Although Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen has revealed he is slowly heading towards retirement, his life in the Cotswolds is anything but quiet.
The 59-year-old interior designer is currently working on a new reality show documenting life at his Cotswolds mansion, where he lives with his wife Jackie, their two adult daughters, Hermione, 25, and Cecile, 28, and their husbands Dan and Drew. They also have four grandchildren: Albion, 7, Demelza, 2, Romily, 1, and Eleanora, 6 months.
Laurence said the decision for the unconventional arrangement was made while he and his wife were “rummaging around the house like dried peas in a tin.”
But the six-bedroom property needs to be adapted to accommodate ten people.
Manor Bowen has been split and Cecile now lives in a converted garage, so they both have their own living quarters and ‘complete autonomy’.
Inside Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen’s unconventional family home as the star reveals BOTH his adult daughters, their partners and four grandchildren live in his Cotswolds mansion
Laurence said the decision for the unconventional arrangement was made when he and his wife were ‘rattling around the house like dried peas in a fancy tin’
Laurence said his garden has become a haven from the hustle and bustle of family life
Speaking of the My Dirty Laundry PodcastLaurence said he believes living together with your entire family is “something more people should do” and that he doesn’t mind that his lavish interior is now filled with children’s toys.
“We certainly don’t slide into our sixties with boredom calling us. We want to use our time wisely and valuable. The way you design your world contributes to how you feel,” he said.
‘We have our big country house full of children again, with pieces of brightly colored plastic and Peppa Pig.
‘I think it’s something that more and more people should be doing, for us, the baby boomer generation, we’re all a little bit surprised that we’ve made it to 60. I think everyone thought we were going to live fast and die young rather than live really, really slow and die really old.
“It’s big and very iconic at Chateau LL-B. We’re busy working on the house.”
The TV personality said the family also work together on their design shop and showroom in Cirencester, with the business undergoing a ‘succession-style takeover’.
‘My daughter Hermione wants to take the company forward. I am looking forward to my retirement.’
Manor Bowen has been split, with Cecile living in a converted garage, so they both have their own living quarters and ‘complete autonomy’ (pictured with wife Jackie and daughters)
The six-bedroom property needs to be adapted to accommodate the ten of them
Laurence said that despite the showroom’s appearance, the house is filled with plastic toys and Peppa Pig merchandise
Laurence revealed that the family meets at 5pm in his and Jackie’s living quarters, where they spend time together but ‘dematerialise when there is tidying up to be done’
They go all out for Easter and Christmas, with Laurence showing off this Easter centerpiece
Speaking about his new show, he said: ‘We did a pretty successful show when we first moved out here to the country. Manor Bower was a pretty big thing in 2008.
“This is something that people will enjoy as a bit of an update. Here we are still in the same house. We plan to do all sorts of work to reconfigure the way we live so that the three households have our own space in what could be described as a little house on the prairie or more like a cult.”
Laurence revealed that the family meets at his and Jackie’s house at 5pm. They spend time together but ‘dematerialise when it’s time to tidy up’ so he and his wife can do the dishes.
He told The Sunday newspaper this week: ‘After all those years of waking up in fear of a hangover, an early flight or a phone call from the bank, Jackie and I now have not only our ducks, but their ducks under the same roof.
‘One hundred and fifty years ago, no one left their home country and we are fine with that.’
He added: ‘Family life is extremely complex, incredibly annoying, but somehow also beautiful.’
Every corner of the vast home features Laurence’s flair for interior design with clashing patterns and bold artwork
Laurence’s role in the household now consists of being the man who disappears into the background of the camera during Zoom meetings and then reappears to cut ribbons or appear on TV, he added.
Laurence told MailOnline in 2022 about his family life: ‘Lockdown has really shown us how much we want to be together.’
Except for Cecile, who is a novelist, they all work in the family interior design business under the brand name LLB.
“It’s the best way to do things,” Laurence said. “This is what used to happen.
‘In modern times, people decided that children should go away and go as far away as possible and create a new life. But before that, you stayed together and you went into the family business – you worked together on the farm or in the shop – and that’s what we do.
“We’re very fortunate to have the space to make it work, and it works really well. Jackie and I get to see our grandchildren every day and we love it. There are thousands of grandparents who are bitterly upset and lonely because they never see their grandchildren.
‘Meanwhile, there are tens of thousands of parents who feel like they simply can’t cope with their lives and jobs because they don’t have childcare or support. But if more people did what we are doing, both of these problems would be completely solved.
‘If people just got on with their lives instead of always trying to climb the housing ladder, they would be happier. Lockdown has shown that people can work from home and I think more people should use that as an opportunity to improve their lives.
‘For us, the lockdown showed that what we were already doing was working. The most important thing is to be happy. That is much more important than climbing the housing ladder.’
Jackie is the president of the LLB company and the boss at home, says Laurence. She does most of the cooking and they try to eat together as often as possible.
“There is enough space, so we are not on top of each other. We often have a drink in the evening and try to have reasonably formal occasions.
‘We have an old-fashioned gong because I can’t bear the idea of texting people to ask them to come over for dinner. We take eating together very seriously – it’s an important part of living together.’
They often travel to work together – the LLB offices are in nearby Cirencester. ‘We live above the shop and work in the shop.
People say, ‘I couldn’t work with my mother, we’d fight,’ but I think that’s what happens when you only see each other three times a year. When you see someone every day, you resolve the friction as you go.
“It can’t build up. Working with family means I can trust them. They’re not afraid to say no to me. I want their honesty.”