Curb Appeal

Feature 13595295 | © living4media / Narratives / Sanderson, Robert | 27 images

Moving to her current house was a dream come true for designer Celia James, especially considering her previous property. My last home' It was a squashed, 600-square foot, one-bedroom flat with no sunlight and a tiny outside space, she recalls. The property Celia was considering was a double-fronted 1920s terrace with a turret topped by an original iron ornament. From the outside, it looked lovely, recalls Celia who guessed it would need a fair bit of care and attention as it was being rented out. The problem was the tenants didn't want to leave. On the three occasions I went to view the house during the day, all the Venetian blinds and curtains were closed. It was difficult to see exactly what the place looked like inside it was so dark, so although it was summer I only viewed the rooms in artificial light, says Celia. But, I could tell the direction the property faced and with the number of windows I knew it had to be light and bright.