Sneak preview

Few people would risk trying to buy a property without having seen it first. But that is what interior designers Peter Thwaites and his wife, Rebecca Aird, did when they put in an offer on the south London flat that has now been their home for the past four years.

'We'd peeked through the window,' says Peter, as though that is a commonplace method of viewing. '

At the time, the property market was going crazy. We were working on a cruise ship in Finland, but didn't want to miss the chance to buy the flat, so we asked some friends to pose as us.'

Fortunately, once the couple did see the flat, which is on the ground and lower-ground floor of a flatfronted Victorian house, it offered even greater riches than they had assumed from the outside.

The house is one of a small terrace and, because it was probably intended for the builder's own use, it is graced with three elaborately carved mantelpieces and some Anaglypta wallpaper that remained in the main bedroom in pristine condition.

'The Anaglypta was a bit of a bargaining point,' says Peter. 'We fought off the competition by promising to keep it.'

When the couple moved in, the wallpaper and everything else in the flat had remained untouched for 40 years.

Peter and Rebecca decided to redesign the layout and spent the next six months living with building works to create an open-plan living space.

With all the basics in place, the couple set about decorating the flat in their individual style. Peter and Rebecca are both skilled craftspeople with an enthusiasm for the eclectic.

When they met six years ago, Rebecca was a mosaicist, and Peter a muralist.

But, after six months of pursuing their careers in a shared studio, they decided to launch a joint design practice, Rapt Interiors. 'People kept asking us to do whole interiors rather than just wall finishes,' says Peter.

Paint finishes, however, remain one of their outstanding talents, and in their flat they have deployed various techniquesto dramatic effect. The wallpaper has been retained in its full glory, but bronzed and darkened to a rich plum as a warm backdrop to their bedroom.

In the hall, a plasterwork tree as delicate as any 18th century chinoiserie spreads its branches along the mushroom-coloured walls. 'That's a particularly time-consuming technique,' explains Peter.