The 17th-century Cotswold cottage of former Sotheby’s specialist James Mackie
In May 2016, James Mackie was in the thick of the spring auctions in New York. At the time, he headed up the Impressionist and Modern Art department at Sotheby’s in London, and in a rare, idle moment before the sales kicked off, found himself googling houses for sale in the Cotswold village of Little Faringdon, where he had spent happy weekends at a friend’s house. ‘This place popped up in a village nearby,’ recalls James, referring to the 17th-century mellow-stone cottage that he now shares with his partner, gardener and writer Arthur Parkinson. ‘I came back from New York on the Friday, saw it on Saturday, put an offer in on Monday and, after a bidding war, had it by Friday.’
Back in 2016, James was living in a small flat in Chelsea, so the idea was that this would be a weekend bolthole. ‘I’d been in London for 20 years, but as I became older, I felt the pull of the country,’ says James, who grew up in Devon and spent holidays at his grandmother’s farm in Derbyshire. The cottage interiors were tired, but James fell for its beamed ceilings, the pretty relief mouldings on either side of the sitting room fireplace and the 17th-century stone staircase that curves up around it.
It is a long, thin house, growing out from the original one-up, one-down cottage, as former outbuildings were absorbed into its footprint. Above the linear sitting room, kitchen and dining room are two bedrooms – the main one has an en-suite bathroom – reached by staircases at either end of the house.
When he first moved in, James’s priority was to give it a light refresh. Walls were painted throughout and a staircase replaced the metal ladder leading to what would become the spare room. This had been a junk room for the previous owners, but James quickly dispensed with any sense of its previous incarnation, papering it top-to-toe in William Morris’ ‘Willow Bough’. ‘We’re only five miles down the road from Kelmscott Manor, his former Cotswolds retreat, so this felt like a natural fit,’ he says. ‘I was travelling endlessly for work all over Europe, Asia and the States, but I knew that this place would embrace me when I came through the door on a Friday night.’
By 2019, the embrace proved too tantalising, with James spending increasing amounts of time at the cottage and thinking how he could make it work harder. So ensued a nine-month renovation: the electrics and plumbing were overhauled, and plastic windows replaced with traditional wooden sashes. Downstairs, a small bathroom and series of storage rooms became a charming space, performing all the functions of laundry, boot, flower and shower room – with a tiny bar carved out at one end.
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A rather sad lean-to sun room, off the sitting room, was replaced by an elegant extension, with a deep bay window and ceilings so high that – in contrast to the rest of the cottage – James does not have to stoop in here. ‘This space was born out of my desire to bring together my collection of art books, which were spread between London, my parents’ house and storage,’ says James, gesturing to a wall of handsome built-in book-shelves. ‘I came up with a narrative for this room and imagined that it was an Arts and Crafts addition,’ he explains, pointing out the reclaimed oak beam and panelling.
In January 2020, James left Sotheby’s, moved to the Cotswolds on a more full-time basis and contemplated what to do next. The cottage clearly had whet his appetite for design, so he decided to embrace the ‘other thing’ he had always wanted to do – interior design. A couple of his former art clients asked him to work with them on their homes and he has had a steady stream of work since, offering both art advisory and interior design services.
Unsurprisingly for a man who studied architectural history at university and has spent over 20 years working in auction houses, context is important to James. ‘It’s critical when you’re dealing with older buildings, as it informs how it should come together.’
At the cottage, the Arts and Crafts references are subtly woven throughout, with a handsome sawn-oak dining table, a pair of Godwin-style side tables and a resplendent mix of patterns, from curtains in Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler’s ‘Strawberry Leaf’ to a chair in GP & J Baker’s floral ‘Rockbird’. ‘I wanted to create a series of jewel-box spaces that flow into one another, but also feel like entities in their own right,’ he explains. ‘Fun and a sense of dynamism are also important,’ he adds, pointing out the joyful apple green of the kitchen units and a pretty Lewis & Wood border that parades along the top of his blue bedroom walls upstairs.
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Lining the walls are British etchings, lithographs, mezzotints and aquatints, collected over the past two decades. ‘Prints were my first love,’ says James, who initially trained as a print specialist at Bonhams. He delights in creating dialogues between prints, such as the juxtaposition of a 1660s mezzotint by Prince Rupert of the Rhine with a 1967 David Hockney etching in the book room.
In the summer of 2020, Arthur moved into the cottage, planting up the courtyard garden with a heavenly mix of roses, borage and Ammi majus, and adding to the decorative mix inside with beautiful arrangements of flowers. ‘Now, the garden really is another room to the house,’ says James.
James McDonald1/11Built of mellow local stone, the cottage sits on an attractive single-track road in a Cotswold village.
James McDonald2/11In the book room, the ‘Kick with Studded Shade’ pendant is by Jamb. Panelling in Edward Bulmer Natural Paint’s ‘Mummy’ is the backdrop for antiques, including a 1750s mahogany bureau.
James McDonald3/11Other antiques in the book room include a Twenties Revival sofa in Bennison’s ‘Wabi Sabi’ and an armchair in GP & J Baker’s ‘Rockbird’
James McDonald4/11In the sitting room, an antique sofa from Richard Steenberg, upholstered in blue linen, stands out against walls in ‘Milk White’ by Edward Bulmer Natural Paint and chequered seagrass flooring. The 18th-century tilt-top table on the right was one of the first antiques bought by James when he was 15.
James McDonald5/11Making the most of every inch of space, James created a tiny bar area off the sitting room, with walls in Farrow & Ball’s ‘Arsenic’ and curtains in Bennison’s ‘Woodcut’ linen
James McDonald6/11A relief plaster moulding adds decorative detail to the fireplace wall above a Regency hall chair from Max Rollitt. The main bedroom is accessed by the 17th-century stone staircase.
James McDonald7/11In the dining room, a sawn-oak Arts and Crafts table pays homage to William Morris’ Kelmscott House nearby. The early 18th-century chairs are from RN Myers & Son.
James McDonald8/11Kitchen cabinetry in Farrow & Ball’s ‘Sap Green’ and limestone flooring add to the rustic look.
James McDonald9/11Lewis & Wood’s ‘Bacchus’ border runs along the top of walls in Farrow & Ball’s ‘Oval Room Blue’. A bedcover from The Decorative Antiques & Textiles Fair and curtains in Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler’s ‘Strawberry Leaf ’ provide bold pattern and colour.
James McDonald10/11In this space off the main bedroom, the ceiling was opened up to reveal a pitched roof. James teamed woodwork in Farrow & Ball’s ‘Salon Drab’ gloss with Howe’s ‘Knurl’ wallpaper. The ‘Soho’ basin is by The Water Monopoly. Framed intaglios flank a George II mirror – all auction finds.
James McDonald11/11James transformed this former junk room into a spare room using Morris & Co’s ‘Willow Bough’ wallpaper on the walls and ceiling. A paisley cotton bedcover picks up on the warm tones of panelling on either side of a fireplace, designed by James and painted ‘Deep Reddish Brown’ by Farrow & Ball.
