Copyright hellomagazine
Ben Fogle is yielding the results of his "autumn project" after transforming his once "cluttered" porch into a "winter garden room". Taking to Instagram on Sunday, 26 October, Ben, 51, addressed fans from his £2.2million home in Henley, Oxfordshire. "So let me show you what we've done to what was previously a very boring little porch area," the presenter began. "We clad it in all of this wood. I brought a lot of my stuff that's been accumulating in my office, and I put it all up. The doggies love it. "This is where we can come and enjoy a drink in the evening, and you may be wondering how on earth we keep ourselves warm, because that is the outside," he continued. "Well, have a look at this – this is an Esse garden stove which also has a pizza oven just up there, and that is enough to warm this whole space beautifully so that we can sit and admire the view out that way," Ben concluded, before panning the camera onto his sprawling garden. Embracing a maximalist design, Ben had transformed the small space into a super-cosy nook with wooden benches, colourful pillows, and an eclectic array of paintings, hanging lanterns, candles and bunting. Ben's home life in Henley Ben and his wife, Marina Fogle, share two children, Ludo, 16, and Iona, 14. The couple, who were previously based in London, moved their family to the picturesque town of Henley in 2018, where they've enjoyed a peaceful and private existence in the countryside. After purchasing a £2.2 million flint cottage, which is equipped with a tennis court, swimming pool and a vegetable patch, Ben and Marina have spent the past six years transforming their early 20th-century property into a rural oasis. Revealing that their home was originally a gatehouse, Marina told Neptune that she's always had a special connection to the area of Henley. "My grandparents bought a house in the village here in the forties," she said. "It's where my father grew up, and later met and married my mother. And my sisters live nearby too. It's a close community where families have known each other for generations." In February 2025, Ben also chatted with House Beautiful about his 120-year-old property. When asked to name the space that makes him feel most content, he said: "I'm happiest in my little garden room, which has lots of windows onto the garden outside and the little stable area, so I can keep an eye on what Marina and the children are up to. It's my space and where I like to retreat." As for his favourite room in the house, Ben revealed: "The big open-plan kitchen. It's the real heart of the family and where we spend most of our time. We have a huge Esse range cooker and lovely big doors onto the garden."
