ROB SAYS...

‘We fell in love with Aldersbrook and put offers on several houses along our road. It’s a hidden gem – a small Conservation Area of Edwardian houses surrounded by green space, but with train connections into Liverpool Street.

‘We did less DIY than I’d planned due to lack of time, but I did strip all the wallpaper to save cash (no mean feat when there’s layers of woodchip on three-metre high ceilings!). I’m the practical voice to Ali’s creative vision. When it came to making decisions, we discussed every layout option in minute detail. We’d decided on three different locations for the kitchen at various points! It was a meticulous process, but it meant there’s nothing we regret. I’m proud we achieved all this on a fairly modest budget.

‘The extension took four months in total, and the hardest part was living upstairs in the spare bedroom throughout, making one-pot meals in our makeshift kitchen and washing up in the shower. Now it’s finished, my favourite thing about the house is that it’s really flexible. You can often find me cooking in the kitchen while Ellis plays and Ali works at the table. Next year we plan to redesign the garden, starting with a huge patio and using the same porcelain tiled flooring as inside to create an even larger flowing space for entertaining during summer months.

‘Ideally we would have loved a two-storey extension to add a bedroom and make our bathroom bigger, but that was never a possibility when living in a Conservation Area. We had to keep plans within permitted development – but the pretty streets and lovely parks make up for that.’