A return to form: The reinvention of Holland Manor

The approach to Holland Manor is deliberately cinematic. A long drive gently unfolds through parkland originally shaped by Capability Brown, where ancient trees frame shifting views across water and open pasture. Then, the house emerges out of the green.

Today, it feels timeless. But when Atelier Gooch first encountered the Grade II-listed Georgian mansion, much of its architectural clarity had disappeared beneath the remnants of its previous life as a call centre.

“At first impression , you couldn’t see the character at all,” recalls Gooch Ozyigit, founder of his eponymous firm. Subdivided interiors, suspended ceilings and raised floors had obscured the proportions and detailing that once defined the house. “It was only through revisiting and revealing those hidden elements – fireplaces, floor structures, original proportions – that it became really interesting.”

Alongside interior design studio Albion Nord, led by Ottalie Stride and Anthony Kooperman, Atelier Gooch was tasked with restoring the house while carefully adapting it for contemporary living. “We’ve worked together on several projects,” Gooch says. “The way our architectural design dovetails with Albion Nord’s is seamless. This collaboration was born out of a shared passion to restore something that was already beautiful into its next stage of life.”

What followed was an unusually forensic process of restoration. Historic plans were studied in detail, original proportions reinstated and long-obscured architectural features carefully revealed. “We were quite slavish to the time period,” Anthony notes. “It took a huge amount of research, but the aim was to reinstate what should have been there –  something that feels true to the building, and that will last another century.”

That approach is perhaps most clearly expressed in the reinstatement of the library and dining room. When the team arrived, the spaces had been merged into a single room and divided arbitrarily. “By looking back through historic plans, we were able to determine that it had originally been two distinct spaces,” Gooch explains.

Working alongside Historic England, the team introduced a carefully detailed dividing structure that restores the original hierarchy of the rooms while remaining entirely reversible. “It’s effectively a fully removable intervention,” he notes. “It reads as part of the house – a scholarly reproduction – but it doesn’t permanently alter the fabric.”

As the original spatial rhythm of the house re-emerged, the challenge became how to balance its formal grandeur with the realities of contemporary domestic life. “A lot of the rooms are gargantuan,” Ottalie explains. “Everything had to be designed specifically for the space; otherwise, it simply wouldn’t feel in proportion.”

While Holland Manor honours its period heritage with a series of expansive entertaining rooms, elsewhere the atmosphere becomes noticeably more relaxed. “We made a conscious decision to create areas that feel more familiar,” Gooch explains. “Spaces where you can properly relax, put your feet up and spend time together without feeling like you need to sit formally.”

A whisky room draws on a deeper, autumnal palette, while the wine cellar adopts a subtle Provençal character, with rustic brick floors and pale timber cabinetry. Elsewhere, a winter garden within a Victorian top-floor extension offers a softer counterpoint to the house’s Georgian symmetry. “It’s an amazing, green, contemplative space – perhaps not something you might expect from a building like this,” Anthony reflects.

The surrounding landscape remained a constant point of reference throughout the project.“The landscape is quintessentially English and contains an incredible variety of trees,” Gooch says of the  Capability Brown gardens. “You can really tell how the house has been shaped by the nature around it. The setting allows the building to breathe, while simultaneously offering these long, uninterrupted views.”

That relationship between interior and landscape became particularly important in the guest bedrooms, where palettes were intentionally restrained. Neutral tones, tactile upholstery and softly layered textures allow the scenery beyond the windows to take precedence. “It’s like looking at a theatre set,” Ottalie says. “By keeping the schemes pared back, you’re allowing that external landscape to become the artwork.”

The comparison resonates beyond the visual. Holland Manor was originally conceived as a place of performance: commissioned in the 18th century by Lord and Lady Craven, the estate once included an amphitheatre within the grounds for theatrical entertainment, traces of which still remain today.

For Gooch, that sense of continuity became central to the restoration. “When working on buildings like this, there’s always a sense that you’re contributing to an ongoing narrative,” he reflects. “There’s something unique about walking in the footsteps of Georgians, experiencing the same unchanged views. We aren’t replacing what was there, but adding another layer – something that, in time, becomes part of that story.”

The extended restoration process also allowed both studios to experience the house across changing seasons, reinforcing its atmosphere as a place of retreat. “Being there over winter is really quite special,” Gooch recalls. “You get the mist coming up over the lake in the morning, the dew on the grass – it has this incredible sense of calm. You want to throw on some wellies and go for a walk, then cosy down in front of one of the original Henry Holland fireplaces.”

As for spectacular views, Anthony recalls the rooftop terrace in particular. “It’s quite an extraordinary vantage point,” he says. “The views change completely with the seasons – in winter you can see for miles through the trees, and in summer, everything comes alive with incredibly lush colour.”

Ultimately, however, it is the way the house now accommodates contemporary patterns of living that defines the project. “It’s a house that really comes alive when it’s full,” Ottalie reflects. “You can all be together, but there’s also space to peel off – to read, sit quietly and have a moment on your own.”

In this balance between gathering and retreat, grandeur and intimacy, Holland Manor finds its most enduring rhythm: a home that honours both its history and the way we live now.

Holland Manor is available for short stays.