Stone in love with you

Nicholas has lived in his charming stone-built Oxfordshire home for 24 years. It’s approached through a courtyard of Fired Earth Antique Pammets which have been down for more than a decade and a half and are still wearing well with little sign of frost damage, their rose-tinted hues set off beautifully against the yellow Cotswold stone of the house.

Nicholas has had an Aga for 16 years and very firmly regards it as a living part of the family. “It certainly gives a focus to any kitchen, whether small or large,” he says.  “And once you’ve properly understood your Aga it becomes your friend, repaying you handsomely.

“To cook on a conventional cooker you need to be a scientist – you have to work out all your timings backwards from preparation time. To cook on an Aga requires a little more than that – ideally you need to be a bit of an artist as well. Sometimes it’s more about touch than precision. I love it because it’s as creative as its owner.

“If you cook on a conventional cooker you tend to simply get things done. With an Aga all your food can peak at the same time. If you find you are a little ahead with some parts of a meal you can transfer to a slower oven and at the same time you can speed up the cooking process by moving to a hotter oven.”

The Aga stands on a floor of French reclaimed terracotta. “It’s just timeless,” says Nicholas. “It’s been with us since Roman times and will be with us long into the future greeting us like an old friend.”

Nicholas’s shower room is adorned with an Amarillo marble shower tray and tiles together with a classic shower rose and Galaxy basin. “Everyone loves this shower. By adding a pump, which is so easy these days, we were able to increase the pressure and, while it’s not quite like getting caught in a Monsoon, it’s not that far off it.”
There are wonderful Kashgai rugs scattered throughout the house – islands of colour and vibrancy. 

“These rugs are woven by the women of the nomadic Kashgai tribes for themselves.  When they enter their tents, they take off their shoes, only ever treading on the rugs in stockinged feet. As they wash their rugs repeatedly over the years the truly bright colours they’re woven in tend to fade.”