Bucket List: Grayson Perry’s House for Essex

I had only ever seen A House for Essex once before — glimpsed from the path across the marshes at Wrabness, its striking tiled exterior rising like something between a chapel, a fairytale house and a monument. Even from a distance it felt extraordinary. So the chance to stay there felt like an essential bucket-list must-do.

And in March 2026, that item was ticked off.

Created by artist Grayson Perry with FAT Architecture for Living Architecture, the building is conceived as a secular shrine to an imagined Essex woman, Julie May Cope. Her fictional life story unfolds through the artworks — tapestries, poem, ceramics and prints — that fill the house, turning the whole building into an inhabitable narrative.

Stepping inside reveals just how layered Perry’s vision is. The richly coloured interiors, patterned floors and intricate textiles create a space that feels both theatrical and welcoming. Everywhere you look there are details to decode — scenes woven into tapestries, motifs hidden in tiles, and Perry’s distinctive ceramics adding humour, tenderness and bite.

Two nights is the perfect amount of time. The first day and evening are spent taking it all in: wandering from room to room, reading Julie’s story in the tapestries, and simply enjoying the sheer visual richness of the place. Watching the Grayson Perry's Dream House documentary about the project, adds an extra layer, as you marvel that what was once a hole in the ground is now the magical, intricate world you’re sitting in. By the next day, the house begins to reveal subtler details you might easily miss at first glance.

Upstairs, the bedrooms frame wide views over the Stour Estuary and the industrial lights of Harwich. The landscape beyond the windows is wonderfully calm — marshes, open skies and shifting light that changes throughout the day. After the exuberance of the interiors, the quiet beauty outside feels like a perfect counterbalance, and a walk down to the Stour allows for striking views of the house on your return.

What makes staying here so memorable is that you aren’t just visiting an artwork — you’re living inside it, if only briefly. You cook in it, wake up in it, watch the evening light fade across the estuary from its windows.

Having once only glimpsed the house from afar, spending two nights inside it feels like stepping fully into the imagination behind that first striking view. Strange, thoughtful, playful and unexpectedly moving, it’s one of the most unusual and memorable places I’ve ever stayed.

We rounded off our Essex adventures with a visit to a very differnt kind of artist's house, the Munnings Art Museum in nearby Dedham. Well worth a visit if you are in the area.