C
hristmas is a lavish affair at interior designer Joanna Wood’s country home in the Cotswolds. The family descends on Fyfield Manor for festive frivolity and indulgence. Roaring fires, glowing candlelight, a glistening Christmas tree and mantelpieces festooned with foliage set the scene. It is a magical time when Joanna, her husband Charles, plus daughters Hattie and Leonora can celebrate together. “On Christmas Day we watch the Queen’s Speech and have smoked salmon with champagne cocktails – which are delicious and lethal! Then, just as dusk falls, Christmas lunch starts, continuing long into the evening,” she says. During the festive period Joanna invites friends over for informal lunches and gatherings and the house really comes in to its own. “Circulation of the rooms works very well. There are lots of areas where people can sit and chat,” she says. Guests often comment on Fyfield Manor’s welcoming atmosphere, which is what first attracted Joanna to the property back in 2014. “My daughter Hattie and I walked in and didn’t get further than the drawing room. We fell in love immediately,” she explains. “We both said ‘we’ve got 38 THE ENGLISH HOME
ABOVE The Lawson Wood sofa in the drawing room came from Joanna’s previous house and has been recovered in a pretty Jean Monro Hemingford chintz with jumbosized bullion fringing dyed to match. A pair of bespoke mirrors, with antique glass in modern gilded frames, hang either side of the original hand-carved pine fireplace. RIGHT Joanna stands under the shell porch with her beloved Meath Terrier, Gypsy. A pair of Albemarle lanterns by Phillips & Wood flank the door which leads into the drawing room.
