LA Storystories of houses and flats

Notes on how homes really work: layout, light, materials. No catalogue pictures, with dimensions and mistakes.

Layout14 October 2026

A kitchen by the window: how we rearranged a flat on Shabolovka

Seventy-two square metres, three windows facing one way and the kitchen in the darkest corner. Why we moved it four metres and what it cost.

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Light2 September 2026

A windowless hallway: three layers of light instead of one chandelier

The least loved room in any flat is usually the worst lit. A long hallway in a 1979 building shows how to build light so that you actually want to walk in.

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Materials19 May 2026

Microcement, terrazzo or tile: what we chose for a bathroom in a 1960s building

Three candidates, one budget and walls that wander by two centimetres. An honest comparison, with prices and what I now do differently.

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Layout11 February 2026

Why I no longer draw an island in a forty-square-metre kitchen-living room

A short note on how an island eats a room, and what to put there instead.

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Site notes27 November 2025

Socket and switch heights: the numbers I repeat to every electrician

The list that lives in my phone. Published so I can link to it.

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House3 September 2025

The house in Peredelkino: first measurements and one surprise

The start of a long story about a timber house from 1998 that wants to be brought to its senses, not rebuilt.

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