Caro, Bruton: A Creative Haven in Somerset

Bruton, a town where old stone and new ideas meet, has become a quiet hub for art, food and design. At its heart sits Caro, the project of Natalie Jones, whose journey from Winkreative and the Future Laboratory to rural Somerset shaped a new chapter in her creative life. She opened Caro in 2015 and has since grown into a layered project: a shop, a B&B, and a studio for events and workshops.

The interiors reflect Natalie’s instinct for design, which is both tactile and thoughtful. Within a Grade II listed stone building, she worked with the existing bones of the architecture rather than imposing over them. Scrubbed-back Victorian green tiles reveal their patina beneath layers of paint, while cement render was stripped away to let the old façade breathe again. Steel-framed plywood shelving gives a minimal scaffold for objects to rest upon, and Marmoleum-topped counters are a quiet nod to natural durability. Lighting is spare and sculptural, porcelain fittings above counters, pendants by Fritz Fryer in the bays. Even the doors carry a sense of heritage, painted in Farrow & Ball’s Down Pipe with a distemper finish, in respect to the building’s age.

The result is a space pared back to essentials, yet alive with texture. Natalie calls Caro “a brand for life and home”, and that balance is visible in the interiors: an honesty of structure offset with moments of colour and intimacy. She allows space for objects to breathe, for light to carve out detail. There is nothing maximalist here, but a generosity in restraint.

Caro’s story extends beyond the shopfront. A short walk away is The Room, a discreet B&B tucked into a converted garden outbuilding. West-facing windows flood it with soft light, pared-back walls frame calm interiors, and a private courtyard creates a gentle remove from the town. Guests wake to breakfast at At the Chapel, Bruton’s Grade II listed chapel reborn into a bakery and restaurant. The Room feels less like a hotel and more like an invitation to Natalie’s sensibility for living well with less but better.

Then there is The Space, once a tin-roofed shed and now a west-facing studio with clean lines, pale light, and a courtyard opening to Grove Alley. It hosts workshops, exhibitions, photo shoots, and suppers. Its architecture resists ornament, so the creativity it shelters becomes the ornament. This thread of openness and collaboration is what makes Caro distinct. Natalie has long believed that design thrives in conversation, and The Space is her stage for new dialogues.

Bruton has in recent years drawn artists, chefs and makers, creating a pocket of culture in rural Somerset. Hauser & Wirth Somerset anchors the town with its world-class exhibitions and Piet Oudolf’s perennial meadow. Restaurants such as Osip, Number One Bruton, Briar and Matt’s Kitchen have added culinary depth, while independent ventures like Commune or Lunaria reinforce the fabric of creativity. Caro is not simply a shop, room, or studio within this landscape: it is a point of connection, a place where objects, ideas and people come together.

Caro remains a gentle beacon of design in Bruton, rooted in the everyday yet always looking outward. It is Natalie Jones’ vision of how interiors, community and creativity intertwine: stone, wood, glass and light made into a living, breathing invitation to pause, discover and connect.

Caro Bruton Somerset | Natalie Jones’ Boutique B&B, Design Store & Creative Space