Category Archives: Homes

Architecture, Books, Home Design, Homes, Photography

New Architecture Books: ‘Escapology – Modern Cabins & Cottages’ (2020)

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Escape from 2020 and give your mind a getaway with Escapology: Modern Cabins, Cottages and Retreats. Curated by Colin McAllister and Justin Ryan, the 265-page book takes you to 24 dreamy homes around the world where you can mentally cozy up around a wood-burning fire and immerse yourself in mother nature.

One minute you’ll be in a rugged mountain lodge and the next you’re held up in a minimal Scandinavian cabin surrounded by foilage. The duo even highlights their own retreat on Ontario’s Drag Lake. Filled with impressive photographs, this book might even inspire you to turn your own abode into your dream retreat.

Colin McAllister and Justin Ryan―Scottish interior designers, TV hosts, and property speculators―are cabin aficionados who divide their time between homes in Canada and their beloved Scotland. iEscapology: Modern Cabins, Cottages and Retreats is a stunning book of modern-day retreats―bucolic weekend escapes by the sea, remote getaways in the woods, and rustic mountain hideouts―to inspire peaceful and quiet living. The authors genuinely believe that cabin time has a remarkably positive impact on our health, wellbeing and our happiness.

Whether it’s a rustic cottage nestled deep within a Nordic forest, a robust mountain lodge in Montana, a breathtaking treehouse in Canada, or a steel-walled, one-room “hotel” in Denmark, these retreats share one vital aspect in common: they proffer the chance to escape and to and live in harmony with nature, far from the madding crowd. Part style bible and lifestyle manual, the book features a beautiful collection of classic and contemporary cottages and cabins, each accompanied by an informative design profile and beautifully photographed images.

And of course, the book is also packed with practical building and design advice that fans of Colin and Justin have grown to love. You’ll find relevant information about different types of dwelling styles, builds, sustainability/off-grid living, tiny homes, renovation on a budget, room zonings, décor and everything in between.

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Gardens, Home Design, Homes, Living, Travel

English Country Homes: ’16th Century Chocolate Box’ In Bedfordshire

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This lovely house — Grade II-listed — was built four centuries ago, when (no doubt) all around was rolling fields and endless Bedfordshire skies. Today, it’s a couple of hundred yards up a country lane, that comes straight off the main A505 heading from Hitchin to Luton, with a large cemetery just along the road.

So not quite a countryside idyll, then, but at least you know the neighbours will be dead quiet.

Balancing the house and the location is always part of the fun with any property, of course. And if you’re after a place truly in the country, then a thatched cottage such as this one at the other end of the county — a delightful two-bedroom beauty at £435,000 — is really in the middle of nowhere.

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Architecture, Books, Home Design, Homes, Uncategorized

1960’s New Zealand Homes: ‘I never met a straight line I didn’t like’ (Book review)

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During the 1960s, Christchurch, New Zealand exploded with a creative force which developed into a distinct style of architecture that was widely admired and imitated and remains influential today.

This is a book about a modern architectural movement that bubbled up in a small, conservative city at the bottom of the world.

For a decade Christchurch architects worked with a potent energy and urgency, creating hundreds of homes (and many of New Zealand’s best public and commercial buildings) in a regional style that is arguably the closest thing the country has to a modern indigenous style of architecture. 

The 12 homes illustrated in the book are just a small representation of the style and architects of the period. They remain as intact examples of the ideas, materials and optimism of the time.

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Architecture, Books, Home Design, Homes

Books: ‘Out Of The Woods – Architecture & Interiors Built from Wood’ (2020)

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This book explores the innovative and inspiring ways architects are using this universal building material. Spanning grand Alpine escapes to tropical getaways, plywood penthouses to mass timber high-rises, Out of the Woods documents their progressive and inspiring creations from the foundations up.

Humans have been building homes from wood for thousands of years, and yet, in a contemporary world of option and innovation, the most primitive resource could in fact be the most pertinent.

Stretching back to historic Japanese houses, becoming synonymous with resort accommodation, and intertwining itself in the modern trend of hygge, its tactility and warmth have influenced countless architectural design movements. Timber is fast emerging as a viable material of choice, a safe, sturdy, and sustainable alternative to concrete. Architects are rediscovering wood’s universal appeal, thanks to recent technological advances.

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Architecture, Home Design, Homes, Reviews

Floating Home Tour: Seattle, Washington

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2017 Seattle Magazine & AIA Home of Distinction Award: A refined minimalist sculptural statement by Vandeventer + Carlander Architects. This exquisite floating home is located in an outside condo-owned slip in Roanoke Reef with west views to Gasworks Park.

A reverse plan allows light to pour in from all sides while maintaining privacy & capturing its amazing views. Open living, dining room+kitchen with Afromosa wood cabinets. 2 outdoor decks & a rooftop deck marry the home with its surroundings.

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Homes, Living, Travel

English Country Homes: ‘Morley Manor’, Hamlet Of Shermanbury, West Sussex

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According to its Historic England listing, the present Grade II-listed manor house dates from the 17th century or earlier, although the original manor of Morley was one of three Shermanbury manors listed in the Domesday survey.

Restored, enlarged and partly rebuilt over the years, Morley Manor stands in 14¼ acres of pristine gardens, grounds and post-and-railed paddocks, with southerly views to the South Downs.

It offers more than 6,900sq ft of sumptuously refurbished living space, including a large reception hall and four reception rooms.

The equestrian facility includes a stable courtyard with 11 stables, a heated rug room, a horse wash-down bay with hot and cold water, a heated tack room (what bliss!), a separate oak tack room and two first-floor apartments.

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Economics, Environment, Homes, Living, Videos

Housing: Flood Insurance Is Spurring Buyers To Live In Dangerous Areas (CNBC)

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2020 is officially the busiest hurricane season on record and flooding is one of a storm’s most devastating consequences. FEMA estimates one inch of flood water can cause up to $25,000 in damage. The U.S. began offering nationalize flood insurance in 1968 but the program, called the NFIP, is now over $20 billion in debt. Private companies are starting to offer flood insurance as well. However, flood insurance is more complicated than it may appear. Watch the video to better understand how flood insurance works, and doesn’t work, in the U.S.

Architecture, Books, Home Design, Homes

Top Architecture Books: ‘Scott Mitchell Houses’

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The first volume on his work, Scott Mitchell Houses is an exploration of the architectural designer’s impressive portfolio of projects. Mitchell’s houses are studies in space, materiality, and light. Emphasizing an elegant economy of space, his projects respond to the natural appeal of their locations, be they bucolic retreats on Long Island or resplendent beach houses overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The utilization of  monolithic concrete, glass and steel curtain walls, and  cantilevered roof planes reduces each building to its essential elements, cultivating a sense of balance and repose.

Merging formalist spatial logic and an atmosphere of calm, the work bridges disparate architectural typologies to create places that are both poetic and profound.

Mitchell’s monolithic forms draw on the surrounding environment via floor to ceiling windows that open onto vistas so cinematic that Tom Ford utilized one of Mitchell’s homes in his neo-noir drama Nocturnal Animals. Through previously unpublished photographs, readers are given an exclusive view into eight pivotal projects that span the globe from the Hamptons to Melbourne, featuring images by  Ross Bleckner,  Scott Frances,  Trevor Mein  and  Steve Shaw.

A foreword by Pulitzer Prize-winning architecture critic  Paul Goldberger, contribution by fashion designer Calvin Klein, and essay by architecture and design writer and author  Michael Webb  further highlight the seductive style of Mitchell’s work.

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Design, Home Design, Homes, Travel, Videos

Design Tour: Interior Designer Alidad’s London Mayfair Home (Video 2020)

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Join us in London for a behind the scenes visit with interior designer Alidad in his sophisticated Mayfair home. With a passion for textiles, antiques and history, Alidad has created timeless spaces that are a testament to his wide ranging interests and tastes. See how his love of opulent color and pattern translates to a different effect in every room. Learn how he segued from his position at Sotheby’s as the youngest departmental director for Islamic works of art and textiles to opening his own studio.

Alidad is an award winning interior designer, world renowned for his opulent yet supremely comfortable interiors.

Alidad first decided to establish his interior design studio whilst working at Sotheby’s where he was the youngest departmental director for Islamic works of art and textiles. Whilst there, he realised that his interest lay more in styling the space than the actual objects within.

Alidad’s design style is inspired by an idyllic childhood spent in the ancient, rich and mysterious land of Persia. His deep appreciation for history means that he can completely immerse himself in any true design aesthetic from Baroque to Neo-Classicism, Chinoiserie to Art Deco.

Adventure, Environment, Homes, Living, Travel, Videos

Life In A Cabin: Daily Work Routine In Kyushu, Japan

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Taro, windows, replanting, and bamboo Fire Blower.

JUST WORKING SILENTLY. This place is part of my homestead. and this cabin is second home and also serves as a disaster shelter. There’s electricity. Water is brought in from a nearby spring (and is drinkable). LAMP (female dog) and YONA (female cat) are usually in the main house. Orange Tabby’s GWIN (male cat) is elusive. He came out of nowhere on the eve of one typhoon (summer 2020).

Location: Kyushu, Japan.

Kyushu, the southwesternmost of Japan’s main islands, has a mostly subtropical climate. It’s known for its active volcanoes, beaches and natural hot springs such as those at Beppu. Its city of Fukuoka is home to museums, mega-malls and Kushida-jinja, an 8th-century Shinto shrine. The city of Nagasaki’s 1945 devastation by an atomic bomb is commemorated at the Nagasaki Peace Park and Atomic Bomb Museum.