Lynn O’Rourke: ‘I can still see the look of horror on our solicitor’s face’

I AM constantly amazed by some of the properties we feature. We try to cover as wide-ranging a selection of homes and interiors as possible, and they are all clearly stylish, but they are all just so... tidy.

I realise there has generally been an extra-special effort made because a photographer was due to knock on the door, but even when we put our home on the market I still don’t think we reached the level of tidiness I see on a regular basis.

Storage is obviously key. We did have a great little box room that led up to the attic in our last place. Unfortunately we filled it with so much stuff it was difficult to get the attic ladder down without some Houdini-type moves. When we put the house on the market and the sales agent turned up to take schedule pics, I managed to shove even more stuff in there – the plan being that I would declutter and streamline the other rooms by doing so, then we would move everything up to the attic at the first opportunity. Needless to say, the chance never arose and I can still recall the look of horror on our solicitor’s face as the real me was unveiled in all my messy glory when she opened the door to the one room she shouldn’t have.

I like to console myself with the thought that perhaps some of the houses aren’t quite as tidy as I imagine. Maybe the photographers have a mountain of stuff hidden behind them and just shoot the tidy angles. But no, that’s the sort of behaviour reserved for my house.

This week we have a great steading conversion, which, despite starting out as a business venture for builder John Lawrie, turned into a labour of love on page 4. TV producer Colin Lennox has used past experience to create a fabulously glamorous look for his city centre flat on page 10. And I have fallen under the spell of ceramicist Lucy Dunce’s beautiful and evocative coastal home on page 16. It truly captures the warmth of family life.