Fashion

Amanda Brooks Invites Us Inside Her Dreamy English Country Home

What began as a yearlong retreat on a farm in the Cotswolds turned into a whole new life for fashion insider Amanda Brooks and her family

By Amanda Brooks

Photography by Oberto Gili

August 1, 2016

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Writer Amanda Brooks and her husband, painter Christopher Brooks, left New York City to take up residence at his family’s Oxfordshire, England, farm in 2012 with their children, Coco and Zach. The main house, a former cart shed with attached cottage, was built in the 1820s; the small outbuilding at right was recently converted into Amanda’s office.
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In a sitting room, the chair is covered in a Rosa Bernal Collection printed linen from Claremont. The pillow is of vintage African fabric, and the tiger stool and the diorama above the mantel are both antiques. The vintage Beni Ourain rug is from Liberty.

Photo: Oberto Gili
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The living room’s reclaimed-wood sofa table and shelving echo the timeworn ceiling beams. Cheerful red armchairs and antique herbarium specimens flank the fireplace. A glamorous Louis XV gilt-wood mirror (at left) gleams against walls of unpainted plaster.
Photo: Oberto Gili
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A painting by Christopher overlooks a vintage farmhouse table; old jars serve as vases.

Photo: Oberto Gili
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Counters of reclaimed mahogany top pine cabinetry in the kitchen. The range is by Lacanche, and the brass sink fittings are by Barber Wilsons & Co.
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The Boot Room features vintage military prints from a Paris flea market alongside coats, hats, and boots for every kind of weather. The limestone flooring came from a quarry on the farm.

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The living room’s chesterfield sofa and lampshades boast Robert Kime fabrics. The pillows are made from vintage and Claremont fabrics. Vintage photos, a family crest, and artworks by Hugo Guinness and Christopher Brooks hang on the wall; Ginger the dog rests by a radiator.
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Another view of the living room’s Louis XV mirror.

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A drop-leaf table is home to an array of potted plants in a cozy, sun-filled recess of the living room, where Fatboy the cat lounges. The ottoman is covered in an antique Indian tapestry. The silhouette of Christopher is by Elliott Puckette.
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The living room’s Tanya Ling painting is a recent addition to the family’s art collection.

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Silhouettes of Zach and Coco by Elliott Puckette are displayed above the staircase.
Photo: Oberto Gili
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The master bedroom wallpaper is 1980s Laura Ashley, and the velvet curtains came from Christopher’s grandparents’ house. The bed is dressed in linens from Ilinka Collection.

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Coco’s room features a rosy vintage pattern.
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Tassels enliven an iron canopy frame in a bedroom.

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The guesthouse living area is outfitted with a midcentury-style sectional sofa and vintage furniture from the family’s former beach house on Long Island.
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One of two bedrooms in the guesthouse, which Christopher created by joining some of the farm’s unused outbuildings.

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Christopher was drawn to the intense blue of the Kettler Ping-Pong table.
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Amanda in the garden.

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A meandering country lane crosses the property.
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The garden shed.

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A rose-filled garden bed.
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Another view of the garden.

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Fresh-cut roses from the garden.
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Amanda and Coco riding Shalom and Tottie.

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Juice, a pet lamb, nibbles on Korean lilac.

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