The library of Seymour's home is decorated with fabric from
her new St. Catherine's Court collection.
HOME:
You have a new collection of furniture and accessories based
on this house. Tell us about it.
JS:
It was built as a Benedictine
monastery in 1950 and was originally named "St.
Katerina, after St. Catherine, who was sainted because
she was tortured on a wheel. We still have monks' cells
in the lower level of the house.
HOME
So you send the kids there if they misbehave?
JS:
Oh, yea. But, seriously, it's an incredibly exciting
house. We even have a stone church built in 1260 that's
still standing and functioning with its own congregation.
HOME
Obviously people know you best as an actress and tend to
associate you with romance. When did you acquire an interest
in home decorating?
JS
One of the things people don't know about me is that
between acting gigs I used to devote myself to decorating
my home. I've decorated about nine houses, including
much of this one, picking out every piece of furniture
and fabric myself. 1ve ended up profitably selling
every house I've owned. People would come in and offer
me too much money for the house to refuse.
HOME:
You've had to accommodate different historic periods in
decorating this house. Was that a challenge?
JS
The
beauty of the house is that though much of it is Elizabethan
there are many periods represented here. One room is Georgian;
one Victorian. You can jump around the whole of British history.
Although there were furnishings here when I bought it, I've
added a lot much of it from around Bath, Which is a huge
antiquing center.
HOME
What part of the hose is your favorite?
JS
My bedroom has great views of the entire property,
including the church. The four-poster bed is very atmospheric-you're
back in the time of Henry Vlll. I also love the
orangery, which is a conservatory of sorts. I often
paint there; the light is beautiful. In the summer
the sun is out until 10 at night. And since in
England we eat quite late we end up drinking cocktails
until the sun goes down and then light candles for
dinner. Nothing formal. We just cover the table with
a beautiful fabric.
For more infor mation about Jane Seymour and her
home collection log on to janeseymourhome.comz
Homemag.com