TV presenter Alex Jones has shared her plans for her stunning new family house with her Instagram followers.
The One Show presenter Alex, 48, husband Charlie and their three kids – Teddy, Kit and Annie – moved out of London last year for a life in the countryside. Their new home is a Georgian mansion near Tittenhurst Park in Sunningdale, Berkshire, Alex has revealed.
She’s previously revealed on social media the search for their new home took four years – and was motivated to ensure their children have “space to play outside and to grow up in nature”.
But now, in her latest Insta update, Alex has shared news about the substantial changes she hopes to make to the property.
Alex Jones shares new home update
Sharing a Reel on Thursday (June 26) afternoon, Alex gave followers a glimpse of where she lives. But rather than a peek at her bedroom or kitchen, she took them a tour of a part of her property she believes needs alteration.
She explained: “Some of you have been wanting a house update. And finally we think we know where we’re going to start (depending on costs).”
Alex went on to say how a large garage and a space currently used for boiler storage will be converted. She feels that further room for guests who may not be able to climb stairs will “future proof” the property.
We’re planning on an annexe in the garden.
“As the house is four bedrooms, we need an extra one for guests to stay. So we’re planning on an annexe in the garden. Also, it means that we can de-camp there when the going gets tough with the main build,” she said.
She also previously told The Times of the building work: “We are not doing anything until September so we have the summer with no disruption. We can have people round and it doesn’t matter if the house gets trashed.”
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‘The garden was what we fell in love with’
It also sounds as though Alex is thinking about pulling the storage space forward and having the garage as a plant room, with ornate doors and a window at the front. She also joked about how Charlie’s tools need somewhere to be stashed – even if she rarely sees him use them.
But even though more living space is set to be created, Alex maintained the garden must also be considered at all times, too.
She continued: “The garden was what we fell in love with when we first saw the house. And we really appreciate all the hard work that has been put in to make it so beautiful. So we want to protect most of it whilst making it functional for us as a family.”
Alex promised another update would be coming next week – what other home renovation plans will she reveal? Perhaps a peek inside her interiors scrapbook…
“My absolute favourite thing to do is to browse through interior magazines. My friends and I often share them and I gratefully receive all their old copies so that I can chop them up and use them as inspiration,” Alex said previously. “Scrapbooking is also very personal. A great insight into someone’s brain. And it makes a very handy tool to help inform architects etc of your likes and dislikes.”
Famous previous owners
The house comes with quite the rich heritage. Earlier this year, she told The Times that it was once owned by two members of The Beatles – John Lennon and Ringo Starr. Albeit at different times…
Alex admitted that she fell in love at first sight with the house and its “double front door”. In fact, she told the paper how it was “the kind of house I always wanted when I was little”.
And it seems she loved it so much, that she went ahead and bought it without husband Charlie even seeing it. He was abroad at the time, and she clearly didn’t want to hang about!
“When Charlie got back, I said: ‘Listen, I’ve sort of bought a house. So we better go and see it.’ Luckily he loved it immediately. It felt like home when we walked in,” Alex said.
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‘Care home chic’
As well as building work, Alex also has some decorating to do…
She explained: “It’s very care home chic at the minute, with bars and rails that we hopefully won’t need for a long time. The kitchen is older than me; it’s really retro 1970s with the original fridge.”
The kitchen has exposed brick walls that have been painted white, white cupboards that pull down concertina-style and what looks like a kitchen island in the middle of the space. Giving a tour, Alex revealed that it was fitted in 1975.
She told her followers: “It just goes to show, like my mum and dad say, if you look after something, it lasts.”
Speaking in The Times, she added: “We need to do a lot of work but the bones of the house are lovely and the lady who lived here, Penelope, really looked after it.”
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The family bathroom also had a surprise in store for Alex – a 1980s-style hair dryer mounted on the wall. “I sort of want to keep it when we renovate,” she told her followers.
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The drinks are on Alex Jones at her new house
Not only that, but in another nod to the 1980s, Alex revealed that the new house is home to a “cupboard of dreams”.
Sharing a clip with her followers, she opened the white double cupboard doors to reveal a full-on bar inside!
We’re available for an invite round whenever you like, Alex! Cheers!
Read more: The One Show viewers fume as Alex Jones cuts off Rob Rinder: ‘You’ve got five seconds’
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