Latest in Small spaces

Balcony ledge crowded with geraniums in terracotta pots, two hanging pots on the railing and ivy covering the wall behind
Small spaces7 min read

Balcony gardening in containers: what actually grows

On a balcony with no outside tap and nobody home all day, two things decide whether anything survives. Most gardening advice skips both of them.

Miss one and you can spend the summer hauling water out to pots that were never going to see August.

This piece takes the RHS's own numbers on pot sizes, feeding and safe weight and works them through for that exact kind of balcony.

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  1. Man in a maroon top rinsing a steel pan at a kitchen sink while a friend in a denim shirt holds a mug and laughs
    Small spaces

    Choosing who to live with (it isn't always your mates)

  2. Curved modern apartment block with tiers of glass balconies, metal railings and outdoor chairs stacked in rows
    Small spaces

    Should you get plug-in solar panels?

  3. Double bed with grey chevron duvet beside an open shelving unit holding a television and books
    Small spaces

    Making a studio flat feel like two rooms

  4. White sofa bed pulled out on castors under two framed prints, grey curtain and a folding chair beside it
    Small spaces

    Choosing a sofa bed you will actually sleep on

  5. Grey-painted hallway with two coats on a white peg rail, a round mirror and a black bench
    Small spaces

    Vertical storage that does not damage rented walls

All small spaces articles

  • Balcony ledge crowded with geraniums in terracotta pots, two hanging pots on the railing and ivy covering the wall behind
    Small spaces7 min read

    Balcony gardening in containers: what actually grows

    Gardening advice tends to assume an outside tap and someone at home. Remove both and some of it no longer holds, though a surprising amount still does.

  • Woman writing at a small white table beside a radiator and window sill lined with potted plants
    Small spaces7 min read

    Where to put a desk in a one-bedroom flat

    Most one-bedroom flats have a desk spot that nobody thinks of first. This covers where those spots usually are, and the HSE rule that separates a place you can work at from a place you can only answer email at.

  • Round white dining table with four wooden folding chairs in a white kitchen with sheer curtains
    Small spaces7 min read

    Furniture that earns its floor space: a buying test

    Space-saving furniture for a small flat usually falls down on one specific test, and you can run that check yourself with nothing more than a tape measure and ten minutes.

  • Grey-painted hallway with two coats on a white peg rail, a round mirror and a black bench
    Small spaces8 min read

    Vertical storage that does not damage rented walls

    A rented wall can carry more than most tenants think without a single hole, provided the fixing suits the weight. Here is how to match the two, and what to do when the answer turns out to be a drill.

  • White sofa bed pulled out on castors under two framed prints, grey curtain and a folding chair beside it
    Small spaces6 min read

    Choosing a sofa bed you will actually sleep on

    You can't tell from the photos whether a sofa bed is any good to sleep on. The details that tell you are on the listing, in the small print most buyers scroll straight past.

  • Double bed with grey chevron duvet beside an open shelving unit holding a television and books
    Small spaces7 min read

    Making a studio flat feel like two rooms

    No wall needed: a studio can pass for two rooms. The change that does it takes an afternoon to put up, and it comes back down when you move out with almost no trace.

  • Curved modern apartment block with tiers of glass balconies, metal railings and outdoor chairs stacked in rows
    Small spaces5 min read

    Should you get plug-in solar panels?

    Plug-in solar kits are now legal in Great Britain. Renters have more to sort out before switching one on than the adverts suggest, and this piece takes that list one step at a time.

  • Man in a maroon top rinsing a steel pan at a kitchen sink while a friend in a denim shirt holds a mug and laughs
    Small spaces7 min read

    Choosing who to live with (it isn't always your mates)

    Friendship gets most people through the front door together. A joint tenancy tests something else entirely, and a bad choice costs you legally as well as socially.

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