https://roomswithstories.com/ Home and interiors writing that starts with the people — how rooms get made, what they cost, what they are for and why the good ones are rarely the tidy ones. en © 2026 Threshold & Court Publishing Tue, 11 Aug 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://roomswithstories.com/rooms/a-kitchen-is-a-workflow-before-it-is-a-look/ https://roomswithstories.com/rooms/a-kitchen-is-a-workflow-before-it-is-a-look/ Most kitchen regret is about distances and surfaces, not about finishes. The layout decisions are the ones you live with. Room by Room Emeka Dozie Tue, 11 Aug 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://roomswithstories.com/rooms/the-hallway-is-doing-more-work-than-any-other-room/ https://roomswithstories.com/rooms/the-hallway-is-doing-more-work-than-any-other-room/ It is the space every visitor sees first, that everybody passes through daily, and that almost nobody designs. Room by Room Clara Bittencourt Sun, 09 Aug 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://roomswithstories.com/materials/materials-that-age-well-and-materials-that-only-look-new/ https://roomswithstories.com/materials/materials-that-age-well-and-materials-that-only-look-new/ Everything in a house is on a trajectory. Choosing well means choosing what you want it to look like in ten years. Materials Clara Bittencourt Wed, 05 Aug 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://roomswithstories.com/materials/paint-finish-matters-more-than-paint-colour/ https://roomswithstories.com/materials/paint-finish-matters-more-than-paint-colour/ The same colour in three finishes produces three different rooms. Almost all paint disappointment is a sheen problem. Materials Astrid Holm Fri, 31 Jul 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://roomswithstories.com/light/most-room-problems-are-lighting-problems/ https://roomswithstories.com/light/most-room-problems-are-lighting-problems/ A room that feels wrong and cannot be diagnosed is almost always lit from one place, at one colour, at one level. Light Nour Haddad Wed, 29 Jul 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://roomswithstories.com/light/north-facing-rooms-are-not-a-problem-to-be-corrected/ https://roomswithstories.com/light/north-facing-rooms-are-not-a-problem-to-be-corrected/ Trying to make a cool room feel warm with paint usually fails. Working with the light produces better rooms. Light Sven Aaltonen Sat, 25 Jul 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://roomswithstories.com/small/a-small-flat-needs-fewer-things-better-placed/ https://roomswithstories.com/small/a-small-flat-needs-fewer-things-better-placed/ Most small-space advice sells storage. The rooms that work usually contain less, arranged around how the space is used. Small Spaces Nour Haddad Thu, 23 Jul 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://roomswithstories.com/small/renting-well-is-a-set-of-reversible-decisions/ https://roomswithstories.com/small/renting-well-is-a-set-of-reversible-decisions/ You cannot change the building. You can change almost everything you experience of it, and take it with you. Small Spaces Nour Haddad Sun, 19 Jul 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://roomswithstories.com/renovation/renovation-sequencing-is-where-budgets-are-actually-lost/ https://roomswithstories.com/renovation/renovation-sequencing-is-where-budgets-are-actually-lost/ Doing the right work in the wrong order means paying for some of it twice. That is the most common renovation failure. Renovation Astrid Holm Thu, 16 Jul 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://roomswithstories.com/renovation/damp-has-three-common-causes-and-they-need-different-fixes/ https://roomswithstories.com/renovation/damp-has-three-common-causes-and-they-need-different-fixes/ Treating condensation as rising damp is expensive and ineffective. Diagnosis has to come first. Renovation Astrid Holm Sun, 12 Jul 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://roomswithstories.com/objects/buy-furniture-slowly-and-leave-the-gaps/ https://roomswithstories.com/objects/buy-furniture-slowly-and-leave-the-gaps/ Rooms furnished in one purchase read as showrooms. The good ones accumulate, and the gaps are part of it. Objects & Craft Astrid Holm Thu, 09 Jul 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://roomswithstories.com/objects/repair-is-cheaper-than-replacement-and-almost-nobody-does-it/ https://roomswithstories.com/objects/repair-is-cheaper-than-replacement-and-almost-nobody-does-it/ Most household objects fail in a small number of predictable ways, and most of those are fixable with basic tools. Objects & Craft Emeka Dozie Mon, 06 Jul 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://roomswithstories.com/rooms/bedrooms-are-lit-for-cleaning-and-used-for-sleeping/ https://roomswithstories.com/rooms/bedrooms-are-lit-for-cleaning-and-used-for-sleeping/ The overhead fitting in most bedrooms is the brightest thing in the room at the moment you least want brightness. Room by Room Clara Bittencourt Fri, 03 Jul 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://roomswithstories.com/rooms/bathrooms-fail-at-ventilation-and-storage-long-before-they-fail-at-tiles/ https://roomswithstories.com/rooms/bathrooms-fail-at-ventilation-and-storage-long-before-they-fail-at-tiles/ The two things that determine whether a bathroom stays good are both invisible in the photograph. Room by Room Emeka Dozie Sat, 27 Jun 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://roomswithstories.com/rooms/seating-plans-are-conversation-problems-not-furniture-problems/ https://roomswithstories.com/rooms/seating-plans-are-conversation-problems-not-furniture-problems/ A living room that nobody wants to sit in usually has its seats too far apart, all facing the same wall. Room by Room Emeka Dozie Wed, 24 Jun 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://roomswithstories.com/rooms/open-plan-solved-one-problem-and-created-three/ https://roomswithstories.com/rooms/open-plan-solved-one-problem-and-created-three/ Removing walls gives light and sightlines. It also gives noise, cooking smells and nowhere to be alone. Room by Room Emeka Dozie Mon, 22 Jun 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://roomswithstories.com/rooms/the-dining-room-did-not-die-it-moved/ https://roomswithstories.com/rooms/the-dining-room-did-not-die-it-moved/ A room reserved for eating twice a year loses its argument. A table that is used daily wins it back. Room by Room Astrid Holm Thu, 18 Jun 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://roomswithstories.com/rooms/a-desk-in-a-bedroom-needs-a-boundary-you-can-see/ https://roomswithstories.com/rooms/a-desk-in-a-bedroom-needs-a-boundary-you-can-see/ Home working failed for most people at the point where the work never visually stopped. Room by Room Emeka Dozie Tue, 16 Jun 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://roomswithstories.com/rooms/childrens-rooms-are-storage-problems-that-change-every-two-years/ https://roomswithstories.com/rooms/childrens-rooms-are-storage-problems-that-change-every-two-years/ Everything bought for a five-year-old is wrong by eight. Designing for the change is the only durable approach. Room by Room Clara Bittencourt Wed, 10 Jun 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://roomswithstories.com/rooms/the-utility-room-is-the-most-undervalued-space-in-a-house/ https://roomswithstories.com/rooms/the-utility-room-is-the-most-undervalued-space-in-a-house/ A machine, a sink and a metre of worktop absorb a startling amount of the mess that otherwise lands in the kitchen. Room by Room Emeka Dozie Mon, 08 Jun 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://roomswithstories.com/rooms/stairs-and-landings-are-rooms-that-nobody-counts/ https://roomswithstories.com/rooms/stairs-and-landings-are-rooms-that-nobody-counts/ They occupy real floor area on two levels, take heavy traffic, and are usually the last place anyone thinks about. Room by Room Astrid Holm Thu, 04 Jun 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://roomswithstories.com/rooms/a-spare-room-that-is-only-spare-is-empty-eleven-months-a-year/ https://roomswithstories.com/rooms/a-spare-room-that-is-only-spare-is-empty-eleven-months-a-year/ Guest bedrooms are the least used rooms in most houses. The ones that work have a job the rest of the time. Room by Room Clara Bittencourt Tue, 02 Jun 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://roomswithstories.com/rooms/the-front-door-decides-the-plan-of-the-whole-house/ https://roomswithstories.com/rooms/the-front-door-decides-the-plan-of-the-whole-house/ Where you enter, and what you can see from there, sets how every other room is reached and used. Room by Room Emeka Dozie Fri, 29 May 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://roomswithstories.com/materials/grout-is-the-weak-point-in-every-tiled-surface/ https://roomswithstories.com/materials/grout-is-the-weak-point-in-every-tiled-surface/ Tiles do not usually fail. The joints between them, and what is behind them, do. Materials Clara Bittencourt Sun, 24 May 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://roomswithstories.com/materials/board-width-species-and-finish-are-three-separate-decisions-in-a-timber/ https://roomswithstories.com/materials/board-width-species-and-finish-are-three-separate-decisions-in-a-timber/ People choose a wood floor by colour and then live with the consequences of three specifications they never considered. Materials Clara Bittencourt Fri, 22 May 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://roomswithstories.com/materials/the-wall-behind-the-paint-decides-how-the-paint-looks/ https://roomswithstories.com/materials/the-wall-behind-the-paint-decides-how-the-paint-looks/ Two rooms painted the same colour look different because one is on fresh plaster and the other is on forty years of history. Materials Clara Bittencourt Mon, 18 May 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://roomswithstories.com/materials/stone-worktops-are-four-different-materials-sold-as-one-idea/ https://roomswithstories.com/materials/stone-worktops-are-four-different-materials-sold-as-one-idea/ Granite, marble, quartz and sintered surfaces behave so differently that liking the look tells you almost nothing. Materials Sven Aaltonen Sat, 16 May 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://roomswithstories.com/materials/wallpaper-does-things-paint-physically-cannot/ https://roomswithstories.com/materials/wallpaper-does-things-paint-physically-cannot/ It is not a more decorative paint. It is a material with thickness, pattern repeat and a completely different failure mode. Materials Clara Bittencourt Tue, 12 May 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://roomswithstories.com/materials/metals-in-a-house-tarnish-corrode-or-stay-put-and-it-is-worth-knowing-wh/ https://roomswithstories.com/materials/metals-in-a-house-tarnish-corrode-or-stay-put-and-it-is-worth-knowing-wh/ Brass, copper, steel, chrome and iron all change over time, in different directions and at different speeds. Materials Sven Aaltonen Sat, 09 May 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://roomswithstories.com/materials/carpet-is-an-acoustic-material-that-happens-to-be-a-floor/ https://roomswithstories.com/materials/carpet-is-an-acoustic-material-that-happens-to-be-a-floor/ The reason carpeted rooms feel calm has less to do with softness underfoot than with what happens to sound. Materials Astrid Holm Tue, 05 May 2026 09:00:00 GMT