hair in ice water in a bid to ward off split ends and encourage a smooth mane.

Chilly BBQ

How to barbecue in winter

To grill or not to grill in winter? That is the question.

Why does summer get all the time in the sun? Let's turn up the heat this winter and get cooking with gas.

Domain

Nine ways to make your bathroom appear bigger

Handy tips to make your bathroom appear big enough for Behati Prinsloo to take a selfie in.

Rachel Clun   Storage space is often at a premium in the bathroom, especially if your bathroom is small or it's shared between several people.

Home reno shows may be fuelling ladder falls, prompting calls for helmets to be worn

Generic DIY

Julia Medew   Home renovation shows including The Block may be fuelling a rise in potentially fatal ladder falls, prompting doctors to recommend bike helmets to people climbing at home.

Ikea's advice for improving your private life

Shelf-help guru Fille Gute.

Livia Gamble   Flat-pack giant Ikea says the key to a happy private life is buying new furniture.

Perfect plan?

Urban myth or April Fools' joke: Playboy Mansion planned 'tunnels' to nearby celebrity homes

Hugh Hefner and Crystal Hefner.

Michael Idato   Revelations about an alleged network of tunnels between the Playboy Mansion and stars' homes appear too good to be true.

Live like Leo

Leonardo DiCaprio is renting out his Palm Springs abode

Actor Leonardo DiCaprio poses for a photograph at the British Academy of Film and Arts (BAFTA) awards ceremony at the Royal Opera House in London last year.

Livia Gamble   Leonardo DiCaprio's grandiose Palm Springs apartment can be rented for a king's ransom.

Working from home

Make your home office homely

Make your home office a place of calm and creativity.

Megan Blandford   If you have the freedom to work from home, make it an office of inspiration.

'Green' cleaning products may not be what they seem

Green cleaners.

Alana Schetzer   Consumers buying products marked "green" or "natural" may think they are doing the right thing for the environment, but scientists have discovered a link between many common ingredients and risks to human health.

Pantry staples

Pantry staples: How long can you keep food in your cupboards?

Danger alert: Stay away from mouldy nuts.

Livia Gamble   The saying waste not want not makes perfect sense, right?

Allergy risk may be tied to how you wash your dishes

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Anahad O'Connor   A new study suggests that parents who wash their dishes by hand, rather than in a dishwashing machine, may unwittingly lower the likelihood that their children will develop allergies.

Five second rule

Five second rule: Four times it's not okay to eat food off the floor

Five-second rule: foods high in sugar and salt are safer to eat after being dropped on the floor.

Livia Gamble   Despite the figures, the question: can you drop your food and eat it too? has been debated. Here’s four times you shouldn't eat food off the floor.

Inside Reese Witherspoon's home

Sarah Jessica Parker inside her New York terrace.

Mary Ward   Calling all stickybeaks...

Personal style

How to take centre stage at home

How to add personality into your home style.

Megan Blandford   Style is important, but a balance needs to be struck between the things in our homes and our personalities.

Lose the clutter

Is clutter making you fat?

People who hoard are more likely to be overweight.

Paula Goodyer   Excess weight and excess stuff can creep up on us slowly over time until one day you realise your zipper won't do up or the cupboard won't close.