Short of stripping and replastering, is there any way to minimise the effects of 'pebbledash' wallpaper? Plus how to put the shine back into knives and forks

My walls are covered in Anaglypta paper (the pebbledash kind). If I try to remove it, the whole house will need replastering, and I am 72 and can't face much upheaval. Do I just carry on applying fresh emulsion?  "Stripping and replastering is the best option, but there would be a lot of upheaval," says DIY expert Julian Cassell. "Your next best option is to improve what you have, which will be quicker and less expensive. There are no products that smooth the textured surface of wallpaper, but a good decorator should be able to deal with it sympathetically. Lifted seams, dried-out overlaps and bubbling areas can all be stuck back with overlap adhesive, holes filled and sanded, and stains given an oil-based undercoat or stain blocker before the topcoat goes on. To give walls a fresh lease of life, try new colours: the World of Colour range from Focus DIY mixes old favourites with newer ones (about £12.99 for 2.5L)."

Painted or raw, exposed brick is the home accessory du jour – and if your house is pre-1950s, you've probably got some gems under that plaster

The latest Chanel ad to grace fashion bibles features this season's style must-have: not a shaggy, faux-fur yeti suit or an embroidered tweed jacket, but an exposed brick wall. It's there again in the Burberry ads, in shades of olive and purple, and even turns up in the Dior ad, this time as a brick floor.

Will worktop fit around a gaspipe? Plus I want a cabinet on casters

If your outside space is microscopic, you need to be extra-clever about giving it atmosphere. So steal some nifty tricks from indoors

It's been endlessly said that gardens have become "extensions of the home" without this cliché telling us much. But the idea of an interior room begins to be useful when you're trying to make something of a micro yard – that minuscule patch before an abrupt wall, where the sky is visible only when you crick your neck all the way back.