Children’s rooms with imagination and room to grow

A bed tucked beneath a roof slope, a blue canopy in Chelsea and generous curtains in Clapham give three London bedrooms very different identities. The useful distinction is between the room’s lasting shape and the decoration you might choose to change.

The inherited curtains that gave a Hampshire room its character

Emma Sherlock began with blue-and-white curtains from her grandmother. Pink walls, generous seating and a growing collection of pictures have made them part of a room with a life beyond its first decoration.

The 50m2 flat that refuses to be minimal

Dark walls, gold screens and a cabinet that doubles as a headboard give Gergei Erdei’s small Bloomsbury home a generous sense of occasion.

The hallway that finally feels part of the home

A real Cardiff before-and-after shows what happens when colour and storage are considered together. A narrower London hall offers a different answer to the same everyday problem.

How to make your living room feel like a cosy country pub

Five real homes show how to borrow the warm, unhurried welcome of a country pub through sociable seating, layered colour and possessions gathered over time. No fireplace required.

Halloween decorating beyond plastic cobwebs

Twelve playful ways to dress the house for Halloween, from generous autumn doorways and gothic flowers to striped pumpkins and a window made by small hands.

Re-cover the sofa or replace it?

When a sofa is worth keeping, the fabric is only part of the decision. Two genuine restorations show what to look for beneath it, and how to compare the finished cost with buying new.

A reading corner you’ll actually sit in

Forget the fantasy library for a moment. A comfortable chair, a properly placed light and a little breathing room can do the job.

The room between the kitchen and sitting room deserves a job

A north London townhouse shows how a middle room can earn its place, with somewhere to pause as well as somewhere to put the coats.

Four London Design Festival ideas worth borrowing at home now

The flooring edit: seven beautiful looks for 2027

Honeyed oak, timeworn stone and a little pattern: seven ways to give your next renovation a beautiful foundation.

Dulux’s new Soulful Sage: how to judge it in your own home

Dulux’s new Colour of the Year is a soft, silvery green called Soulful Sage. If it appeals, use the announcement as a reason to try a sample before planning a whole-room repaint.