There’s just one bedroom above this design-led cafe/shop in a small town near the Hauser & Wirth contemporary art gallery, but what a bedroom
On 15 July 2014, contemporary art powerhouse Hauser & Wirth made headlines around the world when it opened its Somerset branch, a sleek refurb of an old farmstead (and grounds) from which to showcase and sell some of the world’s most expensive artworks. That same day, Natalie Jones, a 34-year-old creative type from London, got the keys to 9 Quaperlake Street, a Middle Earthian-sounding address up the road from Hauser & Wirth in Bruton, a one-street town that is an unlikely but increasingly popular destination with affluent city dwellers.
It’s this demographic of people seeking a rural idyll with an arty scene attached that Jones is aiming at with Caro Somerset, which is coffee shop, design boutique and guesthouse all under one (18th-century) roof. Though the concept sounds ridiculously urbane, the reality is unpretentious and alluring, thanks in large part to Jones herself, who is an enthusiastic proponent of good design and convivial surroundings.
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