"In the dog house" used to mean being in a whole heap of trouble. But Calgarian David Beart is about to put a much more positive spin on that old phrase.

He is setting out to build the "World's Most Pet Friendly House", a custom designed home with Fido, or in this case Shreddy, in mind. Shreddy is the Beart family's 15-yearold Wheaton terrier mix, and the inspiration behind the unique project.

The City of Calgary along with the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) Calgary have launched a Building Envelope Guide providing tools and best practices for the building industry that collaboratively enhance public safety in and around existing buildings.

The guide is a tool unique to North America and takes a proactive approach between the City and BOMA, the largest property management organization in Calgary, to educate industry. Building envelopes include all building components separating the indoors from the outdoors. Building envelopes include the exterior walls, foundations, roof, windows and doors.

When you live in a small space it is so important to maximize every square inch! How can you do that when you live in a 700 square foot condo with two people, one dog and one bedroom? It can be simpler than it seems.

1>> Start with your closets. Most condos or apartments usually have the builder's grade wire; you know it — one rack with a shelf above, and maybe a small section for dresses? If you upgrade to a simple but effective custom closet you can double or triple the amount of storage space! Putting drawers in the closets, for example, will allow you to get rid of clunky dressers or armoires.

The Calgary real estate market began recovering in 2012, and so far this year, the future is looking bright.

CREB® statistics for the first three months of the year, as well as its outlook for 2013, suggest the recovery is expected to continue. So, what does this mean for people who are considering buying or selling their homes?

Wreck City is currently open to the public until April 27th

Slated for demolition, nine houses, three garages and one greenhouse in the Calgary community of Sunnyside are going to go out with an artistic bang.

Wreck City: An Epilogue for 809 is being touted as the largest project of its kind in Calgary. Eight artistcurators and more than 100 artists, musicians and performers are participating in transforming the homes into intriguing works of art through various mediums and sharing them with the public April 19-27.

With prices that more than compete with those in the big city, while keeping amenities closer than many Calgary communities, Chestermere and Langdon offer an attractive package for prospective buyers.

Chestermere's status as "Alberta's Oasis" is evident in the number of homebuyers making the town home. Over the last decade, the population of Chestermere has more than tripled, rising from less than 4,000 residents in 2002 to 15,352 in 2012.

Earth Day, this coming Monday, gives people a chance to reflect on reducing their ecological footprints through things like energy reduction and cutting on carbon emissions by riding transit or walking instead of driving.

The inclination to live in a community where everything is easily accessed using your own two feet is reflected by an increase in inner city residential prices, according to the Real Estate Investment Network.

In Blazer's Garden a walled-off parking area was surrounded by a massive nine-foot (three metre) wide hedge. Once two sides of the hedge were removed, the greenhouse was installed and patio bricks were laid. Most of the plants in pots and planters on this patio are edible, so the vegetable garden and sitting area are combined into on larger, single use area for fun and food. The fence keeps the deer out!

Have you ever knocked out a wall inside your home? Did that give you a wonderful feeling of space and openness? Now imagine knocking down a few walls in your garden.

As March melts into April and snow turns to rain, Calgarians can begin thinking about practicing water conservation with the use of a rain barrel.

Utilizing rain courtesy of Mother Nature is not only good for your yard and garden, it's also easy on the water bill.