Interior designer Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen has spoken about his hopes to restore a sense of authenticity and design heritage to the Cotswolds, as he launched his latest project, Eleven Bibury.
Speaking to GB News during the launch, Llewelyn-Bowen described the space – which includes restored interiors, tea rooms, a post office and a retail area – as part of “a fight back” against what he sees as a growing emphasis on image and celebrity in parts of the countryside.
“This is a bit of a fight-back against what’s going on in other areas of the Cotswolds – things like Soho Farmhouse and the way the Beckhams have engaged with the area,” the 60-year-old said.
“What we’re doing here is enshrining this concept of the Cotswolds as having a very powerful heritage, an incredibly beautiful legacy, and a history that’s so dense and rich,” he said.
David and Victoria Beckham have owned a home in the Cotswolds since 2016 – a converted barn near Chipping Norton, close to Soho Farmhouse and the Great Tew Estate.
The property has been widely featured on social media and in the 2023 Netflix documentary Beckham, and includes landscaped gardens, a swimming pool, a football pitch, and a sauna imported from Estonia.
Llewelyn-Bowen’s Eleven Bibury, by contrast, takes inspiration from the area’s historical role in the Arts and Crafts Movement.
Located opposite Arlington Row in Bibury, the site is intended as a space where design, community and heritage intersect.
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“This isn’t about doing a pastiche,” he said. “This is about giving a new lease of life… to the style of William Morris and the Arts and Crafts Movement.”
The project was led by Lady Anne Evans, whom Llewelyn-Bowen credited with the original vision.
“Anne has this incredible centre of gravity that draws people from enthusiasm, from love, from generosity,” he said. “Her idea was to bring the heart back to the community, to create a community shop, to create a post office, but then also to start evangelising her particular vision of British design.”
Eleven Bibury aims to offer “a celebration of craftsmanship, authenticity and community,” echoing the democratic ideals of the original Arts and Crafts movement.
The designer also touched on perceptions of British design more broadly, suggesting it is sometimes overlooked internationally.
“Everyone sort of sniggers a bit when you mention British design,” he said. “They think about Italy or France. But actually, there were moments like the Arts and Crafts Movement… where we were extraordinarily influential and we created a new vision of architectural design that was fundamentally 100 per cent democratic.”
Llewelyn-Bowen emphasised that the project is meant to serve both locals and visitors. “The community here is every bit as important as everything else,” he said. “This is a win-win. The international tourists find it incredibly attractive, but the village shop is just as vital.”
Eleven Bibury launches at a busy time for the designer, with the 60-year-old also working on new episodes of Channel 4’s Outrageous Homes and preparing to return to BBC’s Interior Design Masters.
He also recently appeared in the Netflix show Celebrity Bear Hunt, which he described as a “very empowering” experience, despite the show not being renewed.