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."
Denne historien er fra September - October 2023-utgaven av Veranda.
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Denne historien er fra September - October 2023-utgaven av Veranda.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Aged to Imperfection
In the Cotswolds, Oka cofounder Sue Jones stirs an alluring cocktail of old and new in an agrarian compound, now her forever home
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
Estate of Play
MARTYN LAWRENCE BULLARD revives a romantic Georgian country home in Ireland, deploying grand artistry, craft, and levity in the footprint of local traditions
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
LONDON CORDIAL
MIXMASTER LORENZO CASTILLO DECKS A CHELSEA TOWNHOUSE IN IMMERSIVE PRINTS, RADIANT SEATING, AND A WELCOMING SPIRIT THAT TIPS TO THE WILD SIDE
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
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.
ENCHANTED GLIN
Along the River Shannon, landscape designer Catherine FitzGerald grows her family's castle gardens into a living wonderland bridging generations
Portrait Mode REVISITED
A new guard of English painters leads a resurgence of the deeply personal art form, capturing faces and figures in a fresh light
The Bold SPIRITS SPEYSIDE
Scotland's famed whisky region reemerges as a stunning epicenter of Celtic craft. Single malt in hand, writer Tracey Minkin joins gallerist and author Hugo Macdonald to discover its decorative arts bloom