A specially made gate, that looks as if it has always been part of the stairs, acts as the smartest of child safety gates, and the space under the stairs-once a bed for the previous owners' dogs - is now a cupboard. Tolstoy decided not to return to her former home in Moscow and in April 2009 established herself with her son at a house in Chelsea. 'The spirit of the cottage hasn't changed much; it is still very much Alexandra,' affirms the Colefax designer Emma Burns, who was brought in nearly 10 years after Alexandra bought it, 'to edit, add to it and pull it together'. The wallpaper in this room is 'Alice' by George Spencer. Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler: sibylcolefax.comAlexandra Tolstoy’s Instagram: @alexandratolstoy. 'It's about finding those bits and pieces that make things charming,' she says. Alexandra Tolstoy's fairytale Oxfordshire cottage A life of horse-trekking in Central Asia and living in Moscow followed, until in 2009 Alexandra met Sergei Pugachev, a Russian oligarch to whom she had been hired to give English lessons. Elm was chosen for the worktops, the cupboard interiors were painted 'a crazy Delft blue', and mismatching handles were chosen for the doors to give 'a less fitted look'. For one of the rooms, Emma had two cots made similar to one her father had, and found a vintage children's fabric for a blind. TRIAL OFFER: 3 Issues for £1. Countess Alexandra Tolstoy has offered a glimpse inside her cosy Oxfordshire cottage where she is spending lockdown – months after she was ‘evicted’ from the London home owned by her Russian billionaire ex. Two rows of botanical prints and antique celadon vases on plinths help to break up the height of this lofty, light-filled space on the first floor. The vintage quilt, from Colefax and Fowler Antiques, echoes the orange of the existing velvet curtains in the main bedroom, which Emma had remade and hung from an antique pole. For a start it is tiny, and secondly its decora­tion has evolved piecemeal, retaining the personality of its owner, Alexandra Tolstoy, over the course of its various phases of redeco­ration. Her former partner Sergei Pugachev – the father of Alexandra’s children – is an absent Russian oligarch whose assets have been seized, leaving her with something of a problem. Upstairs are three bedrooms and a bath­room. Alice B-B, Alexandra Tolstoy's exuberant Chelsea house designed by Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler, From the archive: Antonio Carluccio's country cottage (2001), The contents of Alexandra Tolstoy's Chelsea house go on sale at Christie's, A refreshingly individual take on country-cottage style in Oxfordshire, A former chapel in the Cotswolds modernised with touches of New England-style. Alexandra Tolstoy's antiques-dealer aunt, Vicky Heaton-Renshaw, helped her to assemble the collection on the Welsh dresser. Print + Digital Woven, appliquéd and embroidered cushions jostle in mounds, tapestry covers chairs, samplers hang on the walls and colourful rugs zing underfoot. Wednesday 15 August 2018 ... A statuette of Leo Tolstoy at his home, Yasnaya Polyana. 'She was so brilliant, I've become almost scared of making my own decisions,' says Alexandra, who has also sought Emma's advice for their London home. 'My sister calls it "The Museum",' Alexandra says with a laugh. Countess Alexandra Tolstoy has offered a glimpse inside her cosy Oxfordshire cottage where she is spending lockdown – months after she was ‘evicted’ from the London home owned by her Russian billionaire ex. TRIAL OFFER: 3 Issues for £1. One of Emma’s great strengths is an ability to interpret her clients’ taste rather than to impose a look, and so a happy collaboration began. Daniel’s instinct for what will work is most evident in the double-height first-floor living room, where a long and narrow provincial Italian table stands under the studio’s windows beside a glass-fronted cupboard made from Scottish oak. Among other additions, a rug was bought from Gallery Yacou, an antique armchair in a wonderful old patchwork came from Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler Antiques, and a fire grate and dogs were found at Greenway Antiques in Witney. This site uses cookies to improve your experience and deliver personalised advertising. The main bedroom is surprisingly large and gracious; Emma had the velvet curtains remade with a softer heading and lined with a fancy lining, and also added a rug and George Spencer wallpaper to create a scheme that makes the room wonderfully rich and inviting. Emma had already helped Alexandra and her husband with a huge project in Moscow. Influenced by my Russian heritage and many years of travel on horse across Central Asia, my tastes reflect a love of folk traditions and the simple life. Alexandra Tolstoy's fairytale Oxfordshire cottage The owner of this Oxfordshire cottage was determined to stay true to its roots, and, with the help of her designer, has created a traditional interior that incorporates and complements her collection of antiques 27 Dec 2020 Countess Alexandra Tolstoy, an aristocratic English woman, had her own fairy tale come true when she fell in love with the man of her dreams in 2008, an … Welcome to House & Garden. In 1901, at the age of seventeen, she became his secretary. This large space, open to the mezzanine, encompasses the dining area, kitchen and an informal seating area with a selection of fabrics sourced by Emma Burns. 'I like houses that don't look decorated, that have a sense that they have evolved, and this cottage is exactly that, which is perhaps why I enjoyed this project so much,' says Emma. The nautical-inspired coat hooks are from The Lacquer Chest. By Alexandra Tolstoy. In the garden, Alexandra replaced a leylan­dii hedge with a beech one and got rid of the unsightly oil tank just outside the back door. In June 2009, she was reported to have engaged "highly paid lawyers" to protect her private life. Although the photographs here show rooms on their best behaviour, on the day of my visit, Alexandra’s bed has a collection of the children’s furry animals arranged on it. Alexandra and her husband now have three children - Aliosha, 4, Ivan, 3, and Maria, 1 -who squeeze into the other two bedrooms. Tapestry cushions and a Jajim throw add colour and texture to this mezzanine. Alexandra in an informal seating area of her living room. Countess Alexandra Tolstoy is living at a cosy cottage in Oxfordshire with her children, Alexei, Ivan and Maria The family were forced to leave her £12million home in London after it … Converted from two adjacent houses that were built as artists’ studios, the lofty, light-filled space is where she has raised her three young children and created an interior that is exuberant, elegant and welcoming. Instead of having new curtains made for each room, Emma had the old ones remade and hung them from antique metal poles- 'they are finer in scale than modern poles,' she explains. The owner of this Oxfordshire cottage was determined to stay true to its roots, and, with the help of her designer, has created a traditional interior that incorporates and complements her collection of antiques. From Russia, with Love: Countess Alexandra Tolstoy on revisiting her famous relative’s home. Right from the start, Alexandra says, she 'did not want to do the obvious' by modernis­ing the feel of the cottage, as many might have done. From Moscow to the mountains: how Alexandra Tolstoy found herself in the peaks of Kyrgyzstan for Ultratravel, The Telegraph Read More From Russia, with Love: Countess Alexandra Tolstoy on revisiting her famous relative’s home for Tatler Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler: 020-7493 2231; www.sibylcolefax.com. In the first-floor studio, which encompasses the open-plan kitchen, dining and informal seating area, there is a delicious cake on the table that Alexandra has baked and the floor is strewn with toys. Both pieces are huge, but they do not appear so, as they are in proportion to the tall room. Celebrity Homes February 26, 2019 Alexandra Tolstoy’s English Cottage The Oxfordshire cottage Alexandra shares with her children was decorated by Sybil Colefax & John Fowler’s Emma Burns – a maestro of English cottage cosiness, complete with all the essentials: beams, crooked floorboards, print wallpapers and everlasting traditional style. In the living room, a stool re-covered in an antique djadjim rug stands on another antique djadjim from Gallery Yacou. However, the future is uncertain on account of there being some dispute about who the house belongs to. Countess Alexandra Tolstoy has offered a glimpse inside her cosy Oxfordshire cottage where she is spending lockdown - months after she was 'evicted' … So without any drastic aesthetic change - the old Delft tiles Alexandra had put above the sink remained in place throughout -the kitchen just works and looks better. You can opt out at any time or find out more by reading our cookie policy. A rather picturesque log shed now takes its place, and next to it a pretty little courtyard is fur­nished with a table and chairs Emma found at The Lacquer Chest in Kensington, a shop frequented by both her and Alexandra, and a source for many more things in this cottage. Chris also made new bead-and­-butt doors for every room to replace the stripped-pine ones - again, bringing the cottage closer to how it once might have been. Countess Alexandra Tolstoy has offered a glimpse inside her cosy Oxfordshire cottage where she is spending lockdown – months after she was ‘evicted’ from the London home owned by her Russian billionaire ex. In the sitting room, she re-covered the sofa with a loose cover that can be removed to reveal a fitted cover in Rex Whistler's 'Clovelly' toile de Jouy underneath. Alexandra Tolstoy’s exuberant and elegant Chelsea house for House & Garden Read More 'Horse People with Alexandra Tolstoy' for BBC2 Read More My favourite pieces: Alexandra Tolstoy blends fashion and heritage for the Financial Times Read More Alexandra Tolstoy in her Chelsea Townhouse Christie’s 2020 In many ways, it was inevitable that Countess Alexandra Tolstoy would furnish her first family home (where she lived for 11 years with her three children) with antiques. Susan Crewe. The youngest daughter of Leo Tolstoy (1828–1910) and of his wife Sophia (1844–1919), Alexandra was close to her father. Alexandra Tolstoy shows off her Oxfordshire home dailymail.co.uk - Stephanie Linning. Emma also augmented Alexandra's collections of china and pictures - adding to, for instance, the sailors' valentines in the bath­room. She was born in the UK to a Russian father and English mother, and her eventful life has been well documented since 1999, when she and three friends undertook a 5,000-mile ride by horse and camel across central Asia and China. Despite her exotic name and family history, Alexandra is a Home Counties English rose, educated at Downe House, a school where the Duchess of Cambridge studied briefly. Countess Alexandra Tolstoy has offered a glimpse inside her cosy Oxfordshire cottage where she is spending lockdown – months after she was ‘evicted’ from the London home owned by her Russian billionaire ex. This enchanting Oxfordshire cottage is perhaps not the most obvious Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler project. Print + Digital Christopher Stocks, By At this point, she brought in specialist plasterer Bob Wise, who lime-plastered the walls and ceilings as they would have been originally. Alexandra Tolstoy whose oligarch ex was dubbed ‘Putin’s banker’ embraces baking and tapestry after moving to Cotswolds following ‘eviction’ from £12M London mansion they shared Countess Alexandra Tolstoy is living at a cosy cottage in Oxfordshire with her children, Alexei, Ivan and Maria The family were forced to leave her £12million home in […] I t is not surprising that Alexandra Tolstoy would very much like to continue living in her home in Chelsea. Although the walls of this house are pale and the sofas are covered with neutral linen, everything else is a rich medley of vibrant hues. It involved not only the London house but also the couple’s house in Moscow and Alexandra’s cottage in Oxfordshire (which was featured in House & Garden in April 2014). That sale, entitled “Alexandra Tolstoy: An Interior by Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler,” opens today. This gives a hint of what a child-friendly home it is. 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