Sandown

Sandown Holiday Cottage occupies pride of place in the courtyard, set back behind the three central arches. It used to be the carriage house, and its large open-plan drawing-room/dining-room/kitchen has truly noble proportions, with an 11' ceiling, and length and width to match.

The height and imposing symmetry of the doors and windows called for elegance and sophistication: there's a deep moulded cornice, and the walls have a subtle grey-green paint finish, a good background for the Ian Sanderson yellow-and-cream striped linen curtains.

The focal point is the fine antique pine mantelpiece taken from one of the rooms in Bruern Abbey. Clustered round it are a comfortable buttoned chesterfield sofa in green Lelievre velvet with a handsome old paisley shawl slung over the back, and a couple of chairs, one upholstered in Mulberry paisley and the other in cream, piped in green. The cosiest place to perch on a cold day is the club fender in front of the fire, although the central heating is so efficient that the cold is imaginary. Strategically placed for trays or magazines, there's a long low ottoman on a needlepoint rug in warm cream, olive and pale orange.

Beside the fire is a tall glazed Victorian bookcase in stripped pine (inside which are books you might actually want to read) and on the other side a desk with a telephone. Above it all gleams the brass of a Dutch six-light candelabra. The TV is concealed under the heavy white fringed-wool cloth on the circular table in front of the bookcase.

The kitchen area is paved with pale terracotta tiles laid diagonally, and the centrally placed pine island unit, which houses the microwave, is surfaced half in granite and half in pine, with sockets built-in for appliances. It was specially designed to take the machines - like the food processor - which are too heavy and bulky to store in the cupboard units, and to give a good large extra work surface. Over it hangs an oval wrought iron rack for saucepans and utensils. The units are painted warm buff, and topped with brown granite, and there's a row of highly decorative Mason's Ironstone plates above.

The master bedroom is on this floor, its mahogany four-poster magnificently dressed in ochre-and-cream silk, striped with watery blues and greens to match the curtains. There's a handsome William IV chest of drawers, and a rosewood desk with a deep green leather top, made by Terence Conran himself as a young man. The ensuite bathroom is painted the same buff as the bedroom and there's a power shower over the bath. The  pièce de resistance is a fine old marble-topped French washstand in pitch pine, brought over from Normandy.

The stairs are lined with old animal prints. In the upstairs bedroom, there are two single four-posters dressed in a blue-and-white Provençal print, and an antique blue-and-white faux bamboo table. The walls are buff, and the ensuite wet room is tiled in marble from floor to ceiling. There is a power shower and washstand running across under the window.

Down a flight of stairs outside is a large terrace, with a wonderful view of the lawns and the long border of the walled garden. Rose- and clematis- covered trellises on both sides combine with beds full of viburnums, roses, phlox and lilies to give privacy for al fresco dining.