Haven’t got the appetite for painting your kitchen? Follow this advice and you’ll have a recipe for success in updating one of your home’s most frequently used rooms: PREPARATION IS KEY Before anything else, survey the existing paint in your kitchen. It’s important to know what kind of paint is already on your walls. If the original paint is oil-based, you’ll need a high-adhesion latex primer before you can apply more …

PPG’s 2012 / 2013 colour trend forecast calls for an awakening of the senses, a new positiveness, a search for increased intensity, and a sense of luxuriousness.

If you’re planning ahead for 2012 and want to know what is happening in terms of colours, the Color Marketing Group (CMG) suggests Boyz-N-Berry, a “deep rich purple with slight red undertones. It is mature and elegant yet has a youthful edginess. It reflects our changing mindset on so many issues — off centre and unconventional, spiritual, meditative yet impulsive. It is serene and in control.” It is also able to blur the line, being both masculine and feminine and appealing to everyone.