Gardening
The Case for Growing Things
You do not need a garden to be a gardener. You need something alive that you are responsible for, and the willingness to pay attention.
Gardening
Read the piece
Renter Balcony Garden Move-Out: How to Dismantle, Clean Up, and Keep Your Deposit
Moving out with a container garden? Here's how to dismantle it cleanly, restore stained decking, dispose of soil properly, and protect your security deposit.
The Almanac
Recent pieces
All articles
Minimalism
What Ma Taught Me About Negative Space
My grandmother kept thirty things in her kitchen. Not as a design statement. As a natural consequence of knowing what she needed and not buying what she didn't.
Design History
Behind the Dado Rail: A Brief History of the Divided Wall
The dado rail was never purely decorative. Understanding what it was for changes how you feel about having one - or removing one.
Seasonal
A Season at the Table
A table set to impress is a different thing from a table set to welcome. The difference is felt immediately, and it determines the kind of evening you will have.
Renovation
The Long Renovation
We have been renovating for six years. We are not finished. I have stopped expecting to be finished and started trying to understand what that means.
Small Spaces
Renting with Intention
You do not need to own your home to make it yours. You need to make decisions about it - deliberately, and with the understanding that temporary does not mean careless.
Subjects
Browse by category
- Small SpacesStudios, rentals, and the discipline of constraint.
- GardeningWindow boxes, balconies, and growing things in pots.
- MinimalismNegative space, ma, and the practice of editing.
- Design HistoryWhere styles came from, and why they keep coming back.
- HostingTables, gathering, and the seasonal rhythm of a home.
- Heritage HomesOld buildings, slow renovation, and listening to a house.
From the archive
Worth revisiting
Minimalism
The Wabi-Sabi Kitchen
The case for a kitchen that has been used: worn boards, mismatched cups, a chopping block that shows its history. Imperfection as a form of honesty.
Small Spaces
Renting with Intention
You do not need to own your home to make it yours. You need to make decisions about it - deliberately, and with the understanding that temporary does not mean careless.
A note from the editors
A publication for the homes we actually live in
The Home Almanac is written for people who care deeply about where they live - not the aspirational spread, but the real flat, the rented terrace, the first house with the awkward kitchen. We write about small spaces, slow renovation, gardening in pots, and the kind of design that lasts.
Read more about us