At home: Lynn O'Rourke | To say we were a tad taken aback by this latest revelation is putting it mildly

WHEN is a chimney not a chimney? That has been the question of the week in my household. And the answer cannot be revealed until you first spend hours online researching wood-burning stoves – our heat source of choice. You then have to drag your complaining children – not to mention husband – around fireplace shops of a weekend, plying daughter number one with normally restricted treats and bribing her with promises of Kinder eggs so you can decide what kind of stove you like. You must spend a

To say we were a tad taken aback by this latest revelation is putting it mildly. So it's back to the drawing board. As the chimney breast is on an internal wall we will be looking at flueless options, which narrows the search down. Although I don't think this matters to the rest of the family – I suspect I will be undertaking a solo mission this time round.

Christine Murphy may have been hesitant about punching a hole in the lowered ceiling of her Glasgow home, but the discovery of lovely ornate cornices behind it made the gamble worthwhile – see for yourself on page 4. Grand design sums up Ken and Carol's self-build home in north-east Fife, both in style and scale – see page 18. The couple built an impressive 1,300 sq ft property on the site of an old steading. There are surprises in store in Midlothian's Kevock Garden on page 22, while Rebecca Govier kicks off a new season of gardening columns on page 24. k