I had dreaded the visit to my sister S’s house in Jesmond, convinced that I probably wouldn’t even make it past the front door. This was due to the quantity of junk that she stored from floor to ceiling in her tiny Tyneside flat.

However, when I arrived there I found a vast airy space laid out in a way reminiscent of the displays at IKEA. The only difference was that my sister had cleverly positioned interesting antiques and vintage furniture – rather than cheap Scandi flatpack – in neat little ‘scenes’ across the floor.