Jayne Dowle

Wednesday

Jayne Dowle

How to master the art of Jubilee memorabilia

From our UK edition

The Duchess of Cornwall revealed a surprising hobby during a visit to a charity shop on Tuesday. After splashing out on a £1.50 mug celebrating the Queen's Jubilee, Camilla confessed that she has a 'whole collection' of royal memorabilia at home. With the Platinum Jubilee just weeks away, there will be plenty more opportunities for the Duchess, and the rest of us, for that matter, to stock up on regally themed wares. If the idea of celebrating the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in strident red, white and blue makes you feel distinctly queasy, there are ways to mark this momentous national occasion without turning your house and garden into Nigel Farage’s dream home.

Tuesday

Jayne Dowle

The art of the reading nook

From our UK edition

To add a library to a house is to give that house soul – at least, so said Cicero. Unfortunately we're not all as blessed in the book department as Ernest Hemingway, whose Cuban library boasted a ten-foot long desk 'curved like a boomerang'. Modern living is often short on space. But that does not mean you can't create a cosy corner to hide away from the world with a book. Reading nooks are all the rage – everyone from Sophie Dahl to Nigella Lawson is carving out space for one. Even Jamie Oliver, who has spoken about his childhood battle with dyslexia, has sequestered a fireside armchair, snapped by his wife Jools for Instagram napping with a cookery book across his lap.

Wednesday

Jayne Dowle

There’s more to paint than Farrow & Ball

From our UK edition

Hands up if you’ve ever had your house decorated and strategically placed a couple of empty tins of Farrow & Ball Dead Salmon on the doorstep so the neighbours appreciate your excellent taste. It happens a lot, says Henry Prideaux, a London-based interior designer who agrees that a certain kind of paint brand, 'can appeal for a variety of reasons, whether it is for its environmental credentials, ease of use, or value for money. Sometimes though, it’s a case of keeping up with the Joneses and impressing your friends by using the best and most expensive.' At £52 for a 2.5L tin, it's clear that Farrow & Ball has become a dictum for a certain kind of smug.

Monday

Jayne Dowle

There’s no shame in being a Santa Scrooge

From our UK edition

In another world, I would sit down at the beginning of December with a notepad and pen and make a really organised Christmas shopping list. What I actually do is commence the proceedings by searching every drawer in the house for forgotten gift vouchers. I usually start with the children’s rooms. My son and daughter, despite being brought up to count every penny, hardly ever use these things. My daughter’s school probably thinks it is setting her off on a lifetime of worthy pursuits with a £5 voucher for WH Smith awarded for good work over the year. She, however, shoves the thing in with her socks and promptly forgets about it. To her, a £5 voucher is not even the price of a Jacqueline Wilson.

Wednesday

Jayne Dowle

How to talk to your builder

From our UK edition

Television has a lot to answer for. The terrible reputation of the building trade for one. But not all builders are out to wreck your house, rob you of your life-savings and leave you in need of rescue by Nick 'DIY SOS' Knowles, the slightly smug TV-expert builder who goes round making good the mess other builders have left behind. Then again, not all builders are honest, trustworthy and committed to doing a good job. Inviting builders – or any of the associated trades such as plumbers, heating engineers, electricians or carpenters - into your home is a modern minefield, pitted with bitter recriminations and empty bank accounts. Much of this could be avoided if people knew how to talk to their builder in the first place.

Tuesday

Jayne Dowle

Money for old rope: take care when choosing an estate agent

From our UK edition

I could recite the standard advice on instructing an estate agent in my sleep. Always invite three to do a valuation, don’t go for the one who quotes the highest asking price, and haggle on commission. However, it’s not until you sell your own house that you realise this mantra doesn’t even begin to prepare you for the shark-infested waters ahead. Here was the biggest investment I have ever made, my only source of equity, the once-dream home where I had raised two children. Here was my soul writ large on Rightmove. Tread softly? Any pride I once felt was trampled into the ten tons of dust disturbed by 'decluttering' it for the sales brochure.