Before
Toni, 34, and husband, Chris, 33, may have loved their period home in Thanet, Kent, but with four children and four bedrooms, plus regularly visiting relatives and Toni’s job in property management, requiring out of hours work, they knew they would eventually have to move on, or conjure up extra space within the property. ‘This is such a unique house, and we had worked so hard to restore all the period panelling and features, that I was determined to stay,’ recalls Toni. Therefore, having persuaded Chris to agree to a future loft conversion, thus guaranteeing children, Kai, Cade, Maisie and Cole their own rooms, her attention soon focused on the dining room as a possible alternative to guests sleeping in the living room, and trying to work from a laptop in any available quiet corner.
The bespoke timber blind was chosen for its rich dark tones and unusual stippled finish, which Toni felt echoed the room’s period heritage