When golf course architect Alan Walker first viewed his mid-century home in Loughton, Essex, it was far from love at first sight. “I didn’t get the architecture,” he says. “I had never been exposed to houses like this before.” It didn’t help that it was in a sorry state, either. For Alan’s wife, Sandy, however, it was a different story. Having spent her formative years working at Vitsœ, she has an eye for design that helped her see past the worn interiors, recognising the building’s promise. She must have made a convincing case: the couple took the plunge and began a restoration project that saw them slowly bring the home back to life. “It was a long journey,” says Alan, describing how – with the help of their builder friend – they peeled back layers of old plaster and polished the structure’s bones. As parts of it began to get back their shine, “it felt like the house was rewarding us.”

Alan and Sandy have now been “custodians” of the house for more than a decade. The interiors are immaculate – from the black brickwork to the golden joinery, the exquisite terrazzo floor to the teak panelling – and are a testament to the TLC the couple has given the house. How does Alan feel about mid-century homes now, we ask? “I’m a convert,” he says (so much so, he admits to scrolling through our other mid-century listings). “They’ve become a fascination of mine.” As their house comes on the market and their hunt for its new custodians begins, Alan and Sandy discuss finding their home’s former glory – and Alan’s new-found love for modernism.

Alan: “We weren’t looking to move when we realised this place was on the market. Sandy noticed the ‘For Sale’ sign outside the house when she was walking our neighbour’s dog – we were only living up the road. She convinced me to come and view it. It had been left in a state of disrepair, but Sandy kept saying: ‘It’s got potential.’ I went to bed, slept on it and woke up in the morning having come to the decision to go for it. Sandy’s a designer by trade, so I put my trust in her. Fortunately for me, she could see what we could with it…”

Sandy: “I saw the house as something beautiful that just needed resurrecting. The window frames, for instance, were original, but they needed a new coat of paint and a bit of care; other features had been covered up with plaster…”

Alan: “We purchased the house in February 2013 and moved in July. We were very fortunate to have had a good friend, Ray Robinson, who was a builder and could help us with the project. He actually lived here while he was doing the work because he was based on the south coast. Sadly, he passed away last year. We still call the bedroom he slept in ‘Ray’s room’. He knew this house inside out by the time he finished it. He was a very skilled tradesman and understood buildings very well.

“The house, which was built in 1964, was featured in the Daily Mail at the time in a story about the local architect, who built it for himself and his family. We looked at all the pictures carefully so that we could make sure everything we did was true to the original design. We started with the back wall and worked our way through the house. Ray gave a lot of attention to the timber, in particular, while Sandy and I polished all the window frames. We were rebirthing the house.

“There were some horrible old tiles that had been laid over the originals in the bathroom and kitchen – Sandy and I chipped away at the modern ones and found they were covering the same red mosaic. Unfortunately, we couldn’t salvage anything, but we had both rooms relayed in homage. We were forever tipping our hat to the original design. If we were in doubt, we’d ask ourselves: what would the architect have done?”

Sandy: “Over the 10 years we’ve here, we’ve been collecting furniture for the house. Every year in November, Alan and I go to Midcentury Modern in Dulwich – a vintage furniture fair – to source second-hand pieces. That’s where we got our beautiful teak dining table and the six chairs around it from. We’ve also got a lot of Vitsœ furniture in here.”

Alan: “All the work we did on the house got me interested in mid-century design. I like the quality and simplicity of it. That’s what I find pleasant about this house too – and I like the solidity of it. I can’t stand creaky floorboards – this is concrete throughout, so there is no movement at all. I feel very calm here.

“My favourite area is the upstairs lounge. It’s peaceful and opens to the roof terrace, which has brilliant views over Canary Wharf. I remember one New Year’s Eve in particular when we watched the fireworks go off at midnight. Really, though, I enjoy all the spaces around the house – they’ve all got something about them.

“When we first moved in, the garden was an absolute jungle. I thought it was quite small because it was so overgrown. But then we started chopping things down and clearing it out. It ended up being twice as big as we thought it was. I love it out there – it has five or six different areas where you can sit and get a completely different perspective. Our designer also put in a pergola and planted lots of jasmine around it; the smell in the evening is just unbelievable.

“I’m an outdoorsy man, so I love Epping Forest. We are only 150 metres away from it – we’re just outside the conservation area. It’s where I grew up, so I’ve got a close affinity to it and I love walking there. Throughout my life as an architect and, before that, a golf professional, I’ve always been outside. Having the trees practically on the doorstep is one of the top things about living here, I think. In fact, there aren’t many places where you have a 500-year-old forest at one end of the road and the Central line to take you into London at the other.

“The thing I’m going to miss the most is being a custodian of this house. I think to myself, isn’t it fantastic that this brickwork – which is 33cm thick – is nearly as old as I am? That brickwork won an award in the 1960s. It has been a real pleasure to restore the house to its former glory. What’s funny is I used to know the architect when I was younger – we played golf together. I would have loved for him to come over and see what we’ve done to the house. I know he would be pleased.”