A walk through the enfilade of ground floor rooms reveals soane’s
genius for theatre from the library in the west to the dining room,
salon, drawing room and finally the spectacular orangery. All the
rooms, painted in ‘knocked-back’ Farrow & Ball stone colors, allow
the collections to shine.
perkins has a private suite of rooms—bedroom and seating area,
enormous dressing and bathing spaces and a sitting room dominated
by an antique model of an italian palazzo, above the library. “its
cosier up here as the ceilings are lower but the rooms are beautifully
proportioned,” he says. the ensuite bath and dressing room are lined
with 19th century mahogany cupboards and old leather suitcases—
handsome touches for the master of the house. this large space also
features a French copper ‘slip’ bath and modern seating combined
with a leather Victorian buttoned sofa. no need for curtains, as there
are no neighbors, just the parkland sloping away into the distance
where a herd of deer roam the land. For his private quarters, perkins
designed his own bed, made in english oak and painted off-white to
resemble a classical temple.
perkins’ passion for this house is crystal clear. “i want to think i am
changing attitudes and influencing people to go back to the classics,”
he notes. Any 18th century Grand tourist who collected pictures in
italy and furniture in France would be delighted to be entertained
today in a house designed to show off the prevailing taste and
individuality of its owner, no matter 300 years later. “Aynhoe is smiling
again after 55 years of neglect” n Aynhoe Park, aynhoepark.co.uk
june
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july
