The communities of Hillhurst, West Hillhurst and Sunnyside have established themselves as some of Calgary's most eclectic, bustling and sought after places to call home.

The three communities are some of the city's oldest with Sunnyside first established in 1904, followed by Hillhurst in 1914 and West Hillhurst in 1945, a community with the majority of its homes built as "Victory Homes" for soldiers returning from the Second World War.

"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?