Nick Bullen’s house is furnished with beautiful antique furniture because his parents had no interest in it. ‘I grew up surrounded by bent chrome, smoked glass and plastic,’ he smiles, explaining that his parents commissioned a modern house in 1970, with an interior that could have come from the set of a 1960s Bond film.
Although they had inherited lots of furniture via family connected to 19th-century Liverpool business people, his parents placed it all in storage.
Some years later, when Nick and his three brothers wanted to furnish their new homes, they discovered a treasure trove of beautiful 18th- and 19th-century mahogany rosewood furniture and artefacts, including sets of Victorian dinner plates and large brass lamps.
‘My brothers and I loved what we found; none of us went for the mid-century style,’ he reflects.
Nick and his wife, Zoe, moved to Suffolk because they felt it was close enough to London but still a working county: not a place full of dormitory towns for commuters.
You might like How to renovate a 17th century farmhouse
The house was originally two cottages one room deep, built in the late 16th century with a Georgian façade tacked on the front and a 1930s addition on one side. A friend remarked that it would take them 10 years to get the place how they wanted it.
‘Sixteen years later, there is still work that needs doing,’ laughs Nick, who has worked closely with builders to make the different parts of the house cohere. It was a priority to bring in light.
Beams from the cottage part were sanded in Zoe’s study and limewashed in the kitchen. Some needed replacing and were sourced from Suffolk Reclamation, which is just an hour’s drive away.
Views were important too, both within the house and across the garden and parkland. From the bath you can now look one way to the garden and the paddocks and parkland Nick has created for his horses, and the other way towards a warming log fire.
The Bullens acknowledge that their careers in television might have given them an ability to tell a story. They are both keen travellers and very often came back with treasures, which they would then research.
Zoe decided it would be fun to create a mini museum of curios and curiosities, such as those collected by Victorian explorers, and place them among their holiday finds and inherited period furniture and accessories.
A narwhal tusk is propped against the wall in a corner of the drawing room, ancient Egyptian funerary
pots and a very old Thai puppet adorn the mantelpiece, next to an Edwardian drinks trolley that belonged to Zoe’s grandmother.
A case of butterflies and some brightly coloured framed pot lids hang among contemporary pictures – some of which are by Zoe, an accomplished artist.
You might like A renovated 17th-century home in Suffolk
The walls of the drawing room were originally pink, but Zoe repainted them a dark absorbent blue to offset the pinks and oranges, and as a foil for the pictures and objects the couple collect. Both love colour and pattern, and are not afraid to mix patterns and motifs.
Interior designer Sophie Grattan Bellew and her team recently worked for Zoe and Nick, choosing and combining materials, finishing with trimmings and providing upholstery, cushions, curtains and blinds, starting anew in some rooms and, in others, working with existing elements.
In Zoe’s study and in the large room next to the kitchen, with comfortable chairs and a dining table, cushions in contemporary 1970s-inspired orange-and-red patterned fabric give a nod to Nick’s parents’ taste.
By making bold decorating decisions while remaining true to the origins of the house, the Bullens have created a comfortable home to be enjoyed. It is also a haven for their 20-something sons and their friends, as well as weekend guests, who delight in their collections.