Barnhouse
Sleeps 10
Lechlade, Cotswolds
Living spaces
Luxury living comes laid on thick here. Ms Moss has worked her magic in the spectacular, double-height living space. Gather in gregarious groups, with the master bedroom balcony spectacularly overhanging the open-plan living and dining, and the velvet Talisman sofas that seem to need their own postcode.
Let the logs warm the atmosphere as you kick back for England and choose a movie, noting Kate’s David Bowie-inspired TV cabinet complete with steel thunderbolt. Grab a coffee from the Nespresso machine (care of the butler, perhaps?), then retract the doors to the terrace and let the lake views in.
The views through the feature windows are panoramic, the atmosphere cosy and calm, yet chic and sophisticated. What else would you expect from the creators of exquisitely designed homes from around the world – from New York to Buenos Aires, and Marrakech to Mumbai? This is Gloucestershire’s Hamptons.
When evening falls, slide open the doors and slip out to the terrace, or stay put, pack the kids off to the playroom awhile and clink your glasses to the backdrop of muted, tasteful colours inside and the setting of the sun over Bowmoor Lake outside.
Pool, gardens and grounds
Everything flows at The Barnhouse. Inside becomes outside and outside in, in the time it takes to roll back the big doors and salute the horizon with the pop of a cork. The serene quiet is disturbed only by the breeze through the boughs and the lakewater that laps at the shore.
The sun is out and the sunbeds suggest a laze while the kids hit the heated pool. Refills come care of the in-house butler. Life at The Barnhouse is delicious, decadent and different.
Eating al fresco? Serve up your summer salad on terraces on the ground or second floor. Looking for a meatfeast? You can put some sizzle into your summer with poolside steaks and sausages cooked on the barbie.
There’s one acre of lawns and woods for kids to discover, and two kayaks for more outdoor adventure. This is the country bolt-hole with the city-style amenities, a gated 650-acre eco-estate that offers contemporary and classic style with a healthy dose of outdoor family fun and freedom.
A small number of properties sit proudly on the shores of The Lakes – their flagship: The Barnhouse. From the pool, gym and spa to the sauna and the steam room, this luxurious celebrity-hot slice of the Cotswolds sits waiting patiently. If the spa or pool isn’t enough, try the treatment rooms and manicure bar. Let the kids loose at the Kids Club and have trainer Matt Roberts take you through one of his fitness classes. Later on, maybe a well-earned drink at the club room.
Cooking and dining
The open-plan kitchen is an object lesson in indulgence, with an irresistible sense of retro-glamour. Blending country with contemporary, it comes with slate counter top, log burner, indigo-blue cabinets with Critall glass and old-school brass-cup handles. The mood is intense yet hearty and homely.
From here, life flows naturally, as you move effortlessly from kitchen to open-plan diner and on to the lounge for coffee and mints. You’ll be served on a dining table with benches custom-built by David Haddock, Kate Moss’s personal craftsman, no less, and architect of her London dressing room.
Of course, you can’t stay in Kate’s country retreat with butler service and expect to cater for yourself. At your disposal are The Cotswolds’ finest chefs, who cut their teeth in top-notch boutique hotels and award-winning delis.
For a change of scene, there’s traditional Italian on offer at L’Artigiano, or Colley’s for crab bisque and gin with olives and rosemary oil. A trip to Michelin-starred Lords of the Manor in Stow-on-the-Wold gets you a dining experience that’s out of this world yet just half an hour by road.
Bedrooms
There’s retro glamour in spades in the five bedrooms, decorated in House of Hackney fabrics and wallpapers. This is traditional English country home living with a new take.
The master bedroom is the ultimate retreat. The carpet is huge and fluffy, the bed an art-deco, emperor four-poster with white sheets and accent-colour pillows. In the en-suite, you’ll find Kate Moss herself pinned to the wall. Exit right for the outdoor terrace; straight ahead for the quirky balcony that hangs over the living area.
Three of the bedrooms offer super king beds and there’s a twin room, where kids can plan torchlit midnight feasts. Your two second-floor bedrooms also come with private balconies, with views over the woodland.
Lemurs, lions, racing and retail
Well, kids, will it be the Cotswold Wildlife Park for lemurs and lions, Birdland for parrots and pelicans, or a hawk walk around Cheltenham? Grown-up kids will enjoy pottering for England around tearooms, antique shops and bookshops, or Cheltenham for racing and retail.
