Fran Power

Ahead of the Super Garden finale, we revisit each of the gardens - and share the contestants' top tips for creating a winning garden at home

Niamh O Connell at her home in Castlemoyne in Balgriffin, Dublin 13.

Five-bed family home in north Dublin boasts its own gym and the perfect space for summer BBQs

The first thing that greets prospective buyers at the threshold of vendor Niamh O'Connell's property is a bespoke doormat with her address, No 31 Castlemoyne.

Super Garden judge Monica Alvarez shares the secrets of good - and bad- garden design

The pandemic has caused quite a few surprise trends - home-made sour dough bread, Zoom calls, DIY hair dye, the home office. And a new love for our gardens.

According to selling agents Sherry FitzGerald, the two weeks since June 8 have been 'exceptionally busy' as pent-up demand among buyers is released into the market

Property prices are on the rise again as end of the lockdown draws nearer

Leading estate agents are registering a high level of activity in the property market as lockdown restrictions ease.

Graham and Stephanie O Sullivan pictured in their Architect designed house at Coal Lane in Dublin 7

Insta inspiration: The social media accounts to check out before tackling a new build

If there's one thing that stokes our national obsession with property, it's a warts-and-all tale of a house makeover - as the viewing figures for Room To Improve, Grand Designs and a rake of other TV series show.

'We fell in love with it before we even walked in the door' -revamped cottage in Foxford is a tranquil haven with modern flair

If you love the look of a traditional cottage but not the work - or investment - involved in dragging it into the 21st Century, there is a solution. Buy one that has already been modernised.

Fixer uppers: A step on the ladder or a money pit?

The number of first-time buyers is falling year on year. Blame the Central Bank rules, blame lack of supply or high property prices or any one of the current market's idiosyncrasies. But as a result, those wanting to get a foot on the ladder are having to think outside the box.

Jim Clery, KPMG tax partner and head of real estate

Covid-19 pandemic forces postponement of property awards

Covid-19 continues to affect the property sector, with the announcement that the annual KPMG/Irish Independent Property Industry Excellence Awards for 2020 have been postponed.

How to transform an old Irish cottage into a 21st century home

It might seem odd to hear an architect say that the more you leave an old house alone the better, but Nicola Ryan of Studio Red Architects has long experience of what is best for conservation projects.

Old School House, Canal Path, Ardclough, Co Kildare, €650,000

Canal class: How one couple restored a 19th century house in Co Kildare

Harvey Appelbe, vendor of the 19th century Old School House in the sleepy village of Ardclough in Co Kildare, could run a master class in the dos and don'ts of restoring old properties.

'I'm not destined to be still' - What's Dermot Bannon doing in lockdown?

You might think TV architect Dermot Bannon would be spending the lockdown relaxing in his new outdoor bathtub, the one that got him into a bit of hot water with the planners. Not so.

‘Georgians and Victorians used large folding doors to open or close down spaces for years,’ says Colm Murphy of DMVF, whose Dublin restoration project is pictured here. Photo: Ruth Maria Murphy

Lockdown lessons: 12 predictions for the post-pandemic home

It's nearly a month since the country went into lockdown and the impact on everything from energy consumption to DIY has been radical.

Restored Dublin 9 home dating back to 1910 is now ready for family life

Maria Rogers, the vendor of 39 Botanic Avenue in Glasnevin, Dublin 9, admits to being mad about houses. It's a family thing, she says.

12 bedroom castle with 500 acres for €5m

One summer in the mid-1970s, there was a knock on the great oak front door of Knockdrin Castle in Mullingar, Co Westmeath. The current owner, Professor Ferdinand von Prondzynski, then in his twenties and studying at Trinity, opened the door to find an American couple outside. They were castle buffs who had read about the neo-Gothic pile and decided to tip up on a whim.

Glamourous Refurb: a hunting lodge in Percy French country for €495k

There's a story told about Percy French, the songwriter whose work is celebrated every year at a Summer School in Castlecoote in Roscommon. Apparently, his song Are Ye Right There, Michael, was inspired by a train journey he took with the West Clare Railway network. He had set off from Sligo early in the morning to perform a recital in Dublin at 8 o'clock that evening but because of the snail pace of the train and the driver's decision to stop off randomly, by the time he finally arrived, his audience had left.

A home office rises to the top of the list, preferably with a door that closes

Goodbye, open plan, hello, panic rooms: your guide to the post-pandemic property market

The property market may be in what one commentator calls 'a short-lived Ice Age', but there is widespread confidence that as the threat of Covid-19 recedes, construction will pick up, and prices will rally, and buying and selling will continue more or less where they left off.

The fairy tale house on a hill

When you buy a house in Coleville Road, Clonmel, you know you have arrived. At least as far as the merchants who built their elegant mansions there in the 18th and early 19th centuries were concerned. It was, and still is, locals say, the Clonmel equivalent of Shrewsbury Road.

Dream home for horse lovers

The owner of Belmont House in Co Kildare, a fine four-bedroom property in the heart of equestrian country, was born and bred locally, and horses are in his blood. He has known the slice of land that Belmont sits on from the days when it was still part of the famous Whitechurch Stud.

'The single-use coffee cup is probably one of the most visible signs of our throwaway culture.' Stock image: Yui Mok/PA

Fran Power Opinion Keep-cup, disposable or biodegradable - what is the most eco-friendly way to get your coffee?

I have two keep-cups on my desk at work. But when I nip around the corner to get a caffeine fix, they often stay on my desk. By all accounts, another 80pc of keep-cup users are just as forgetful as I am.

'First up on my lazy lawn were dandelions, zillions of them' (stock photo)

Fran Power Opinion No more mowing the lawn for me - I'm letting the garden grow into a wild haven for hungry bees

Last year, I stopped mowing the lawn - or, to be strictly accurate, the husband stopped. I had read that when a bumblebee queen emerges blinking in to the cold spring light, she needs to visit 6,000 flowers a day just to be able to feed her offspring. I knew that our bees were in trouble. And that butterflies, hoverflies, beetles and other insects were disappearing too.

Architect Lisa Carolan in the Victorian schoolhouse in Kingscourt that was ‘a labour of love’. Throughout, she mixed the best of old and new. PIC - Frank McGrath

Class act: Architect revitalises derelict schoolhouse

Architect Lisa Carolan has a passion. She loves historic buildings, no matter how dilapidated. In fact, since returning home from Amsterdam four years ago, she has renovated two derelict properties and poured love - and money - into their restoration.

'If you're a chocolate purist on the hunt for single origin chocolate, then check the label.' (stock image)

Satisfy that sweet tooth - and your conscience - with some ethical chocolate

Buying a bar of chocolate, it turns out, is a gender issue. It's also a child labour issue. You could even say it's a modern slavery issue since the average cocoa farmer lives on a wage well below the UN's poverty line of $1.90 a day. And as deforestation and soil erosion are typical problems in cocoa-growing areas, chocolate is also an environmental issue.

Alexander Jan, son of Dr Jan, the late owner of Pouldrew House, in the Chinese drawing room. Photo: Patrick Browne

On the Market: The day Priscilla Presley came to tea

It's not every day that musical royalty comes to tea. And it's an even rarer occurrence when they offer to buy your house over a cuppa and cakes. But that is exactly what happened when Dr Jan Mohamed, of Pouldrew House, opened the door to Priscilla Presley and her daughter Lisa Marie.

'Sales for soy drinks have risen from €17.6m to €19.4m and those for non-dairy milks have jumped roughly €6m, over the period 2017 to 2019' (stock image)

Not all glasses of milk are created equal - dairy has three times the impact on environment

If you're reading this over a cup of coffee or tea, sip on this. Adding dairy milk to your cappuccino has just bumped up its carbon footprint by two-thirds.

Two cracking homes are bang on target in Monkstown - with a Liberator history

There's a story about 8 Seafield House that goes as follows - Daniel O'Connell, the Liberator, was a crack shot with a duelling pistol, though he usually relied on his wit to win his parliamentary battles.

MAKE ’EM LAST: Give your bouquet a longer vase life by taking flowers out of packaging immediately, adding sugar to the water, and changing their water every two days

Fran Power Opinion This Valentine's Day, show you care with eco-friendly daffodils, not roses

This Valentine's Day, I'm hoping for a bunch of daffs. Not as classy as roses maybe. Certainly not as expensive. But home-grown, seasonal and a blast of cheery colour to brighten up my day.

A guide to successful downsizing

If you've been dreaming of downsizing, but can't find a place that ticks all the boxes, then here's some good news. Finally, the property market is beginning to deliver what you want.

Dry cleaning may get your clothes clean, but there’s a cost to the environment. Stock photo: PA

Greener Living: Dry cleaning may get your clothes clean, but there's a cost to the environment

That smell you get in the dry cleaners? That, folks, is the sweet scent of solvents. More specifically of a chemical called Perchloroethylene, also known as Perc, or PCE or Tetrachloroethylene. Its job is to dissolve dirt from your clothes, and it does that extremely well.

Average house price rose to €263,686 in second half of 2019 (stock image)

Home price slump may be over as market looks ready to stabilise - IPAV report

The property price slump may be over, according to a new report published exclusively in the Sunday Independent today.

'Uncertainty about the next government and the impact of election promises on first-time buyers may still put the market on pause' Stock picture

Market looks ready to stabilise in 2020

Now that Brexit is signed and sealed - if not quite delivered - house prices look set to stabilise. That is the message in a report published exclusively in the Sunday Independent today.