Paul and Mo Brittain moved into their 1930s three-bedroom semi-detached home in the middle of Cambridge in 1981. When they moved into the property, the master bedroom already had fitted wardrobes. But they were cheap and poor quality with a seriously sub-standard finish of painted-over melamine.
They were also flat, drab slab doors which had no profile to them at all; a style which simply wasn’t in keeping with the rest of the Brittain’s interior design scheme. There was – and is – a chimney breast in the bedroom, and the original fitted wardrobes were in the alcoves either side. The chimney breast itself had also been panelled off. Mr & Mrs Brittain also had a pine chest of drawers made to sit in front of the chimney, so it fitted the width of the space perfectly. However it was not fitted to the wall – so small items like jewellery often fell down the back of the drawers.