Stroll down Britain’s canals these days and you’ll encounter waterside businesses of all kinds trading out of narrowboats. Here, five floating traders share their storiesWhen Stuart Fenwick first moved to London seven years ago, he spent a lot of time …
August Design News: wooden bags, concrete coral, political pottery
News from London Design Festival, Swedish fabrics and America’s citizen photographersAfter a long break, the design world is coming to life again. London Design Festival (LDF) is back and bigger than ever this year. There will be three more design dist…
Ikea goes glam rock with Zandra Rhodes collaboration
British fashion designer teams up with Swedish furniture chain after being inspired by lockdownCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageIt may be difficult to unpack, but shoppers could soon find the no-frills minimalism of Ikea has …
Ikea Symfonisk picture frame review: Sonos wifi speaker hidden by art
Latest collaboration puts great sound behind fabric art panel that can be hung or leant against a wallThe latest device from Ikea’s novel partnership with the wifi-speaker maker Sonos is a bit different: a speaker hidden in a picture frame.The Symfonis…
Property fantasies are quickly ruined by reality | Eva Wiseman
Allowing yourself to daydream about the perfect home is one thing, but the romance is spoiled as soon as you open the door on to real worldMy friend is trying to buy a flat in Bristol, and each time he sends me a link with a little question mark, I get…
‘For comfort viewing, it’s quite rock’n’roll’: Why Changing Rooms is back
The flamboyant home makeover show has returned after 17 years and is one of a host of similar shows designed to cheer up the nationA sex swing inspired by the floating palace hotel in Udaipur – it was what Swansea had been calling out for,” says Lauren…
Labour of love: a Victorian workhouse gets a fresh start
Renovating this old workhouse is a chance to let a designer’s imagination run freeAs Victorian workhouses go, St Clement’s in Bow, east London, is unexpectedly beautiful. A grand ode to Italianate architecture, the building, which was also a former psy…
Changing Rooms review – design so dreadful you’ll be scarred for life
Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, the king of the MDF makeover, returns to our screens with Anna Richardson to create more spray-painted, gold-leafed visions from hellI remember the time Linda Barker put up shelves to house a woman’s beloved teapot collection a…
Box of tricks: inside the home of Patrizia Moroso
Bright hues abound in the stunning Udine hideaway of the Italian designer.An Italian oasis to call home is on a lot of people’s wishlists. Few, however, would think to look for it in Udine, the northeastern city in the lesser-known Friuli-Venezia Giuli…
In a house move blunder, I’ve blown it with my wife. Can I scapegoat the delivery men? | Romesh Ranganathan
My wife was in the new house waiting for a delivery. I was in the old one working. What could possibly go wrong?My wife and I rarely have a proper argument, so it came as quite a shock to both of us when one did come along. I would describe it as less …