Homes

The plant's leaves droop over its pot

New technology helps reach people where they live

Couple anticipates inhabiting their Saanich Peninsula retirement home for at least another quarter century

Is it the end of the road for the humble oil furnace, a fixture in many Canadian homes for the past 60 years? Some of the thousands of homeowners who still heat with oil see their aging oil tanks as ticking environmental time bombs.

Debbie Travis >E3

Floating elements add airy touch to award-winning family home designed with the environment in mind

Luminous glow rather than bright sparkle works with a restrained decorating style

Mike Holmes >E2

The holiday season is the time to really allow your home to sparkle. For a few weeks every year, over-the-top is just what's called for. And it's so much fun to create the dazzle and then enjoy everyone's ohhhs and ahhhs.

WHY DO OIL TANKS LEAK? Steel oil tanks corrode from the inside out due to action by microbes. Microbes are living organisms so small they can only be seen under a microscope. They are found practically everywhere, in the air and water.