New home? Seven ways to put your stamp on interiors without blowing the budget

"Buying on eBay, which for me is a safer bet than buying at auction, means that you have many different things coming from different places and different periods, and so you get a feeling that the rooms have evolved over time, rather than buying new things from one place," says Daines.

Palest clay and vanilla are used to make a good flow. "If you decorate a room with colour, you’re tied to a scheme. Start on a neutral canvas, and you can build layers with colours and textures," says Daines.

"I’m a huge fan of mid-century furniture," Daines says. "They’re proper pieces of furniture that don’t cost a fortune and work with everything: timeless, functional as well as good-looking."

In the dining area, the extendable dining table cost £200 and a late-Fifties sideboard was £175, both from eBay. In the living room, a pair of elegant black lacquer consoles on either side of the archway entrance were an eBay triumph.

Daines’ take on traditional net curtains for the dining area’s French doors and the living room’s long sash windows is to use Kravet’s openwork textural sheers that let the light in, yet have the body to take tailored pleats at the top, suspended from bronze rods.

Throughout the house, creative touches personalise the space, turning it into a home.

Paintings bought on eBay and re-framed are displayed not just on walls but on easels, including cute tabletop versions, that he first paints and waxes to give them a glossy finish. Cheap-as-chips white Japanese lanterns that have graced many a bedsit are Daines’ choice for the bedroom ceilings.

“Use less expensive fabrics for curtains and upholstery," advises Robin, "then accent with smaller items of pricier fabrics to elevate or add a pop of colour to a room."

He saved extravagant splurges for cushions, such as using the exotic Mughal Garden print Shalimar from GP & J Baker’s Caspian Collection for the guest bedroom.