8:56am Wednesday 27th January 2010
By Emma Palmer
FLAMBOYANT interior designer Laurence Llewelyn Bowen sashayed into south Essex for his new TV series.
Bowen, 44, spent a day at Barleylands in Billericay perusing the farm’s network of quaint craft shops.
He visited the village while filming a new series of ITV1’s Gift House, where he and two other designers help create spectacular homes for hopeful householders.
The popular celebrity spent hours looking for something to decorate the home of Jenny and Peter Whealy, who have recently converted a bungalow in Brentwood into a four-bedroom house.
Nichola Larkin, spokesman for Barleylands, said: “Laurence said that he couldn’t believe a place like Barleylands still existed.
“The charm of so many handmade gifts and house-holds items delighted him.
“He called in at many of the studios and shops and carefully examined lots of potential gifts including hand-made quilts, a variety of stained, fused and blown glass, canvasses, pottery, pictures and handmade sweets and greeting cards.
“He finished off by visiting Kingswood Forge owned by Martin Hayday, who has been the resident blacksmith at Barleylands for ten years.”
For the show Bowen had £200 to spend on a gift for the Brentwood couple’s home and ended up taking away a wrought iron, wall hung coat hook.
The episode will be aired on Thursday at 2pm on ITV1.
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