GOOD LOOKING

With five children between them, Caroline and Giles Daubeney created a wishlist for their first marital home that inevitably included lots of room. Finding a suitable property in the couples favourite part of southwest London proved to be far from easy, but thanks to a slice of good fortune the Daubeneys came across the ideal property Wed actually been to sec another house nearby, when we spotted this one up for sale, recalls Caroline. Although the double - fronted Victorian villa was perfectly located and seemingly spacious enough to suit the familys needs, there were some serious drawbacks. The place needed an enormous amount of work. Caroline explains. Its owners had lived here for more than 20 years, yet had made few structural changes. Downstairs, the property still had its original 19th - century footprint, with a separate sitting room, dining room and a tiny kitchen. " The first floor, too. was a warren ofdisjointed rooms Initially. Giles was rather unenthusiastic about taking on such a huge renovation. Caroline continues, but by the time wed toured the whole house, hed started to recognise its potential. Gambling that they could turn the rundown villa into a stylish contemporary home, the pair decided to take the plunge and make an offer for the property, which was duly accepted Realising that the scale of the work would render their new house uninhabitable, the Daubeneys and the children moved into rented accommodation while the couple had plans drawn up for updating the villas layout. Having been introduced to interior designer Scan Cochrane through some mutual friends. Caroline and Giless ideas for the revamp began to take shape. It was important to us to keep everything as traditional as possible. says Caroline. For example, when we eventually started work on the kitchen extension, every brick that was taken down was cleaned and reused. Theres nothing modern about the exterior at all. which is wonderful.