Charlotte (the one with brown hair) and Chloe (the blonde one) share a one-bedroom flat in Arnos Grove (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

Each week we have a look around a different person’s rented property in London for our series, What I Rent.

Why? Because we’re nosy. We even take photos of their toothbrushes while looking around their bathroom cupboards.

But more importantly, we do it because we want to create an honest picture of what renting actually looks like – the good, the bad, and the miserably overpriced.

Renting gets a bad rep – for good reason. Costs are high, space is limited, and people are often ripped off.


Throw in parental shaming for ‘throwing away money’ and it makes sense to be a little disillusioned with the renting market.



We make do, though, finding the best property we can and doing whatever we need to make it feel like home – even if we’re not allowed to paint the walls and hang up pictures.

This week we’re seeing how Charlotte and Chloe have turned their one-bedroom flat in Arnos Grove into a home. We chatted to Charlotte all about their place.

They each pay just under £648 a month (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

Hey Charlotte! How much do you pay to live here?

Our rent is £1,295 between us per month so that’s just under £648 each.

Chloe is in charge of the finance side of things but off the top of my head we pay around £50 each in bills including WiFi etc.

What do you get for what you pay?

We have a bedroom, bathroom and a kitchen that joins up to the lounge/dining area of the flat. There’s a long hallway which makes it feel like there’s more space.

What do you think of the area?

We’re based in Arnos Grove, North London. I’m originally from Buckinghamshire so I had no clue where was best to move in London but Chloe is from East Finchley way (and so are her family) so we chose to live somewhere North as it’s not so hectic.

It’s a bit of a compromise as there isn’t much to do in Arnos Grove, with the exception of Arnos Pools and a very unexciting Sainsbury’s but we both work in Central London so it doesn’t matter too much.

We have also got Arnos Grove park, Arnos Arms local pub and a doctor surgery and dentist both within a few minute walk so it’s quite quaint really.

The flat is right by the North Circular (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

How did you end up living here?

We’ve lived here since November last year, so not very long really.

I think we found it on Zoopla – I scoured pretty much every page and we locked it down the evening after we saw it.

I was really happy to find a flat that is relatively modern as we’d originally looked in areas like Crouch End which has definitely got more going on but the flats were old fashioned which is not my vibe!



I like to live in a really tidy and minimal space which is easier to maintain in a modern flat so we were really lucky to find a one-year-old new build.

The kitchen is also done up in a mushroom colour which makes me feel like I’m adulting on some kind of level too.

What’s it like living together?

I live with my girlfriend Chloe who I’ve been with for just under two years now.

It’s definitely been an adjusting period as I’ve never shared the same room with someone before but she’s my best friend so it’s cute coming home to her and we’re always laughing about something weird the other one does.

We’ve developed little routines which are totally old lady things but I love them – like cleaning the flat and going for a walk on Sunday and making each other morning tea before work. Chloe does the last one more than I do. We live a wild life.

The couple have been together for two years, and moved in together back in November 2018 (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

Do you feel like you have enough space?

Where we’ve got the long hallway that breaks up the lounge and bedroom areas is nice as it feels like you’re not living on top of each other.

I’d obviously love to live in a big house in the countryside but for the time being a flat will have to suffice…. Having a balcony is going to be amazing in the summer though so I’m looking forward to that!


How have you made the flat feel like home?

Buying all the spices and condiments was one of the first things I did as we’re both into cooking and meal prepping for work.

The bedside tables and full length mirror in the bedroom have helped too as we didn’t have a mirror for the first few months which was a bizarre and unsightly situation for my outfit choices I’m sure.

In the lounge, I love the big fluffy grey rug and geometric light pendants I got from Dunelm and Chloe has three new ‘plant babies’ called Penelope, Kevin and Doris which have made the flat feel way more homely.

They say they like quite a minimalist style for their flat (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

Are there any problems with the flat you’re dealing with?

The only issue we have is with the flat being right by the North Circular but we got used to the road noise after a couple of days so it’s not really a major problem.

We do however have a bedroom that faces the front of the flat and outside the walkway is always fully lit. We’ve had to stick black-out material to the windows to stop the light coming into the bedroom which is annoying but nothing a black-out blind can’t fix.

Are you planning to move again?

We’ll probably start looking to move somewhere else in London with more things to do after we’ve been here a full year.

That or I’d like to move back to somewhere in the home counties or an area that’s less polluted and busy.


Have you considered buying a place?

I’d like to be in a position not to pay someone else rent but at the same time I like the freedom that comes with not being tied down to one place. So much in life can change in a year!

True. Shall we have a nose around the place?

There’s one bedroom, one bathroom, an open plan living area, dining area, and kitchen, and a balcony (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

Charlotte and Chloe aren’t big on clutter (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

But they love plants (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

See? (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

The balcony will be lovely in summer (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

Charlotte loves the mushroom colour of the kitchen (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

Everything is very organised (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

Here’s the bedroom (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

They went without a mirror for a while, which wasn’t great (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

A lot of light comes in, so they’ve had to put up black-out material in the windows (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

And here’s the (very clean and tidy) bathroom (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

Top points for the pristine toothbrushes and a water pick (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

And what an organised caddy! (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)

What I Rent is a weekly series that’s out every Tuesday at 10am. Check back next week to have a nose around another rented property in London.

How to get involved in What I Rent What I Rent is Metro.co.uk's weekly series that takes you inside the places people are renting, to give us all a better sense of what's normal and how much we should be paying. If you fancy taking part, please email whatirent@metro.co.uk. You'll need to have pictures taken of your kitchen, living room, bathroom, and bedroom, plus a few photos of you in your room. Make sure you get permission for your housemates! You'll also need to be okay with sharing how much you're paying for rent, as that's pretty important.

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