Characterful transformation
Ambrice and her husband, Ben, got hands on when renovating their Suffolk home – now the perfect showcase for her love of art
PROFILE
THE OWNERS
Ambrice Miller, an art dealer (relicinteriors.com) and asset manager, lives here with husband Ben Joyce, an actuary, their young son, and dogs Theo and Edison
THE PROPERTY
Chapel House is a former malt master’s house with elements that date back to the 1650s and a late 19th-century brick façade
Alabama native Ambrice first visited England aged 20, and it made a lasting impression on her, which is why, three years later in 2010, she willingly accepted a work transfer to London. Four years after that, Ambrice met her future husband, Ben. ‘We rented a flat in north London, but when the landlord decided to sell, it felt like the right time for us to look for our place to buy. We wanted a home that we could grow into with some outbuildings for our hobbies.’
Both were keen to move to the country, setting their house search within a 50-mile radius of the capital so they could still travel into London for work. The couple weren’t familiar with Suffolk, but as they approached this property and saw the ivy-covered façade, they were charmed by the idea that it had been there a while; it had history. The owner had rented each room out to lodgers and it was in a state of disrepair. There was carpet in varying shades of deep blue-green, and walls covered in orange embossed paper.
‘I was a little daunted by how much there was to do, as every surface needed to be redone,’ says Ambrice. ‘But we were lucky that no structural work needed to be carried out immediately.’ Ambrice and Ben bought the house knowing they could and would do a lot of the work themselves. The self-confessed DIY addicts are the perfect collaborative team, with Ambrice assuming the role of designer and Ben being more hands on.
They moved into the property in spring 2017 and set to work almost immediately in the kitchen, remov
