WHEN Vanessa Higgins first saw the mill house from a nearby public path, she ran back to her waiting husband, David, excitedly proclaiming: “Wow.”

The mill, in a tiny Wiltshire hamlet, is an 18th century building with waterside gardens and paddocks, but a mill was recorded on the site in the Doomsday Book.

“It took months to purchase,” recalls Vanessa, 39.

“We had pulled out of buying a property in Devon at the last minute, then found the mill. It was just so pretty – the perfect family home.” But it wasn’t cheap. It was on the market for £1.3 million, but the drawn-out negotiations – which took not much short of a year – worked in the couple’s favour. By the time it came to agree money, the market had dropped.

“We paid a little over £900,000,” says Vanessa.

“Which was considerably less than we had offered initially.”

So, how many bedrooms does it have? Vanessa is not so sure with these numbers: “I don’t know … one, two, three … six – no, seven.” But the layout is, admittedly, rather complicated; the living areas are in the old mill and the bedrooms are spread among two attached cottages. But, all in all, there is ample space for David and Vanessa, David’s three children from his first marriage, two children with Vanessa, their dalmatian and highland terrier – and the energy consultancy business the couple run from home.

The family moved into the mill in 2001; the previous owners had been there for 20 years but their children were now grownup. “It was quite dilapidated,” says Vanessa. “Water was running down the walls and it was a bit smelly and damp, having been left empty for a while. It also needed major plumbing work.” Other problems were more instantly obvious: “It hadn’t been touched for years. The walls were covered in buttoned green fabric and psychedelic herringbone wallpapers.”

It was stripping these off the walls that revealed the “cracks, bits falling off and treacherous wiring”. Vanessa laughs: “We felt glad we had survived.”

The house is listed, of course, so there were constraints on the refurbishment.

“We weren’t allowed to alter anything at all on the outside, but we won approval to make changes on the inside, mainly because these preserved and improved the house,” says Vanessa, who is particularly taken with the approved dampproofing material – “like mega-giant bubble wrap”.

Some walls were removed to open up internal spaces, and a conservatory was built to provide a dining area. The kitchen windows were enlarged (“it was so closed up and dark”). Finally, another conservatory was built to provide a link to a barn, which is now a double garage and an office.

A local joiner built the home’s three new staircases, but a crew of builders had to travel down every day from Birmingham to turn the Seventies kidney-shaped swimming pool into a state-of-the-art 12-metre model.

“We lived in a building site for a year. We thought it would all take six months, but after two years we are only just finishing.” And then there was the bill.

“We spent about £500,000,” she says.

The results are an interesting fusion of traditional and modern: a large and original buttress in the new open-plan kitchen area has a bespoke modern cabinet hanging from it, for example. A glass panel in the kitchen floor looks onto the mill stream, while a cool, flat TV is suspended from an antique timber eave in the couple’s bedroom.

In the bathroom, a freestanding roll-top bath, Thirties-style polished chrome fittings and Art Deco-style walnut and bird’s-eye maple furniture are juxtaposed with contemporary sandblasted doors and panels for the walk-in shower.

There are cream carpets, Travertine and oak floors and white walls. (“I might introduce colour later. But I wanted to make it light.” ) Authentic Art Deco furniture sits alongside Simon Bray’s modern bespoke GK Design furniture and contemporary John Lewis pieces. Boys toys include a fancy Bang & Olufsen sound system that can be turned on by remote control anywhere in the house.

“We spent more than £30,000 on B&O; one of the TVs was £11,000 alone,” says Vanessa. She is looking at the specially built and studded sitting room wall that was recessed to take the Odeon-sized beast.

“You can even turn the telephones down by remote control,” she chirrups.

The kitchen is by Bray, too, and is something of a focal point, with black granite surfaces, lacquered cupboards, glass-fronted cabinets and Miele appliances. A large and bright open space has been divided with furniture by Bray. A glass-topped curved oak bar with chrome and leather stools connects the cooking area to the conservatory and the family room. “Even when I’m cooking, I’m still in touch with everyone,” she says.