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Carolyn Trevor runs her architectural practice, Trevor Lahiff Architects (aka TLA), with her husband, Pat Lahiff. They have five children and live in a seven-bedroom house in the Myatt’s Fields conservation area in south London.
Four years ago, we were living in a Victorian terraced house in Clapham. The whole of the stair hall – which runs all the way up the house – had red-gloss walls and black woodwork, and the windows were all painted green on the outside. The house needed our help: the roof was leaking, the wiring was deadly, and the basement kitchen was manky and damp. One day, I drove through an area called Myatt’s Fields, which I never knew existed, and saw a “for sale” sign outside this fantastic old house which could have come straight out of the The Addams Family.

It was perfect for us, though, and although it was way over our budget, we managed to buy it.It was occupied at the time by an elderly couple and several lodgers, who were struggling with its upkeep. It always felt very tall and narrow, and it became increasingly cramped as our family grew. “Floor plans give an immediate indication of how well, or how badly the accommodation is laid out.”. We were determined to find a home with sufficient storage space, a utility room and large rooms,” says John.If size is important, how best do you get the measure of it? The answer is to calculate the price per square foot, know what is reasonable for the area and read the floor plans, believes Patrick Aschan, of Cluttons, Chelsea. “If someone flies out to look at a house and they don’t want all the bedrooms on the ground floor, they need to know before they set off.”Downsizers refusing to compromise on space are determining how we might interpret plans in the future.

John and Sarah Roberts recently moved from a five-bed house to a three-bed 2,100 sq ft apartment at nearby Roxbury Homes, St George’s Court, Surrey (Savills 01483 796810).”Unfortunately, most developers don’t understand that people want fewer rooms, but spacious ones. She is educating her Continental colleagues into producing brochures with comprehensive floor plans. The truly anal out there might like us to adopt commercial property speak, suggests Tangney. “Zone A is the important shop front and worth more money, compared with cheaper back-room Zone B. Location is all-important – a 2,000sq ft flat in North Kensington is not the same value as a 2,000sq ft house in Campden Hill Gate.”Marie Harrison, who works for upscale German agent Engel & Volkers, making firm inroads into the British market, believes we Brits are ahead of the game.