They say it takes just ten seconds, when viewing a new house, to see yourself living there and to know if this is, indeed, the home for you. Last October, as I stood in the hallway of a pretty period semi in Chichester, West Sussex, with its olive tree outside, I instantly had that intangible feeling that gets estate agents calculating their commission and Kirstie Allsopp handing out tissues to emotional house-hunters who have found 'the one'. I know exactly what it was that excited me as I wandered from the cosy living room with its open fire through to a lovely kitchen and bifold doors inviting you out to a private, verdant courtyard. It was the fact I could see myself living here. Alone.