{"id":221842,"date":"2025-06-28T17:11:27","date_gmt":"2025-06-28T17:11:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/221842\/"},"modified":"2025-06-28T17:11:27","modified_gmt":"2025-06-28T17:11:27","slug":"laurence-llewelyn-bowen-claims-britain-has-been-taken-for-granted-as-he-hits-out-at-overlooked-feature","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/221842\/","title":{"rendered":"Laurence Llewelyn Bowen claims ‘Britain has been taken for granted’ as he hits out at ‘overlooked’ feature"},"content":{"rendered":"

Laurence Llewelyn Bowen has spoken passionately about the untapped potential and overlooked heritage of British design, claiming the country is often \u201ctaken for granted\u201d compared to its European counterparts.<\/p>\n

Speaking to GB News during the unveiling of his latest project, Eleven Bibury, the designer made clear that he sees a cultural and creative revival taking root in the heart of the Cotswolds – and he intends to be at the centre of it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think British design is something that people have overlooked for too long,\u201d Llewelyn Bowen remarked.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey think about Italy and France. And for far too many people, I think Britain is just\u2026 taken for granted as being quite quiet. But actually, there were moments like the Arts and Crafts movement in the 1870s where we were extraordinarily influential and created a new vision of architectural design that was fundamentally 100 per cent democratic.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\\u200bLaurence<\/p>\n

Laurence Llewelyn Bowen at Eleven Bibury<\/p>\n

SUPPLIED<\/p>\n

This drive to reassert the richness of British craftsmanship and community values is at the heart of Eleven Bibury – a newly restored space that includes tea rooms, a shop, and curated interiors by Llewelyn Bowen himself. <\/p>\n

Located opposite the iconic Arlington Row, the development is described as \u201ca celebration of craftsmanship, authenticity and community,\u201d inspired by Bibury\u2019s role in the historic Arts and Crafts Movement.<\/p>\n

The project is the brainchild of Lady Anne Evans, whom Llewelyn Bowen credits as the creative anchor. <\/p>\n

\u201cAnne has this incredible centre of gravity that draws people from enthusiasm, from love, from generosity,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHer idea was to bring the heart back to the community, to create a community shop, to create a post office, but then also to start evangelising her particular vision of British design.\u201d<\/p>\n

The design of Eleven Bibury reflects both reverence for tradition and a willingness to innovate. <\/p>\n

\"Eleven<\/p>\n

The community shop and post office at Eleven Bibury<\/p>\n

GB NEWS<\/p>\n

Among Llewelyn Bowen\u2019s proudest contributions is the main staircase, which he said presented a significant design challenge due to the building\u2019s 300-year-old structure.<\/p>\n

He noted that while modern technologies, like subtle lighting and digital integration, were used in the design, they remained \u201csubservient to the aesthetic.\u201d <\/p>\n

The staircase features undercut treads and recessed lighting, a subtle blend of old and new that captures the spirit of the project.<\/p>\n

They also sought help from locals to embed a true sense of community into the project. <\/p>\n

Llewelyn Bowen explained, \u201cWe’ve had so many people get excited about it. We\u2019ve also been able to work with incredibly good local craftspeople, which was part of Anne’s ethos right from the outset: it had to be a celebration of Cotswold craftsmanship.\u201d<\/p>\n

More broadly, Llewelyn Bowen sees the restoration as a cultural statement. \u201cThis is kind of like what the real Cotswolds looks like,\u201d he said, in contrast to what he called the more artificial or commercially driven developments elsewhere.<\/p>\n

\"\\u200bEntrance<\/p>\n

Entrance to Eleven Bibury<\/p>\n

GB NEWS<\/p>\n

While Bibury continues to attract international visitors, Llewelyn Bowen emphasised the importance of designing with residents in mind. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe community here is every bit as important as everything else,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is a win-win. The international tourists find it incredibly attractive, but the village shop is just as vital.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beyond Eleven Bibury, Llewelyn Bowen is keeping busy. <\/p>\n

He recently completed filming for the second season of Outrageous Homes on Channel 4 and will return to BBC\u2019s Interior Design Masters later this year. More projects, he hinted, are in development.<\/p>\n

He also reflected on the recent cancellation of Netflix\u2019s Celebrity Bear Hunt, in which he featured. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very sad because I think it was a very good idea,\u201d he said. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t like a lot of the other Jungle Challenge shows. It was about empowering celebrities\u2026 giving them a chance to prove something to themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Laurence Llewelyn Bowen has spoken passionately about the untapped potential and overlooked heritage of British design, claiming the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":221843,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5018,3,4],"tags":[748,4781,393,4884,1144,712,16,15,1764],"class_list":{"0":"post-221842","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-britain","8":"category-uk","9":"category-united-kingdom","10":"tag-britain","11":"tag-celebrity","12":"tag-england","13":"tag-great-britain","14":"tag-northern-ireland","15":"tag-scotland","16":"tag-uk","17":"tag-united-kingdom","18":"tag-wales"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/221842","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=221842"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/221842\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/221843"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=221842"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=221842"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=221842"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}