I’d have renovated my house if I’d known coronavirus was coming. Who knows when I’ll get my dream home studio now?

If only I’d had the foresight all those years ago to have wrestled the pencil from the architect’s hand and told him that while a wet room is a good idea, keeping oneself employed is even better, writes Jenny Eclair

Stocking up: room for a chest freezer? (Getty/iStockphoto)

Fifteen years ago we built our own house. When I say “we”, I mean my designer partner, who worked with a brilliant architect and a team of equally brilliant builders.

I did precisely nothing; at the time I was writing a novel and stayed holed up in our old Georgian terrace. I wasn’t even sure whether we’d move into the new house when it was completed, I thought we might just stay put and sell the project that remained hidden for months on end behind huge wooden hoardings.

For starters, it seemed to have happened by accident. My partner had been made redundant, got some money and had seen a little two-up two-down, with a garage for sale. The next thing I knew, he’d bought it, obtained planning permission and knocked the thing down.