Oh to live in Darwin at this time of the year! Temperatures in that city this week are expected to average 32 degrees, with overnight lows of 21.

For the rest of us, the pre-winter chill is certainly starting to bite. As we move into the colder months, here are 10 ways to warm up your home.

1. Prune those sun-suckers

Shady plants are great in summer, especially on the north and western sides of your property. But at this time of the year you want to get as much sun into your house as you can. Now is the time to prune plants blocking out your sunlight, if possible.

2. Let the sun in

When the sun is shining, remember to open curtains and blinds during the day, especially on the northern side of your home, but also the east (in the morning) and the west (in the afternoon).

However, you might consider leaving south-facing blinds and curtains closed on days when it is colder outside than in as the sun won’t hit those windows.

It’s very common to see homes shut up all day long with the curtains drawn. But before you head off to work or out for the day, opening the blinds and curtains on windows that get the sun can mean coming home to a much warmer property.

3. Block the cold out

Overnight you want to stop the warm air from inside your home being lost through the glass of your windows. It’s important to cover the windows to do this.

Either use thick curtains and a pelmet overhead to stop the air from getting to the window, or consider good-quality honeycomb (also known as cellular) blinds, which pull up almost out of sight during the day to let maximum sunlight in, but do a fantastic job of blocking the windows overnight, or on colder days when there is a lot of cloud cover.

The great thing about honeycomb blinds is you don’t end up with the heavy look of thick curtains but still get the insulating effect. They do look a bit like they belong in an office and not a home though, and if that bothers you, you can layer them behind a very light sheer curtain to soften their impact. Or of course, for even more insulation, a heavier curtain.

4. Fan-tastic

If you have ceiling fans, now is the time to switch them over to winter mode so that they run backwards. Put them on their lowest speed and they will direct the warm air from across the ceilings where it sits high up, and down the walls.

If you get condensation on your windows overnight, you’ll probably notice that leaving a fan on in winter mode during the day can help to dry the windows out faster.

5. Draughts be gone

Gaps around doors and windows can let in a lot of draughts. Block them up with an appropriate draught-sealer. Your local hardware store will have plenty of options.

Consider also a good old-fashioned door snake if you find it hard to seal the bottom of doors, which is often the case in older houses where steps may have worn, or doors are not quite square.

If you have particularly cold rooms in the home – the spare bedroom or laundry, for example, consider draught-sealing the door that separate that room or rooms from the rest of the home.

However, it is important to note that if you use unflued gas heating or an open fire, you will need to ensure you have adequate ventilation at home.

6. Monitor it

If you happen to be someone who is at home during the day, you’ll have the opportunity to throw open the windows and let the warmth in on the days when it becomes hotter inside than out, which can often happen at this time of year.

It can be helpful to have a thermometer with an outdoor sensor set up in a prominent spot in the home to let you know when it is warmer outside than in. Hardware stores often stock them – I have one a bit like this.

It will also come in handy in summer when you’ve got the opposite problem and you want to know when it has cooled enough to open the windows in the evening.

7. Go passive

A few months ago we installed a solar heater, which draws the warm air from the roof cavity into the home. You can read about it here.

I’m pleased to say it seems to working well at this time of year (when we hoped it would) helping to raise the home’s temperature by a critical three-four degrees, meaning the heater has pretty much stayed off so far, even on cooler nights.

Because our home is well-insulated, draught-sealed and has honeycomb blinds on almost all windows, when it warms up during the day it manages to hold the temperature overnight.

8. They mightn’t be pretty but…

Okay, I’ll admit that old-style aluminium roller shutters are butt-ugly.

When we inherited two shutters on the ’50s brick box we bought a year or so back, I was tempted to rip them off. But instead we gave them a paint job (a marginal improvement) and now find in winter, we wouldn’t be without them.

When the shutter goes down about the same time as the sun it’s like instant double-glazing, you can feel the difference because the shutter helps to provide an air pocket between our old single-pane glass windows and the cold night air.

They work so well I’m even tempted to put them on a few more windows.

9. Cook up a storm

It really is a time of year for baking and slow cooking. The house will definitely warm up, but will you be able to resist all that yummy food?

10. Control the thermostat

Running your heater at 18-21 degrees will keep you comfortable without toasting, and will also keep your winter heating bills down. Just one degree more in temperature can increase your heating costs by 15 per cent.

Story by Carolyn Boyd is a property journalist and keen follower of Australia’s housing market.

Source: www.domain.com.au

Many small businesses operate from the owner’s home. This could mean the factory is a shed in the backyard and the office a corner of the kitchen or dining room table.

For others the business can have a separate section of the home or permanent structure on the property used exclusively by the business. The facts of each case will determine what costs can be claimed as a tax deduction.

Business owners are often keen to claim a percentage of the interest on a loan where a mortgage has been taken out to purchase the property. The ability to claim property related expenses will depend on two tests being passed.

The first requires part of the home or the property to be set aside exclusively as a place of business. This would mean the part of the home used for business purposes could not have a dual private usage component. Setting up half of a large rumpus room as an office, with the rest being used for private purposes, would not satisfy this test.

In addition to the exclusive use test the section used for business purposes must be clearly identifiable. This can often mean that there is an entrance for the part used as a home and a separate entrance for the section relating to the business.

Building a shed that is used exclusively by a business for manufacturing or storage purposes would result in part of a property being classed as business premises.

If these tests are passed a portion of the property related expenses can be claimed including interest on the loan to purchase the property and rates. The method used to apportion the expenses must be able to stand up to the scrutiny of the ATO. An accepted method is calculating the area used for business purposes as percentage of the total area of the home.

In addition to the property related costs a tax deduction can also be claimed for the occupancy costs such as electricity, gas, telephone and internet usage. For these costs the owners must again be able to prove how they apportioned them between business and private usage.

Where the business property tests cannot be passed a business can still claim a portion of occupancy costs.

The ability to claim property related expenses does however come at a cost. By establishing a home or property is used for business results in a loss of the main residence capital gains tax exemption for that part of the home or property.

This will mean the owners of the business need to have the home valued at the time it starts to be used for business purposes. When the property is sold a portion of the difference between the net sale proceeds and the value when the business was started will be taxable as a capital gain.

Thankfully in this situation if a business owner passes the small business capital gains tax exemption tests income tax may still not be payable.

Tax for small business, a survival guide, by Max Newnham is available in bookstores.

Story source: www.domain.com.au

Open Home Inspection Times for Saturday 12th May

10:00 – 10:30am – 4 Mangifera Close, Wights Mountain

11:15 – 11:45am – 78 Paramount Circuit, McDowall

12:15 – 12:45pm – 5 Eastwood Place, McDowall

2:15 – 2:45pm – 1 Walpole Street, McDowall

3:30 – 4:00pm – 3 Somers Street, Cashmere

The best place to start is from the ground up.  Use rugs to define your space and then use furniture to help partition spaces.

Display cabinets, such as the Sovita Curio or Forma, are perfect for this – adding sparkle and zing and the opportunity to showcase your treasures.

Turn your lounge seating in on itself to create a healthy conversation area.  In this way the back of your lounges and chairs help to create the living space.

Mix different styles of furniture to give the zones more personality.  Think a classic contemporary lounge in your  ‘living zone’ combined with a wooden farmhouse table in your ‘dining zone’.

The general rule of thumb with big areas is that you need big furniture, big artworks and big patterns which will help to counter the proportions of the room.

Tuck study spaces out of sight and away from the lounge area with either partitions or plants.  No thinking about work when you are relaxing (and no need to be constantly tidying your messy work area either).

The final trick is to arrange the furniture in such a way as to allow you to meander through the space rather than being able to take a straight path from the front door to the back door.

Avoid meaningless dead zones and make use of all your space by adding plants, lamps and chairs.

Story Source: Nick Scali Reviews

10:15 – 10:45am – 5 Eastwood Place, McDowall

11:15 – 11:45am – 78 Paramount Circuit, McDowall

2:15 – 2:45pm – 1 Walpole Street, McDowall

The reduction takes the official cash rate to 3.75 percent.

Damian Smith CEO of financial comparison site RateCity called the RBA’s decision "a very big move".

"They haven’t moved rates this far since the depths of the Global Financial Crisis," Mr Smith told ninemsn.

"This cut will help thousands of households, with people on a $300,000 mortgage potentially saving around $1000 per year."

But he warns that some banks may be unwilling to pass on the rate cut in full.

"It’s unlikely that all lenders will pass on the full rate cut," Mr Smith said.

"The signals from the big four banks suggest that they will try to hold on to part of this rate cut."

Mr Smith points out that while the central bank has lowered the cash rate by 50 basis points since November, "the big four banks have only passed on around 40 basis points to variable rate home loan customers".

It is the largest cut to the cash rate since a 100 basis point reduction in February 2009, and the first time the RBA has lowered the cash rate since it cut it by 25 basis points at its December board meeting.

Business lobby groups, trade unionists and some economists had called for the board of the RBA to cut rates by 50 basis points to help ailing retailers, manufacturers and the stubborn housing market.

Story source: www.ninemsn.com.au

Story time: Most photoshoots capture pictorial vignettes – the sofa, the casually draped throw, the lovely fluffy cushions, the pile of artistically arranged books … It’s not just about the furniture; it’s about what these items say and the story they tell about you and your home.

Go into detail:  A photographer’s nightmare is a room with no possessions on show. Editors love details – knick-knacks make a home a home.  We’re not thinking for a minute that you cover every space with your old telephone bills and children’s drawings – think knick-knacks, photos of loved ones and think about putting some of your children’s special pics in a frame – and put the bills and clutter out of sight!

Set great store: Good storage is vital – but it doesn’t need to be an expensive built-in: photographically that’s dull. Try a trendy glass cabinet, such as the eye-catching, Forma.

All the little things:  Bold doesn’t have to equal expensive. If you’re nervous, build on a neutral base – beige or brown lounge – then take risks with accessories: zingy cushions or throws, or a ceramic jar – much cheaper than getting the wrong lounge.

Screened off: Something you’ll never see in an interiors mag is the TV! They’re so huge now – and not pretty. Hide giants in a cupboard – and never hang one over a fireplace.

Personal appearance: Forget having the ‘right’ or fashionable thing. The best style is surrounding yourself with things that you love.

To create that beautifully designed magazine look, be sure to follow these tips.

Source: Nick Scali Reviews

Open Home Inspection Times for Saturday 28th April

10:15 – 10:45am – 9 Kline Place, McDowall

11:15 – 11:145am – 78 Paramount Circuit, McDowall

2:15 – 2:45pm – 1 Walpole Street, McDowall