My favourite room: ‘Mum gasped. She later told me it was a shock to see how much of a doer-upper it was’ – From empty shell to Home of the Year contender

How you decide to view the unexpected is an important lesson of life and indeed of home renovation. If you can succeed in changing your mindset, something that seems like a huge mistake can turn out to be a treasured feature as Esther Loynton discovered when the much-anticipated concrete floor was poured in the terraced home she shares with her wife Robyn Anderson and toddler son Finn.