HUSBAND-and-wife team Lynne and Alan Buckland, who make up the Southampton company Dcor Design, have hit on a novel way to ease the stress of home decorating.

While their customers take a break in the sun, the couple, who live in Bitterne, Southampton, will look after the house and family pets while undertaking anything from an exterior paint job to a complete Changing Rooms-style makeover.

This service has proved so popular that they are already taking bookings for the summer season next year, they said.

Dcor Design was created by former Playboy Bunny and ex-art student Lynne to meet a demand that has arisen from the influx of home decorating programmes and publications. She says that, together with her husband, she brings to life customers' ideas from wall murals for children to a complete interior design service.