Aged to Imperfection
Veranda|September - October 2023
In the Cotswolds, Oka cofounder Sue Jones stirs an alluring cocktail of old and new in an agrarian compound, now her forever home
By Caroline Donald
Aged to Imperfection

It is obvious from the moment one steps over the flagstone threshold of Sue and Alexander Jones's barn conversion on the borders of Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire that they like to look after their friends. The drinks tray is positioned to dispense cocktails upon arrival; the dining table can be extended to seat 12; and plenty of squishy, comfortable seating is arranged in groups to encourage conviviality. For this is the Cotswolds, a rural area of soft limestone houses and gentle hills within easy reach of London that is home to many of the country's wellborn and well-heeled chattering classes who regularly gather in each other's houses for drinks, dinners, and long Sunday lunches.

A sense of welcome was essential to the couple when they were looking for somewhere to buy in the area 15 years ago. "I really mind about that: People have got to feel good when they arrive," says Sue. "It is an important part of entertaining." As soon as they saw the barn, which is essentially one large living space and is approached by a long, stone-tiled colonnade, they knew it was for them. "We hardly had to go inside; it had our name all over it."

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة September - October 2023 من Veranda.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة September - October 2023 من Veranda.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

المزيد من القصص من VERANDA مشاهدة الكل
SANCTUARIES of JOY
Veranda

SANCTUARIES of JOY

When does a closet become a portal to our passions? We teamed up with three top tastemakers to imagine their pie-in-the-sky storage spaces, from a china-filled entertaining lab to a winemaker's exuberant workshop.

time-read
3 mins  |
November - December 2024
You Are Cordially Invited to a SPIRITED HOLIDAY SOIREE
Veranda

You Are Cordially Invited to a SPIRITED HOLIDAY SOIREE

Join illustrator and bon vivant TUG RICE for a lively, piano-fueled cocktail party, where creatives mingle with whispers of artists past in his Sutton Place apartment.

time-read
4 mins  |
November - December 2024
Will Travel For
Veranda

Will Travel For

Who among us can resist a good treasure hunt? Especially when the prize is an object of singular curiosity. Here, three artful adventurers pursue their obsessions from California to north-central Europe.

time-read
9 mins  |
November - December 2024
THE LEGACY KEEPERS
Veranda

THE LEGACY KEEPERS

Editor in chief Steele Thomas Marcoux explores how Charleston preservationists are harnessing the city's vernacular to reinterpret the past and forge a richer future.

time-read
6 mins  |
November - December 2024
Now Booking NEXT-LEVEL LUXURY
Veranda

Now Booking NEXT-LEVEL LUXURY

From estate revivals in Genoa and Baja to extravagant villas in Egypt and Bhutan, the year's top hotel debuts are raising the bar with bespoke craftsmanship, garden romance, and all-out escapism.

time-read
3 mins  |
November - December 2024
AMERICA'S ENGLISHMAN
Veranda

AMERICA'S ENGLISHMAN

From wide-eyed novice to decorating nobility: how Mario Buatta's journey to mad Anglophile draped a nation in chintz, silk, swags, and a legacy of humor and optimism

time-read
2 mins  |
September - October 2023
A PASTORAL PLAYGROUND
Veranda

A PASTORAL PLAYGROUND

Out of an ancestral millhouse, designer MARY GRAHAM raises a new family home in the country, alive with checks, florals, and ruffles

time-read
3 mins  |
September - October 2023
LONDON CORDIAL
Veranda

LONDON CORDIAL

MIXMASTER LORENZO CASTILLO DECKS A CHELSEA TOWNHOUSE IN IMMERSIVE PRINTS, RADIANT SEATING, AND A WELCOMING SPIRIT THAT TIPS TO THE WILD SIDE

time-read
3 mins  |
September - October 2023
Minding the Manor
Veranda

Minding the Manor

How are Ireland's old noble houses seeding their future? At Ballyfin Demesne, it glimmers in the forests, parklands, gardens, and a way of life that goes back centuries

time-read
5 mins  |
September - October 2023
Perennial Bloomsbury
Veranda

Perennial Bloomsbury

The creative troupe that ruled the English countryside in the early 1900s had a muse wilder than its lifestyle: the Charleston garden, reborn here in four riotous arrangements.

time-read
1 min  |
September - October 2023