More Is More in This Spanish TV Star’s Manor House…



The home is located in Manzanares, in Spain’s Castilla-La Mancha region, a land that was long known for its wines and its splendid estates. The legacy of the agricultural oligarchy that long ruled this part of Spain lives on in structures like this manor house, with its stone columns, cobblestone courtyards, wine cellars, and olive oil presses. “I’ve escaped from Madrid, where I paid a fortune to live in a hovel. I’ve given up the noise of the city for a home where geraniums bloom on my balconies,” Josie says with an air of satisfaction.

Dormitorio azul en la casa manchega de Josie

In the bedroom, an antique bed is dressed with cotton batiste sheets from Viuda de Tolrá and linens that Josie inherited from his great-aunts. The organic cotton satin cushions with crimson trim are by Gayle Warwick for Hahn Design, and are embroidered with the Villa Josie monogram. The Ábbatte bedspread is a unique piece comprised of forest green linen warp, gray merino wool weft, and gray-blue alpaca zigzag stitches. The walls are painted in Moonstone Blue from Croma Natural Paint. The white porcelain electrical switches are from Fontini’s Garby Colonial collection. The triptych above the headboard is by Mario Antón, and hangs from a pair of aged brass rods by Ferretería Ortiz. The yellow Turkish slippers are by Sabah.

Festina lente

Here, amongst original cement tiles, lime-washed walls, allegorical frescoes, and an army of decorative swallows, Josie explains that he’s reached an existential turning point, summed up in the motto: festina lente (Latin for “make haste, slowly”). This paradoxical phrase—a call to move through life expeditiously but prudently—has inspired the work of artist Juan Monzón Gasca, whomst Josie shares a deep connection with. Accordingly, Monzón used medieval egg tempera painting techniques for the ceiling of the Josie’s red salon on the upper floor. The artist from Zaragoza, Spain, is also responsible for the hand-turned terracotta waterspouts in the large pool near the…