Creative Spaces

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The surprising luxury of underground homes

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Outside of the capital, the word ‘basement’ is synonymous with the damp, dimly lit space beneath your house that’s usually full of broken kitchen utensils, boxes of dusty kids’ toys and rusty bikes. And, thanks to countless horror films, it’s more than a little bit creepy. In London, though, we embrace the basement as a thing of beauty – after all, we’ll take any space that’s going and do our darnedest to turn it into a human dwelling. Some though, are a little more special than your average basement flat. Here, we’re taking inspiration from those who’ve turned the most unlikely spaces into beautiful underground homes and watering holes. 1. Feeling flush Architect Laura Clark saw potential where nobody else would have: an abandoned public toilet in Crystal Palace. To be fair, she did nab herself a period property – the public conveniences were built in 1929 – albeit one…

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Great storage ideas

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Here’s an experiment for you to try: gather together a handful of your friends and ask them how they’d make better use of the space they live in. Chances are that at least one of them is a smart alec and replies, ‘Simple – buy less stuff!’ That’s the easy way out, of course. The truth is that hardly any of us have the self-restraint to ‘buy less stuff’, and the majority of us quite like the accumulated debris that our life tends to bring. There’s also the possibility that those of us who are somehow able to sever all emotional links with their bits and bobs will one day feel the need to reminisce – to wallow in nostalgia for an afternoon. That’s when having your stuff easily at hand becomes invaluable.

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Minimalist interior

10 space-saving solutions for your studio

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There’s nothing like a bit of constraint to get the creative juices flowing. In fact, many of the technological world’s greatest innovations have relied heavily on constrained creativity – from the Sony Walkman right through to Vine and Twitter. As far as creative use of limited living space goes, the challenge can mean hours of fun, whether you’re working through the conundrums on your own or with a group of friends. It’s the kind of thing you can put aside a cosy weekend alone for, or turn into a bit of a house party with a purpose – if one thing’s certain, it’s that everyone invited will have an opinion. With that in mind, we’ve put together a little space-saving inspiration. Not every idea will suit your situation, but it’s interesting to look at how different people have approached similar problems the world over. Oh, and before we begin, we…

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