Ben and Marina Fogle’s Oxfordshire home is both a relaxed family retreat and a homage to their adventurous lives
WHO LIVES HERE
TV presenter, writer and adventurer Ben Fogle, his wife Marina, podcaster and antenatal educator, and their children, Ludo, 13, and Iona, 11, plus dogs Storm and Swift. They also have guinea pigs and three horses. The family has always had a strong connection to Oxfordshire, as Marina grew up in the village they now live in, as did her father, and so they’d been looking for a home in the area for a while. When this Edwardian former gatehouse came up for sale in 2018, they didn’t hesitate. ‘It felt like it was meant to be,’ says Marina, who took on the decorating, deciding on colours and prints, while Ben was in charge of the furnishings. ‘As a result of my semi-nomadic lifestyle, I care a great deal about our home and its style,’ he says. ‘I loved choosing the decorative items and shaping how our home feels with Marina.’
COSY AND ECLECTIC
In the living room, an antique Austrian painted cupboard sets the tone for a house full of interesting finds. Art is an easy mix of paintings and family photographs. ‘Your home should mirror the people you are and the stories you carry with you,’ says Ben. The sofas are Neptune’s Olivia in Isla Mallard velvet. The vintage sailing boat is a reminder of Ben’s seafaring expeditions.
JEWEL TONES
Neptune’s Suffolk kitchen, painted in Duck Green by Farrow & Ball, combines practicality with good looks. The Ludlow bar stools are also by Neptune, while an antique Swedish breadboard adds a dash of colour above the cooker. Antiques are close to Ben’s heart, as his mother, actor Julia Foster, h
