A 400-year-old cottage for sale with vivid and bohemian interiors that are, quite literally, works of art
The artist Mark Brazier-Jones has works on display at the Louvre and the V&A Museum, and has had his creations bought by Madonna, Mick Jagger and Karl Lagerfeld. What he's done with his 400-year-old country home stands alongside anything he's produced in his career.
In 2009, the artist Mark Brazier-Jones and his wife, Julia, bought a 400-year-old farmhouse in a village called Bassingbourn, close to the Hertfordshire/Cambridge boundary a few miles from Royston.
It's a village typical of the area: a pretty church, a couple of pubs, a local shop, a primary school, a village green and a mix of housing, some of which has been here for centuries, but most of which dates to the 20th century.
In short, it's a very pleasant-looking little place, but the sort of place you could easily drive straight past without paying too much attention. And the same goes for the Brazier-Jones's cottage: it has the quirky, slightly wonky charm of a truly old house, but you could easily walk on by — or scroll past it on a property portal — without paying it too much attention.
As you've no doubt already seen from the pictures on this page, to do so would be a big mistake. Huge. Because the Brazier-Jones's place is full of some of the most remarkable interiors we've seen in years, put together by the artist and his family themselves. It's on the market with Cheffins at £950,000.
'The house has given us great fun, entertaining our creative friends,' says Brazier-Jones.
'We hosted our wedding here, it went on for days with girls dancing in Martini glasses. That’s the kind of party that happens here.'
At just over 2,300sq ft, this four-bedroom house is large, but not huge. Downstairs you'll find a living room, kitchen-diner and a further, huge vaulted reception room arranged in a row, the latter with french doors opening onto the gardens. You just have to steer yourself round the Beauty and the Beast-style drinks trolley, carry on past the wonky portrait of a cat with unfeasily large ears, and you're there.
The kitchen, utility room and a bathroom extend out from one side of what is otherwise a rectangular home.
At one end of the house is a downstairs bedroom; the remaining three bedrooms and a family bathroom are on the first floor.
But to talk of a house like this as a series of spaces is missing the point entirely. The appeal of the place lies in what they've done with the place.
The decoration, the lighting, the furniture, and the very ambience are astonishing, eclectic, bold, colourful, surprising and very often laugh-out-loud funny.
Most of what is here has been designed and made by Brazier-Jones himself, and he and his wife are open to selling the furniture and contents by separate negotiation.
That's good news if you can't imagine living here without the chrome-plated chest of drawers in the master bedroom, or the giant mirror and glass display case full of curiosities in the office space.
The main house is just a start. Outside you'll find barns, workshops, garden rooms, a carport and a garage, a shepherd's huts and a wood-fired sauna. All are filled to the rafters, and some have been set up to give more overnight space for guests.
There's plenty of outdoor space and a relaxed, Bohemian air about the whole set-up; this is a place that's perfect for entertaining.
'When we bought it in 2009, we recognised the layout of the house would lend itself to these parties,' Brazier-Jones adds. 'We’ve always had that in mind; the through-flow to the garden for bonfires and barbecues and my lighting is all about after dark ambience.
'That is the philosophy behind how we’ve decorated the house: it’s all about the theatrical elements, rather than going on a modern route, playing on the fact that it is a 16th-century barn.
'We love antiques and we love dressing up. This really is the opposite of minimalism.'
This joyous home is in search of new free spirits as the Brazier-Joneses look to move to Wales; but those free-spirits need not necessarily be artists themselves, for the house is actually a surprisingly commutable spot. London is easily reached via the A1, the M1 or the mainline railway station at Royston, while Cambridge is just 15 miles away to the north.
Mark Brazier-Jones's cottage is for sale with Cheffins — see more details.
