Vintage CHARM

It's hard to decide if the inside or outside of this Edwardian townhouse is more charming - but both were made with love

- SARA EMSLIE

Transforming a house into a home can often be an evolutionary process. When Jane Davies and her husband Martin purchased a period property in a market town in Shropshire back in 2002, their intentions were always for the long term.

With three young children in tow, with ages ranging from six years to two months, any house deemed worthy of being their forever family home had to deliver big in every sense, even if it meant moving in and then temporarily moving out for essential works to be done.

‘The whole house needed rewiring and gas heating installed,’ explains Jane, ‘so we had to move out for a couple of weeks for all the floorboards to be taken up.

It was a complete mess and very stressful with three young children!’ But Jane has exceptionally good visionary sense and, coupled with her love of interior design, she knew it would be worth it.