When I found the house, the developer had just finished the first fix. So the electrics were in, but nothing else had been completed.”

Keen to make headway with finishing the building work and designing his new home, Murad Mousa enlisted the help of interior designer Angela Bailey from Emblazon Design who was recommended to him by a friend.

Said Murad: “Angela did some fantastic designs that I loved. She came up with the idea of opening up the kitchen-dining-living area to make a large open-plan space, just the kind of thing I had envisaged. After looking at her designs I thought, ‘maybe I can do this myself’ and got started on the project.”

But despite his enthusiasm and optimism, coordinating such a large project was not as easy as Murad had imagined. Explained Murad: “I was constantly thinking about everything: fl oors, walls, the kitchen, the bathroom. At two or three o’clock in the morning I’d be sat in bed with interior design magazines spread around me. I was getting nowhere, chasing my tail and changing my mind constantly. It was wearing me out!”

Eventually Murad was forced to admit defeat. He returned to Angela and asked for her help: “It was all too much. With my tail between my legs, I went back to Angela and asked her to get involved.”