Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen revamps The Dial House Hotel

Interior designer and television personality Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen has revamped the The Dial House Hotel in Bourton-on-the-Water Cheltenham, giving a new look to five of the property’s suites.

The Dial House was first built in 1698 by local architect Andrew Paxford. 

The LLB team designed five suites, each designed after its inspirational Arts and Crafts hero; Oscar (Wilde), Owen (Jones), Walter (Crane), Aubrey (Beardsley) and May (Morris). All suites also feature bespoke Llewelyn-Bowen patterns, from floor to ceiling.

The May Morris room is adorned with wallpapers on the walls, with a velvet orange armchair.

The doors to the guest wardrobe and bathroom are hidden in floral wallpaper, deliberately compartmentalising the space.

For the Oscar room, Llewelyn-Bowen designed the room after Wilde’s love for exotic oriental design and his passion for the colour yellow and the Owen room scheme is inspired by Jones’ “eclectic and hugely creative” aesthetic.

The Changing Rooms presenter has also designed Maxi’s Tipi lounge, which can be found in the hotel’s garden.

Inspired by “long, drawn-out summer evenings”, Maxi’s Tipi is filled with sofas, cushions, lampshades and giant floor cushions.

Llewelyn-Bowen said: “I was a bit feisty about it at first as I am just so bored of all the Cotswold cliches. Cotswold hospitality is wonderful, but the hospitality context is, frankly, Roundhead, with everything feeling a little bit puritanical.

“There is something Cromwellian about the contemporary Cotswold style, with the greengrey do-not-look-at-these walls and understated style and rickety furniture. We have become comfortable with being uncomfortable.”