Revealed: the best restoration this year, according to the Historic Houses Association

See Article History Alternative Title: Furniture ranges widely from the simple pine chest or stick-back country chair to the most elaborate marquetry work cabinet or gilded console table. The functional and decorative aspects of furniture have been emphasized more or less throughout history according to economics and fashion.

Chairs are as important and necessary as furniture gets; whatever it is you do, you need a chair and the support and comfort it provides to make accomplishments possible.

In , he moved back to Sussex from London with his wife, Caroline, and baby son, Lucian. His father still lived in the residence, and the young family were in no rush to move in. But when his father died in , he suddenly found himself the full-time custodian of Glynde. The house, built around a courtyard in the traditional Elizabethan style, had long ago been divided into four flats. This did not make for comfortable modern family living, so the couple embarked on a major restoration project to unify the four wings.

Instead, the house went around the edges, one corridor thick. This is littered, like many family homes, with car keys, cats and family photographs — mostly of the three Brand children, Lucian, 11, Mary, 10, and Hannah, eight. At the far end of the lobby, double doors lead to the courtyard, once the centre of life at Glynde, but now home to the peaceful pond, transposed from the main garden at the suggestion of landscape designer Kim Wilkie. As well as redoing the roof and gutters, the Brands knocked down walls that had been built in the middle of large rooms, returning them to their original size.

Along the way, they discovered hidden doorways and replaced window panes. When an old pane of glass fell from a bay window at the front of the house, the family had to reassess the project. The house was open to the public, and we were looking to do more events. Now, Glynde is ready to host again: