It’s probably the case that more cellar conversions are undertaken to create home offices than for any other purpose, and they do create the perfect environment to concentrate on a little work – warm and well-lit and quietly away from the other distractions of the house. Indeed, for those who run small office-based businesses a basement conversion makes fantastic economic sense – the benefit of investing in your own property rather than renting premises is obvious.

These days, however, just running your own busy life is enough to warrant an office environment for many families – somewhere to battle through the household accounts, work at a computer, surf the internet, or the perfect environment for your children to get on with their homework.

And hands up all those who have a box of bank and credit card statements under the bed or behind the sofa! The basement office also means that your other rooms needn’t be cluttered with computers, files and paperwork and you can get the living and dining areas you truly aspire to… simply because all the business side of life is being taken care of neatly and tidily elsewhere.