George Clooney's house in England

I love the house . I would love to have a gym  . Very cool .

annemarie wrote:Yes it does take a lot of people to maintain his privacy I remember an interview with one of his friends , he said they don't bring strangers around George.

So I think it wasn't easy for them when he and Amal dated:
You want to your new love to meet with your friends. But you have to be sure that they don't talk about this with others or even the press. And you have to know very well with which of your friends you can talk about this love - especially before you go public... Quite a challenge...

That's why I think George has kept the same tightknit group of friends for so many years. They are very trusted and loyal friends who he can always count on.

I love this house too. The grounds are beautiful and I think he and Amal will thoroughly enjoy their new surroundings. The townspeople will probably be content to let them be when they do go out to the pub or the theater.

(I miss posting here but read everyone's thoughts practically every day)

Donnamarie, I am glad you have posted again  I have missed you.

Donnamarie wrote:That's why I think George has kept the same tightknit group of friends for so many years.  They are very trusted and loyal friends who he can always count on.

In fact, we only knew about Amal when George decided to let us know about it.

The latest pictures of the house:

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Wow, it really looks beautiful!

Thanks PAN. Wonder when they will move in.  Holidays in Cabo or Sonning this year?

I'm putting my money on Cabo. From what I've read the Sonning grounds are a muddy mess and the house isn't ready yet. Maybe they'll push the contractors to get the work done in time for the holidays, but if there's still a lot to be done they might end up roughing it. That's ok for us peons, but I can't see A&G spending the holidays camping out on the livingroom floor!

I know George likes to spend Thanksgiving in LA with his friends. I think where they spend Christmas will depend on how done the Sonning house is and what the weather is like. We know he really loves the sun and he hasn't been anywhere really warm for a while.

Maybe they will go to Augusta for Thanksgiving to be with his family since it is not celebrated in England. Los Angeles for Christmas and Mexico for New Year.

Hi Jenn.

Did you see the latest pix I posted above from November 11th?

party animal - not! wrote:Hi Jenn.

Did you see the latest pix I posted above from November 11th?

oops! I'm sorry

That sounds wonderful the people don't care and George and Amal can have their privacy. The papers love to stir up trouble where there is none. That is why the probably bought there in the first place nice quiet and they won't be bothered.

That's an interesting article about Sonning and quite different from the usual 'The Clooneys are the worst neighbours you could think of...' stuff. 
I'm not sure if everything's written there is true though.
-  Nobody has ever seen Brangelina and Taylor around looking for houses, 
- we saw an Instagram photo of George in Sonning in October (well, maybe this person wasn't from Sonning), 
- on Cindy Crawford's instagram site there was a photo of the british countryside from October, and some of the commentators clarified that it was taken at the 'French Horn'
- in the dicumentary about George on German tv the woman who runs 'the Bull' (the local pub) said that George and Amal came in, introduced themselves and asked if they would also offer 'Casamigos' there. 
So - as usually - maybe a mixture of real statements and gossip...

Thanks pan for the article. Im sure theres
a lot of truth in that.
It sounds an idyllic place to keep the 
Clooneys and their doggies happy.
And Id imagine theyll enjoy being "snowed in"
when we get whats been promised
us this winter !

Joanna, it does sound idyllic.  And it seems the Clooneys for the most part will be left alone by the townspeople.  It sounds like it will be easy for them to walk about, go out to eat and to the local theater without having their privacy intruded upon.  Most likely a very attractive feature that George and Amal were aware of when looking for a home there.

carolhathaway I too think the article is not all together correct in its thought that no one knows they are there.  
i think the townspeople certainly know they have moved into the area and probably a few of them have seen them.  But it also does sound like they are quite agreeable to letting them be.

Yes Donnamarie,
I think you're right. And I really hope (and to me it sounds as it will be like that) that they will be able to live a normal life like the rest of us. You know, go to a shop or to the pub and just be greeted like any other person "Hi George, nice to see you. How are you?" and that's it. Not asking them for a selfie or for an autograph all the time...

^ I hope it will like that. But as in Laglio, people will go over there to look for them, paps, fans,... curious people,.... So I hope they don´t bother them too much like when they are in Laglio.

Hathaross,
yes, fans and paparazzi will be the same probleme as in Laglio. But maybe that's why the people in Sonning said that they'd never seen them. If others get the  feeling that they will never get the chance to see George and Amal in Sonning and you can't see anything of their property as well it might be boring to hang around there and wait for something to happen...

The article reflects the kind of village it is - incredibly discreet and used to a number of well-known/wealthy/important people in their midst. Obviously they are not going to say too much. Not good for business either but it simply isn't that sort of place. It's all very green and woody and in a way rambling........the other thing of course is that the weather is not always great....

They have chosen very well

Yeah, they know what they are doing. I hope they can live happily there, calmly, enjoying their life together. 

We will see them, and people will go over there to get a chance to see them but if it is as L.A, I think they will be happy.

The more I read about this place the more it seems like exactly the kind of place they might want to have to get away from all of the attention that two such high profile people have.

Yes it sounds most very wonderful place.For wonderful couple dogs and family.Yes snowed in with short to walk to pub!Very romantic they must to BYO save money

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

New pictures??

Disappointing....I want pictures of bedroom and kitchen....that's where I imagine George most watching me cook and ...

LOOOOOOL 

Less than tasteful (well it is the Star!!)piece:

Sombody obviously hired a boat!! 

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

party animal - not! wrote:[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

New pictures??

old pics! http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/gossip/george-clooney-amal-amal-alamuddin-multimillion-dollar-home-exclusive-photos-article-1.1969737  

Ig @george_clooney_fanpage information is ALWAYS wrong 

George and Amal Clooney's home lit up at night, Sonning, Berkshire, Britain - 18 Nov 2015

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Yep, saw these. Looks lovely doesn't it? And the security cameras are so discreet. Only taken a couple of days ago..........

Beautiful  home .

Apparently he said himself about the
restaurant "French Horn" and the fact 
they were riding around their home 
on a boat.
“The town has the greatest pub in the world which is something like 200 years old. Amal and I walk from our house over a bridge, through a graveyard and into the pub. It’s fine going there but coming back is a little, eh,” he jokes. “Now we’re in the middle of updating the house and we’re bringing it back to the Georgian style. I have a boat and we ride around and there’s an unbelievably great restaurant nearby called The French Horn. I love it there.”
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

It really looks great with all the lights. And they seem to have moved in so it's a home they created together which is really nice.

I also want to add that I really like this hut. If it's really new it looks as if it has been there forever so they must have built it very thoughtful. And then I'm sure they put as much effort in the restauration of the house itself. 
I love it when people respect the history of a house and try to preserve it instead of tearing it off and building a new one. Keeping the old fabric of a building and modernizing the inside for a comfortable living...

It would seem the people are respectful of their privacy and won't talk about them which is a good thing.

Seems to me that, at least at this time of year, the house isn't all that private after all. If those photos of the lit up house are anything to go by, anyone with a telephoto long lens can shoot right into their windows without being anywhere near the house.

Also, are the 2 rooms shown in the instagram above actually the way the house is now or are they from when the house was purchased? The style seems awfully ornate - not what I would expect George to choose. Although now that I think of it, it's totally what I would expect from Amal. I guess he's just letting her do whatever she wants since he doesn't trust his own taste. He let Rande and Cindy decorate for him in LA and Cabo.

I think they're old photos now, Lizzy.

I don't necessarily think they're in yet either.

 It looks to me as if all the lights are on and the interior designers (rumoured to be the same as those for Soho House) are working inside. I'm sure if they were there the curtains would be closed!

And of course no leaves on the trees makes it all look nearer.

The summerhouse is now the headline feature of the Mailonline - no doubt some bright spark thought it would be light relief from all the other horrible stuff - and some of the comments are quite funny 'George has been to woodwork classes. Bless.' was one.........

The pictures of the interiors are from before the renovations. They can be seen on page 2 of this thread.

Mailonline now has the story about the riverside hut and you can even spot Henry the Hoover in the pictures.

They are old pictures I'm sure they will have curtains and no one will be able to shoot in the windows.

Lizzy:  I'm not sure he doesn't trust his own taste; I think he just does not care that much (same with his clothes).  Don't understand it myself--I care more about how my house looks/feels than what I wear.

Yes, their renovation reflects the house's history, but isn't it a listed building?  So not like they had a choice.

As for hut, which DM calls a love nest--isn't it a boathouse?  That is what it looks like to me

I think he probably isn't into decorating like a lot of men as long as there is a comfortable couch and tv he will be happy. The love nest is a boat house.

fava - You may be right. Maybe he really just doesn't care. He said his LA house looked like a frat house before he let Rande redecorate for him. He said now it's not really his taste, but he's ok with it. I guess Annemarie got it right. As long as there's a comfy couch and a tv he's happy - after all, he's never in one place for too long anyway.

Does anyone know if the fact that the house is listed means there are restrictions on how they can decorate the interior?

Well, my understanding of it is that it affects the structure rather than the sofa or the cushions.

So at every point they've made changes/or built on they will have checked that the plans are in line with how the building is presented, and an inspector will visit to check. They would have had to consider this in all their plans before they submitted them, although I'm not sure that they would have to personally have had to be present, but probably would have put that in the hands of their surveyor and architect.

So if George wants a flowery cushion to put on his sofa, I don't think anyone going to stop him!

If you want some ideas of how it might look inside check out the decor on any Soho House website, Lizzy, (tho maybe not the Berlin one, because that's an art deco building I think)

..........pretty impressed that from what we know so far, they are going to a lot of trouble to use recycled and organic materials.........

A place where I previously worked was a listed building, an old house. When dry rot was found in a first floor wall and floor we had to get a specialist firm to come and remove the beautiful frieze and the ornate centrepiece from the ground floor ceiling below. They reinstalled it after the dry rot was dealt with and replaced any pieces that had been damaged while being removed. There is an expectation that listed buildings be maintained to a certain standard. Permission is needed for any structural changes in the building or if you want to remove any important period details such as windows, friezes, fireplaces etc. I think it is much the same in England and Scotland.

Hebe,
now I understand what you mean by a 'listed house'. We've got the same in Germany, and my husband works in a town where the whole center is medieval, very impressive! But you've got problems when you own such a house because every renovation outside (roof, windows, front door...) or inside (wall breakthrough) needs a permit by a special authority and needs to be done by a specialized firm. So it's always much more expensive if anything needs to be renovated or modernized. So some houses aren't kept properly and fall into disrepair because the owners just can't afford to keep them anymore. And that's really a shame!

In the article Sevens just linked George said that they want to bring back the house to the Georgian style. So I guess that this means a previous owner hadn't done it properly. And when I watched some of the photos and saw the marble bathroom I thought this might be one of the modernization which wasn't done properly.

Knowing George's respect for history it would seem he would ensure that the house was kept in harmony with the surrounding homes in the area.  Pictures we saw of his Como home a few years ago showed very classic and traditional furnishings that complemented the history of the home. From the pictures we saw of this home before it sold it did look like the previous owners had made some changes to the interior that may have contradicted the interior architecture.  Like the bath as carolhathaway pointed out.  I would think though that the new  furnishings will reflect more traditional styling in keeping with the house's history.  

I remember reading the article on the Cabo homes and both Rande and George used locally sourced materials for some of the interior funishings   So think George is cognizant of the same for Sonning.

I hope someday we might get a peek inside.

Maybe a homestory?
Like George did with Charlie Rose on his L.A. home?

Interesting !

I would LOVE to see the inside  Maybe Charlie Rose can persuade him LOL