Over the weekend I had an email from a developer called Martin Swatton. He’s a designer based in Sussex, whose talent lies in turning average properties into awe-inspiring contemporary living spaces. read more

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Following this week’s Property Snakes & Ladders in which Sarah oversaw the Tavistock railway station renovation, the team over at FindAProperty have dug out some similar properties that might be of interest.

In fact, they’ve gone a stage further. If living in a station isn’t enough to satisfy the suppressed trainspotter within you, they’ve found a couple of railway carriages that have been turned into holiday homes. read more

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In a somewhat unusual episode of Property Snakes & Ladders, tonight sees Sarah following developers Colin and Jenny as they embark on an epic project to completely renovate and convert a disused, Grade II listed Devon railway station. read more

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For those of you who wanted to know more about - or didn’t catch – the comments made by Sarah Beeny about intumescent paints and Victorian fire doors a couple of weeks ago on Property Snakes & Ladders, we’ve expanded on the subject in time for this week’s show. Pour yourself a stiff black coffee first and sit in a hard chair (it gets a little technical) but don’t miss it - if you’re renovating or building a house at the moment, Intumescent & Fire Proof Paints is a must-read.

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I don’t know about the rest of you, but as someone who’s sitting painfully at her desk having strained her back lying on the sofa watching tv last night (damn the excitement of that Property Ladder episode!), I find my garden (which I plan to spend the afternoon in, recovering) is most often best enjoyed from a deck chair, rather than from above a spade.

It’s not to say that I don’t do my share of digging – in the past year, I’ve laid a deck on my own, levelled and laid my own lawn, created raised borders and planted out 20 containers. So not lazy, then. However, when my back isn’t strained, I often find I just don’t have time to keep the garden looking good.

So, pretty happy that someone’s just sent me details of a company called The Balcony Gardener. I’ll warn you – it’s not desperately cheap, but in terms of how much time and effort you’ll save, it’s a bargain. The company plants up and delivers good-looking containers to help you create ready-made gardens. Choose from contemporary, edible and English country, among others. And, if you have got time to do it yourself, check out our plant galleries and garden design galleries, all on our gardening pages.

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I thought Property Ladder made for fascinating viewing last night – especially as I bought my house in April 2007 at the height of the market. Luckily for me, unlike last night’s developers, I’m not thinking of selling any time soon, so I could watch the rollercoaster ride they were on with sympathy, but a certain detachment. Can’t wait for the rest of the series now, and I think this series, more than any other, deserves future revisits – in a year or so – to see just how these ambitious, would-be developers managed over time to realise their dreams, if at all.

If you’re looking for clarification of Sarah’s remarks about the housing market, we have our own expert take on the property market. It’s realistic, it’s not all pretty, but it’s by our expert Kate Faulkner, who knows exactly what she’s talking about. Don’t miss it. And let us know what you thought of last night’s show, too.

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Unless you’ve been trapped in the attic for the past couple of years, it probably hasn’t escaped your attention that social networking site Twitter is rapidly taking over the world.

It’s a great way of communicating and the 4Homes team are hooked. If you want to contact any of the staff you can do so, but better than that, you can also send messages to 4Homes presenters Kirstie Allsopp, Sarah Beeny and George Clarke!

Understandably they’re inundated with questions from viewers, but all three of them pull out the stops to reply to as many people as possible about absolutely anything you care to ask.

You can sign up for Twitter here, and use the links below to check out the profiles of the 4Homes team.

4Homes Presenters
Sarah Beeny On Twitter
Kirstie Allsopp On Twitter
George Clarke On Twitter

4Homes Staff
4Homes Twitter Feed
Lelia Ferro, C4 Editor
Lucy Searle, Editor
Rich Payne, Deputy Editor
Emma Jones, Senior Writer

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4Homes favourite Sarah Beeny has announced via Twitter that she is indeed pregnant, expecting her fourth child.

Moving slightly off-topic, eight brand new episodes of Property Ladder will be airing in June, and we’re eagerly anticipating the most interesting series yet, as developers grapple with a falling market.

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