Decisions made in half an hour end up furnishing years. You look at a flat once, in daylight, with an agent talking, and what you are actually choosing is what you will see on ten thousand ordinary mornings, which no viewing can show you. Light, noise, the walk to the door, what is opposite the window: these become the texture of a life rather than features on a list.

When you next choose somewhere to live or work, go back at a different hour and stand still for ten minutes. Ask what the daily version feels like rather than what the impressive version looks like.