We got the keys for this place the day before lockdown, so it was just me, Stephen, and a load of boxes on moving-in day as no one was allowed to help,’ says Alana. ‘Initially, I had a few days of panic because the house was in such a state. In fact, it was so bad that we didn’t even bother with a survey as we knew we’d have to strip everything out and start again.
But even though the 1970s hadn’t been kind to the house, and everything was extremely dated and badly maintained, I was excited by the idea of bringing character back into it and replacing the Edwardian features that had unfortunately been ripped out.
After the panic subsided Stephen and I made a plan of action, deciding to start with the ground-floor layout which was then a warren of tiny rooms. We knew it was going to be a messy job and one of the biggest investments so it
