There’s a particular fold of the London property market—probably somewhere between the staircase and under the water heater—where the difference between “minimalist sanctuary” and “really expensive cupboard” becomes comically thin. Into this microcosm steps Cesar Mendez, who purchased an 11.7-square-meter, once-a-storage-room flat in Kensington for £230,000. According to arraymedia, Mendez considers it “a real bargain.” For the price per square meter, the phrase “location, location, location” has likely never felt quite so literal.
Living Large in a Former Cupboard
To appreciate the context: 11.7 square meters translates roughly to the size of a walk-in closet—generous by closet standards, modest for life. Yet Mendez, 47, is openly delighted with his central Kensington residence, as reported by arraymedia, relaying an interview he gave to The Mirror. The all-in-one room—kitchen, bedroom, and living space—makes creative use of the ceiling’s height, and a sliver of hallway somehow delivers a bathroom with a shower. There’s no washing machine, Mendez admits in comments cited by arraymedia, so he launders his clothes elsewhere. “I love the location, it’s fantastic. It’s very convenient,” he’s quoted as saying. The neighbors are “kind,” the atmosphere international (some Chinese, some Italian, he notes), and Hyde Park is a five-minute stroll away.
The neighborhood itself offers glimpses of the British monarchy. Mendez recounts that he often sees the likes of King Charles, Prince William, and Queen Camilla driving by, with police halting traffic for their passage. He describes this happening maybe “once every two weeks.” From a certain perspective—or perhaps only in central London—these royal sightings might offset doing laundry offsite or mastering advanced organizational skills just to keep from “going crazy” in a home where, as he puts it, even a moment of untidiness swallows the last available space. Is that a fair trade, or an example of London’s reality distortion field at work?
Parties in the Drink Cupboard
The prior owner, Nick Minns, managed to etch six months’ worth of memories into the compact walls. As relayed by MyLondonNews and quoted by arraymedia, Minns describes the space as so tight that entertaining friends involved a party “on the stairs,” with the flat itself serving as “just the drink cupboard.” There’s something both ingenious and absurd here: socializing becomes a game of spatial negotiation, not so much a matter of how many you can invite as how well you can stack them.
Nick Gaunt, an estate agent for Purplebricks, offers his own professional take in arraymedia’s report. He acknowledges how rare it is to find any property—regardless of size—with such a coveted postcode for £230,000. Gaunt observes that investors “look beyond the square footage,” focusing on the address as the real draw. That line—“no matter how small”—lingers: does the postcode really eclipse all else, or is this a distinctly Londoner’s rationalization?
Zen and the Art of Storage Room Living
Amid all this, one can’t help but wonder: where does ingenuity end and property-market absurdity begin? For Mendez and his fellow residents, community seems less about square footage and more about collective endurance, or perhaps shared disbelief at their real estate coup. As highlighted earlier in arraymedia’s report, his building holds only eight flats—an exercise in both exclusivity and quartermaster-level logistics.
Is there something secretly appealing in carving out personal space at the heart of a city so expensive that even mop closets become trophy homes? Or are we just witnessing the logical endpoint of housing scarcity and rapid-fire adaptation? If living in a converted storage room becomes an aspirational goal, what’s left for actual broom closets—or is that next year’s hot listing?
If you’ve ever eyed a walk-in closet with longing and thought, “You know, I could really make this work,” it turns out you aren’t alone. And, judging by the contentment of at least one Kensington resident, you might even call it a bargain.
