It’s bright, optimistic and abundant: what better way to usher in Spring than celebrating wattle this Sunday? From being used by Australia’s traditional inhabitants to make boomerangs, then as ‘wattle and daub’ building material for our early colonialists, the wattle…
Read moreAuthor: Adam Nobel
A tale of two borrowers
Australians are showing more optimism about buying a home, a new report shows. The latest quarterly Mortgage Choice Home Loan Report has revealed that 83 per cent of prospective buyers feel positive about entering the market, compared with 70% last…
Read moreFlooring goes circular
Plans to recycle resilient flooring waste from home renovations were given a boost this week, with the ACCC announcing it will authorise a new scheme with ResiLoop. Resilient flooring is floorcoverings made from natural mineral fillers combined with materials such…
Read moreLeftovers on the rise
From the farm to the household fridge, food waste remains a major issue across Australia’s food supply chain, new research suggests. According to ANZ’s latest Food For Thought report, Australian households alone discard about 3.1 million tonnes of edible food…
Read moreSpring clean your outdoor kitchen
With the balmy weather we have been enjoying this week, many of us are ready to enjoy dinner outdoors again. But are the barbecue and outdoor furniture ready for us? Forget the steel brushes, dirty clothes, elbow grease and toxic…
Read moreMiss Polly has a house
Move over, Barbie, we want to go stay in the Polly Pocket house that Airbnb has announced to celebrate the toy’s 35th birthday. Modelled after the popular Mattel toy’s ‘90s Slumber Party Fun’ compact, the ‘home’ is located in Polly’s…
Read moreNew home sales up 11%
Sales of new homes have rebounded over the last year, according to new figures released this week by the Housing Industry Association (HIA). The latest HIA New Home Sales report shows that new home sales in the three months to…
Read moreTurn down the lights, see more
One thing city-dwellers often do when they venture out into the countryside is gaze in awe at the night skies. Because the impact of lighting in urban streets and buildings usually means we rarely get to experience the vision of…
Read moreAre your lights causing pollution?
When we hear of light pollution, we naturally think of the overall impact of urban environments, but it can also occur at the neighbourhood level, when light spills from your property to other properties. According to the Environment Protection Authority…
Read moreTune up your mortgage
Interest rates might not be changing, but that is no reason for homeowners to do nothing to improve their own situation, mortgage brokers advise. Aussie brokers Scott Adams and Sam Fowler say households are bearing the brunt of rising costs…
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