Remarkably little had changed in The Lodge when Andrew and his partner acquired the rambling farmhouse in 2018 (the first time it had been sold outside the family since 1857). Andrew’s brief to himself was to tread lightly and intervene respectfully in this 500-year-old building nestling in countryside along the Essex-Suffolk border. ‘Repair’ rather than ‘renovation’ was the order of the day as the home was gently brought into the 21st century by a team of builders and craftsmen experienced in the idiosyncratic needs of historic buildings, working to Andrew’s designs. Thankfully, the floorplan of the Grade II listed house worked as well as it did in the Victorian era.

The different histories, functions and character of the three phases of the house – Tudor, Georgian and Victorian – influenced the interior decoration choices. In the Tudor rooms (back hall, pantry, kitchen, family bathrooms, an upstairs reading room) wide oak floorboards and brick pavers were preserved by running copper water and central heating pipes across the beamed ceilings (the plumber’s craftsmanship left on view) and walls were repaired with green oak and lime mortar. Instead of intrusive recessed downlighters, surface mounted porcelain fittings and lightbulbs were used. Walls were mostly painted in ‘Savage Ground’, except for one of the house bathrooms: in tribute to the previous owners’ bright green William Morris wallpaper, a warm gold wallpaper from Colony was used; and the small, rolltop bath, which fills fabulously fast, was retained despite its tired enamel.

The Lodge’s Georgian section, providing a ground floor family room (Andrew calls it The Snug) and first floor bedrooms, required sash windows last opened 40 years ago to be repaired with patched-in woodwork and most of the 19th century handmade glass panes saved. The Georgian rooms are sun filled but a darker palette chosen for walls and woodwork (‘Mahogany’, ‘Inky Nib’, ‘Kipper’) creates a cosy feel and a backdrop for Andrew’s collection of 20st century artworks.

The Victorian wing was constructed in the 1860s by James Spalding Gardiner, a gentlemen farmer and political campaigner in need of a house befitting his status and large family. Through the front door, which still has its original key, Andrew created a striking formal entrance hall using a rich blue wallpaper by Watts of Westminster, based on a 16th century Flemish tapestry digitally printed on grass cloth. To the right in the formal dining room walls, ceiling, windows and doors are all painted ‘Silt’, creating an all-enveloping neutral background for an early 19th century Anglo-Indian dining table, teamed with Saarinen dining chairs and Castiglioni light. Windows were deliberately left undressed to amplify the buzz of dinner party conversations. Across the hall, the fabric-rich drawing room soaks up the sound giving two very different atmospheres. Upstairs, the whole of the Victorian first floor is a master bedroom suite enjoying sunrises across the Suffolk countryside.

As in the Victorian era, The Lodge today is a place to feel at home and to entertain. It holds onto its heritage but plays with it and looks into the future. Andrew’s approach has been consistently thoughtful and respectful. And the house still has doorknobs of a dozen different designs: they don’t match but each speaks to The Lodge’s past and the individuals’ whose hands turned them.