Open-plan living created a problem fixed gates never really solved: you want the doorway blocked at nine in the morning and completely clear by seven in the evening. This one winds back into a housing roughly the width of your hand, so the gap between kitchen and hall stops being a permanently obstructed route with a bar to step over every time you pass.

The mechanism runs on an aluminium mandrel, which is what makes the retraction smooth and quiet rather than snatchy, and the panel itself is PVC mesh on a PP plastic frame. Mesh has one real advantage over bars: there is nothing to climb and no rungs to trap a paw or a foot, and a child who runs into it is not running into metal. It adjusts to any width up to the full 130cm, so it will fit an awkward opening that a rigid gate simply cannot.

• Extends to 130cm wide and stands 78cm high
• Adjusts to narrower openings and retracts fully when not in use
• Aluminium mandrel with a PP plastic frame and PVC mesh panel
• Non-toxic and odourless materials throughout
• Suits pets of roughly 4.5 to 18kg, and babies from 6 to 24 months
• For doorways, hallways, balconies and stair openings

Where not to fit it. The manufacturer says this can go at the top of a staircase, and that needs care. Every retractable gate hangs off brackets, and at the top of stairs those brackets must be screwed into solid timber or masonry, never stuck on and never into plasterboard alone. Mesh also gives when leaned on, so a big dog that pushes through things is outside what this is for. Their own guidance stops at about 18kg.

Who it's for: Flats and open-plan houses where a permanent gate is always in the way, small and medium dogs, puppies, and families who need one barrier that works for the toddler and the dog alike.