Guide · Planning
The Renovation Order of Work Nobody Tells You
7 min read
Homemade Ocean — DIY, interiors and renovation
Editor's pick · Tools
The First Toolkit: Fifteen Tools, Bought Once
What to buy, what to buy well, and what to borrow until you know you need it.
28 July 2026 · 6 min read
Also this week
Article · Colour
How to Choose a Paint Colour You Will Not Regret
6 min read
Article · Growing
The Balcony Garden That Survives August
6 min read
Article · Layout
Zoning a Studio Flat Without Building Walls
6 min read
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The Saturday List
One project, one room, one honest cost breakdown.
A single email each Saturday morning: what we built this week, what it cost, and what we would do differently. No affiliate padding.
Latest from the workbench
Article · Renting
The Renter's Guide to a Home That Feels Permanent
Everything here comes away cleanly when you leave. None of it looks temporary while you live there.
25 June 2026 · 6 min read
Guide · Decorating
How to Paint a Room Properly
Preparation is 80% of the job and the only part that shows. The full sequence, start to finish.
11 June 2026 · 6 min read
Article · Budget
What a Renovation Really Costs (And Where the Money Goes)
A realistic breakdown of where a renovation budget disappears, and the five decisions that move the number most.
29 May 2026 · 6 min read
Project · Storage
A Pegboard Tool Wall for People Without a Workshop
Half a square metre of wall, framed properly, holds every tool most households will ever own — and puts an end to the drawer that eats screwdrivers.
18 May 2026 · 5 min read
Article · Lighting
Layering Light: The Three-Source Rule
Most rooms are lit by exactly one thing in exactly the wrong place. Here is what to add instead.
6 May 2026 · 5 min read
Project · Builds
Build a Simple Garden Bench That Lasts Twenty Years
Four cuts of construction timber, eight bolts and the two details — end grain and ground contact — that decide how long it survives.
30 April 2026 · 6 min read
Project · Upcycling
The Entry Bench Made From Two Old Drawers
Two salvaged drawers, four legs and a padded lid. A hallway bench with boot storage inside it, built almost entirely from things somebody threw away.
21 April 2026 · 5 min read
Article · Storage
Twelve Places to Put Storage That You Have Not Used Yet
Above the door, under the stairs, inside the stair treads, behind the bathroom mirror. A survey of the volume every small home is wasting.
8 April 2026 · 5 min read
Article · Older homes
Damp in an Old House: Diagnose Before You Spend
Most damp is condensation or a leak, not rising damp. Work out which one you have before anybody sells you a chemical injection.
24 March 2026 · 6 min read
Project · Small builds
The Two-Hour Picture Ledge
Three lengths of timber and a Saturday morning. The simplest build on this site, and the one that changes a room the most per pound spent.
9 March 2026 · 4 min read
Article · Walls
A Gallery Wall That Looks Collected, Not Bought
Frames from four places, art you actually chose, and a hanging method that means you drill once.
17 February 2026 · 5 min read
Article · Lighting
Outdoor Lighting for Small Spaces, Done Properly
Low, warm and aimed at something. Four fittings will transform a yard; one floodlight will ruin it.
3 February 2026 · 5 min read