An English country retreat

The house is one that sits in the Eythrope Estate and was built by Alice de Rothchild in the late 19th century as a gate house to the larger hall - her 'day retreat' from the larger Waddesdon Manor . It’s an example of a crafted, pastoral expression of 'le gout Rothschild' full of the detail and excess but here formed in humble peg tile, timber and stone.

The exterior is full of fancy and detail - dragons on the roof, heraldic plaster plaques and planted-on gingerbread balconies hang off the outside. However, inside all is calm in the milky interiors lit by lead paned windows. The occupiers have used the house as a refuge from London for some time now, and the important paintings and drawings that they have researched and collected over the years - particularly ones of artists at their easels have sometimes come with them and found a home here.

The house was completely remodelled internally. Having found the interiors whitewashed and empty we constructed a low key interior which was formed by looking at influences around that period. Voysey and Victorian ceramic design were first thoughts that lead into trying to create a comfortable contemporary house with an old atmoshpere that wouldn’t feel too grand in a building probably built for staff .

The house is a colourful, crafted and happy melange of styles and furniture enlivened by the thrum of the continual collector - alongside the art, there is Japanese pottery, contemporary ceramics, a collection of indigo textiles, a shelf of flints, a collection of tins.