LAST year, we bought our fourth house in little over two decades. Each of them has presented its own set of challenges. The first was a tired south London terrace, the second a similarly weary townhouse, the third an Arts-and-Crafts house on a river untouched in 50 years and, now, we’re knee deep in the business of dragging a 17th-century cottage, with later additions, into the 21st century. All four have provided a learning curve, the steep trajectory of which has been suppressed by a combination of experience and growing faith in our own convictions.
It was probably easier a generation ago when there was much less choice: terracotta or cork? Sanderson or G. P. & J. Baker? Dulux or Crown? Stripped pine or paint? Nor was there the internet or social media, only a handful of magazines and the brilliant Terence Conran’s to hold our hand. We’ve found that experience teaches
