ALI SAYS...

‘Ever since my first job at an interiors magazine 12 years ago, I’ve always dreamed of owning a period home, somewhere I could put into practice all the things I’d learned along the way. It was a slow start waiting to move in, taking over seven months to complete. During this time we’d sold our flat and were living at my parents, and the clock was ticking because I was pregnant.

‘In the end we moved in with just three weeks to go until the baby arrived. Luckily our builders, who are family friends, could jump straight in and get to work. They managed to redecorate two rooms before Ellis arrived – though they were still madly painting the final coat of the master bedroom when we all arrived home from hospital!

‘After giving ourselves six months to adjust to life with a new baby, we started our big kitchen extension. I loved the planning process and made moodboards and sketches of every area. I found making some of the final decisions quite tough, though – after many years as a stylist, I’ve collected a lot of ideas, tear sheets and Pinterest boards. Luckily Rob is the decisive one. I didn’t realise before this project quite how much of a perfectionist he is – the small details have to be just right, which in reality means everything was finished to a really high standard.

‘The only real setback we had, through no fault of our builders, was when the screed was laid during a heatwave. It didn’t set and it led to a delay of about a week. That might not seem like much, but every day counted when we were living in one hot room upstairs with a baby and a dog. Luckily we could spend lots of time in the local park.

‘With baby number two on the way, we’d like to finish the hallway before her arrival. It’ll seem like a luxury this time round with no noisy building work, a lovely kitchen and even a bath!’