English Home

THE ENGLISH HOME 39This is an elastic house,” laughs KatieOsborne, “and there are never fewer than24 of us around the table at Christmas!”Katie and her husband Jamie share thisrambling Berkshire home with their four children:Woolfie, Tom, Hubie and Saffie, five dogs and aparakeet – not to mention the 70-or-so racehorses inthe stables. Katie, an artist (known professionally asKatie O’Sullivan) and Jamie, a successful former jockeyand now racehorse trainer are at the helm of this busy,vibrant and family-friendly home.The couple bought the house – originally twocottages, overgrown with ivy and needing completerewiring and plumbing – in the winter of 1996. Overthe years, Katie and Jamie have extended, tweaked andrearranged the layout of this property to create asuccession of light and elegant spaces for entertaining,whilst retaining a cosier feel in the sitting rooms and``````ABOVE Theconservatory providesa light-filled seatingarea, complete withmedicine cabinetsfrom Indigo and abirdcage that Katiedesigned herself.RIGHT The bespokekitchen was made bya local carpenter toKatie’s own design.OPPOSITE Neptuneupholstered diningchairs are juxtaposedwith wrought ironseats from Oka.TEH UK DEC15 HOUSE - O'Sullivan copy.indd 39 20/10/2015 17:08