Country Life Magazine – January 17, 2024: The latest issue features ‘Floral Fireworks’ – The National Collection of Dahlias; The Bridges of Britain; and the Arts-and-Crafts masterpieces of Madresfield Court, Worcestershire…
Floral fireworks
Kirsty Fergusson visits the new home of the 1,700-strong National Collection of Dahlias and reveals which blooms to order now for late-summer colour
The Bridges of Britain
Our greatest bridges span the ages and have the power to inspire both awe and admiration, as Jack Watkins discovers
Cold cures
The beautiful and practical cast-iron Victorian cloche is making a comeback. Tiffany Daneff investigates the revival of the miniature glass house
Twist and shout
Tiffany Daneff visits Morton Hall Gardens in Worcestershire to discover the secret of its owner’s intriguing new clematis-training technique
Why, why, why weigela?
New forms of this easy-to-grow garden shrub have repeating flowers in wonderful colours — no wonder they are hot sellers, suggests Charles Quest-Ritson
Architectural Digest (January 16, 2024) – Today AD travels to Connecticut to tour Tirranna, one of legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s final designs. The Rayward–Shepherd House, also known as Tirranna and as the John L. Rayward House, is a home in New Canaan, Connecticut originally built in 1955 to an design of renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright.
Considered one of the greatest architects of all time, Frank Lloyd Wright produced over 1000 designs in a career spanning 70 years, revolutionizing architecture in the United States.
A pioneer of organic architecture, Wright believed any building should exist in harmony with its inhabitants and surroundings–a concept that runs through the veins of Tirranna. Join Stuart Graff, president and CEO of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, as he walks you through one of the final designs of Wright’s career.
The Local Project (January 16, 2024) – The Local Project’s latest house tour takes viewers inside an architect’s own cabin at Sea Ranch, a planned Californian community founded in the 1960s by architect and developer Alan Boeke.
Video timeline:00:00 – Introduction to the Architect’s Own Cabin 01:50 – The History of The Sea Ranch Community 02:19 – Unique and Special Aspects 02:35 – A Walkthrough of the Cabin 03:37 – Aligning with The Original Footprint 05:40 – The Sea Ranch Design Rules 06:50 – A Natural Material Palette 07:50 – Proud Moments
Originally designed in the 1970s by William Turnbull Jr. – one of Sea Ranch’s pioneering architects – the cabin now belongs to Berkeley-based architect Joanne Koch, who has renovated the cabin with humility and respect. Pleasingly, it still exhibits many of Sea Ranch’s defining tenets surrounding quiet and environmentally sustainable architecture, reimagined through a contemporary lens. Joanne considers herself to be a “steward and caretaker” of this historic house at Sea Ranch. Stepping inside an architect’s own cabin, it is easy to see how she has respected the original design intent by gently reimagining the architecture and interior design.
The house tour highlights various spaces inside an architect’s own cabin, such as the kitchen, bedrooms, garden, courtyard and balconies, illustrating a blend of contemporary and heritage ideals through the interior design, furniture and décor. The materials echo the cabin’s 1970s sensibility with a subtle contemporary edge, and a palette of moss green, blue and grey not only reflects the hues of the surrounding forest but complements the amber tones of the sugar pine throughout the home. The kitchen features new cabinetry and refined yet elemental fixtures to reflect the rudimentary nature of the cabin. The presence of the surrounding landscape inside an architect’s own cabin is significant. “You just have this feeling that you need to look up into the trees,” Joanne says.
Sea Ranch Forest Retreat illustrates the importance of taking an informed and intuitive approach to architecture of heritage significance. With thanks to Joanne’s sensitive response, this cabin will prevail as an important piece of modernist American architecture.
Country Life Magazine – January 9, 2024: The latest issue features‘Walk This Way’ – England’s secret sunken roads; Return of the curly-coated retriever; Tom Parker Bowles on the comfort of pie; Britain’s most poisonous plants, and more…
Curls, curls, curls
The intelligent, powerful curly-coated retriever was favoured by the Victorians and is still winning plaudits as a working breed, discovers Katy Birchall
Rolling in the deep
Ben Lerwill follows in the foot-steps of our ancestors to explore the history of holloways, those sunken and often secret routes criss-crossing the countryside
Little crop of horrors
From hemlock and henbane to giant hogweed, Britain is home to a host of poisonous plants. John Wright reveals how to spot the dangerous and the deadly
Why we all cry for pie
Tom Parker Bowles earns his crust with an ode to the enduring appeal of this humble, yet oh so heavenly savoury creation
Lady Violet Manners’s favourite painting
The broadcaster chooses a poignant work that speaks of absolute parental devotion
A distant horizon conquered
Fiona Reynolds explores the ancient Wiltshire Downs, with her sights set firmly on the far-off landmark of Cherhill Monument
The future as a footstool
The landmark 1980s restoration of London’s Liverpool Street Station is under threat from new proposals, argues Ptolemy Dean
The Midas touch
In the first of two articles, John Goodall investigates the early history of Madresfield Court, Worcestershire, which has been in the same family for 900 years
I can’t believe it’s British butter
Butter is making a comeback in a welcome celebration of our dairy heritage—Jenny Linford meets the artisan makers who are helping to spread the word
The good stuff
Tackle the snow in style this winter with Hetty Lintell’s pick of the best skiing accessories
Sweet dreams are made of these
The gardens at Villa Durazzo-Pallacini in Italy are Heaven on Earth for Charles Quest-Ritson
‘I have seen a very pretty thing…’
Lucien de Guise reveals how you can add a true touch of Ottoman opulence to your home
Interiors
Amelia Thorpe selects the hottest new stoves, fires and range cookers, and Giles Kime examines the growing range of options fuelled by bioethanol
Money for old rope
Deborah Nicholls-Lee looks at how hemp can help in the battle against climate change
The Local Project (January 9, 2024) – Situated in a frequently cold, wet and windy location, Ramirez Residence by Norman Millar Architects and Judith Sheine Architect is a sea ranch home that is built to complement the rugged landscape.
Video timeline:00:00 – Introduction to the Modern Ranch 01:10 – A Coastal Location and its History 02:12 – The Architectural Collaboration and Design Guidelines 04:04 – Building the Interiors into the Landscape 04:29 – The Clients Coastal Requests 05:26 – A Traditional and Natural Material Palette 06:55 – Respecting the History of Sea Ranch
Placed north of San Francisco, and positioned along miles of ocean coastline, Ramirez Residence possesses an interesting history that goes back to the community’s conception by Alfred Boeke. Transforming a sheep ranch on a degrading landscape into an ideal utopian community, Alfred Boeke implemented strict design guidelines for the architecture of the buildings and the way they sat in the landscape. As such, each of the surrounding homes were inspired by weathered barns, designed out of local timber and made to withstand the harsh climate over a long period of time.
Built into the landscape, Ramirez Residence was specifically designed to preserve local views and communal open spaces. Based on the design principles and ideas of the weathered barns with the slopping roof of a ranch, Ramirez Residence appears fairly simple in its exterior form. With no overhangs to prevent uplift from the strong winds, the house tour shows an almost box-like home clad in local timbers but, once inside, a complex and articulated interior design reveals itself. Following the house tour inside, the reveal of built-in furniture continues the idea of a home nestled into the landscape. Emphasising this idea in the bathrooms and kitchen, the architects encourage the idea that the rooms and kitchen are objects within the home.
Country Life Magazine – January 2, 2024: The latest issue features ‘The Very Best Of Britain’; Marylands, a Surrey country house with a Spanish influence; artist Anne Wright’s miniature Daffodils and snowdrops at her small nursery in North Yorkshire; and how January weather can set the tone for the year to come…
The foul-mouthed Miller and the prim Princess
Geoffrey Chaucer created his Canterbury pilgrims more than 600 years ago, yet his band of travellers speaks across the ages, finds Matthew Dennison
Let’s hear it for Britain
Carla Passino bangs the drum for the British Isles with 50 things to make the nation proud, from code-cracking to clever dogs — and everything in between
Snow magic
Mary Keen is mesmerised by the array of rare and highly collectable snowdrops that artist Anne Wright is breeding at her small nursery in North Yorkshire
Keith Halstead’s favourite painting
The chief executive of the Royal Countryside Fund chooses a work that sparks memories of his childhood in rural Norfolk
Thought for the year 2024
Carla Carlisle enters the new year with a determination to remain positive, fortified by the sentiments of W. H. Auden
A fairy house
The glamour and glitz of 1920s stage and screen is rekindled as Clive Aslet puts the spotlight on Marylands, a Surrey country house with a Spanish influence
Baby, it’s cold outside
In the first of a new series on weather lore, Lia Leendertz reveals how January can set the tone for the year to come
Interiors
The bathroom of a Somerset house is restored with a nod to its historic roots, finds Arabella Youens, and Amelia Thorpe shares ideas for creating your own luxury bathing sanctuary
London Life
Start the year with an exhibition, says Charlotte Mullins, while Carla Passino assesses architect Richard Rogers’s contribution to the London skyline and Gilly Hopper looks ahead to the year’s big events in the capital
Kitchen garden cook
Melanie Johnson on sweet and nutty Jerusalem artichokes
Travel
Mary Lussiana stays at a land-mark luxury hotel in Marrakech while Luke Abrahams explores Athens in the snow and James Fisher dons his skis and discovers the Dolomites
New series: Arts & Antiques
Carla Passino investigates the centuries-long British passion for collecting antiquities and finds that all roads lead to Rome
The Local Project (January 2, 2024) – A house boat with rounded windows that frame the bay, Sausalito Houseboat by Craig Steely Architecture evokes a deep appreciation of the surrounds.
Video timeline:00:00 – Introduction to the World’s Best House Boat 00:40 – The House Boat Community and its History 01:02 – A Spacious Brief 02:03 – A Walkthrough of the House Boat 02:46 – The Layered Design Approach 03:23 – A Simplistic Material Palette 03:50 – Accounting for the Climate 04:23 – Satisfying and Favourite Aspects
Located just north of San Francisco, the home is situated in a small house boat community of Sausalito. In World War II, Liberty ships were once predominantly built in the area, however, after the war, it was abandoned for residential use. As such, a community was established and house boats were built, creating a truly memorable location for a home. Working closely with the client – who wanted something spacious – Craig Steely Architecture took to designing a house boat that went against the typical aesthetic and design of others.
Additionally, the house boat is clad in décor that will accommodate the weather and surrounds, using materials such as old red wood from another project that does not have any finish but remains sturdy. Thinking about the dock, the ocean, the views and the Sausalito Bay surrounds, Craig Steely Architecture created a home that was reactive and connected the interior space to the outdoors. However, when the client and architect discovered the lot, they found a sinking barge but, deeply interested with the history of the space, they took to designing a house boat that referenced the bohemian history.
The Local Project (December 29, 2023) – Fitzroy Laneway House is an architects own tiny house grounded in foresight and malleability – attributes that an architect brings when designing their own home.
Video timeline:00:00 – Introduction to the Architects Own Tiny House 01:32 – A Family Centred Brief 02:01 – A Walkthrough and the Layout of the House 03:18 – Integrating the Landscape and Exterior 03:50 – A Robust and Grounded Material Palette 04:54 – The Connected Design Approach
Andrew Child of Andrew Child Architecture creates a family home designed with both the present and the future in mind that eloquently responds to its inner-city Melbourne location. Andrew was immediately drawn to the original home, which is one of five Victorian terrace homes in a historically rich street in Fitzroy – a vibrant locale with lots of old buildings mixed in with new pieces of architecture. The brief for an architects own tiny house was to create a residence that would accommodate Andrew and his family into the future and be open to change.
“I also wanted something quite informal, that felt relaxed. We want to have fun here,” says Andrew. Fitzroy Laneway House is founded on the notion of connection to the site and the surrounding area. “I wanted the house to feel like a sanctuary, but I still wanted it to feel like we are connected to Fitzroy,” notes Andrew. As such, large windows offer views of the garden, neighbouring buildings and across rooftops. “If things change, like trees knocked down, we have installed shading blinds, timber screens, metal screen curtains, drapes and hanging planters, which all help with managing privacy while still making us feel connected to the locale,” says Andrew.
Architectural Digest (December 28, 2023) – Today AD travels 2 hours north of New York City to tour 46 Ledgerock Lane, an immense 10-acre home perched on the Hudson River.
Inspired by the work of legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright, the property is lined with five kinds of wood, and countless types of stone, while legions of windows offer uninterrupted views of the river beyond.
One of only a handful of properties built on the Hudson River, the house is a rarity since the law now prohibits building new homes less than 100 ft from the riverbank.
Country Life Magazine – December 27, 2023: The latest issue features ‘This Splendid Land’ – Landscapes, Landmarks, Houses and Gardens; The Art of Knot Tying; Winston Churchill’s interior-design tips; A unicorn in the garden – fantastic beasts tamed…
Long-standing Country Life contributor Charles Quest-Ritson is literally the man who wrote the book on roses — specifically The RHS encyclopedia of Roses — and back in June, he shared some tips on sharing and planting cuttings which proved enormously popular.
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