Category Archives: Homes

Top Architecture Books: ‘Scott Mitchell Houses’

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 Through previously unpublished photographs, readers are given an exclusive view into eight pivotal projects that span the globe from the Hamptons to Melbourne, featuring images by  Ross BlecknerScott 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 Tour: Interior Designer Alidad’s London Mayfair Home (Video 2020)

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.

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

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.

Future Housing: ‘iOhouse – The Space’ Is A Fully Off-Grid, Prefab Smart Home

iOhouse has built a luxurious fully off-grid living space for people who value privacy, design and nature, called the Space. 

All the utilities you need are integrated and completely autonomous, including water, electricity, heating and Wi-Fi. A smart device is all that is required to monitor and manage your living experience.

The SPACE offers you the most advanced conveniences of modern life with the smallest ecological footprint. Our model has been constructed only with the best premium materials and we genuinely believe this is the future of modern living.

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English Country Homes: ‘Adshead Park’ – 136 Acres In The West Berkshires

…Adshead Park, a striking Arts-and-Crafts-style country house set in 136 acres of formal gardens, woods and farmland in the hills above the west Berkshire village of Lower Basildon, three miles from Pangbourne and eight miles from Reading.

Adshead was the realisation of a dream for its owner, the charismatic businessman Sir John Madejski, whose ability to see ‘the bigger picture’ led to the foundation of a diverse business empire. It started with the motor classifieds magazine Auto Trader —launched with £2,000 in the 1970s and sold for £260 million in 1998 — but went on to span publishing, hotels, restaurants, radio, a top flight football team (Reading FC) and property.

Dealing with business is one thing; dealing with planning applications is another matter entirely, and it took all of Sir John’s legendary skills to negotiate the labyrinthine process required to build a new country house on virgin farmland in one of the most heavily protected areas of the Home Counties.

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Home Tour Videos: ‘Villa Vedramar’ – Ibiza, Spain

VILLA VEDRAMAR is located at the south west coast, one of the most protected nature reserves of Ibiza where the magical rock Es Vedrá rises out of the sea like a majestic sculpture. Cala Carbó beach offers two restaurants with great fish specialities. It’s one of the most relaxing beaches of Ibiza, with comfortable sun loungers and palm leaf parasols. On entering Cala Carbó, you will find our HARISSA office, a supermarket and our tapas bar LA SARDINA LOCA for food and drinks.

Ibiza is one of the Balearic islands, an archipelago of Spain in the Mediterranean Sea. It’s well known for the lively nightlife in Ibiza Town and Sant Antoni, where major European nightclubs have summer outposts. It’s also home to quiet villages, yoga retreats and beaches, from Platja d’en Bossa, lined with hotels, bars and shops, to quieter sandy coves backed by pine-clad hills found all around the coast. 

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Innovative Architecture: ‘Single-Story’ High-Tech Concrete Home In East Sussex, England (Video)

Professional deep-sea diver Adrian Corrigall and his wife Megan plan to build their new family home in rural East Sussex almost entirely out of concrete, with construction involving cutting-edge technologies conceived in Switzerland and never used to build a house before. However, the perils of being a pioneer soon become evident, and with both schedule and budget under strain, Adrian is forced to resume work as a diver, taking him away from the project for a month at a time.

Architecture: ‘Lipton Thayer Brick House’ In Evanston, Illinois (Video)

The Lipton Thayer Brick House sits on a leafy street in Evanston, a college town just north of Chicago. Designed for an investment banker, the dwelling occupies a slender, rectangular lot bordered by more traditional houses.

The project was designed by California-based Brooks + Scarpa, with Chicago firm Studio Dwell serving as architect of record. Rectangular in plan, the house consists of airy volumes organized around a gravel courtyard facing the street.

Italian Villa Video Tours: ‘Genoa – Lugurian Coast’

This beautiful villa with a mesmerizing panoramic view and private access to the sea, set into a cliff, is currently up for sale in Sori, province of Genova. This marvelous property is located just a few kilometres from Portofino, a prestigious town on the Ligurian coast. Furthermore, the villa encompasses three floors and possesses an internal surface of roughly 500 m². A mesmerizing swimming pool, is situated within this property’s leafy 1,200 m² garden. Furthermore, the garden consists in part of a vast relaxation area where you can appreciate the quietness, peacefulness and privacy of this unique property. Finally, the outdoor area displays also a spacious and lovely patio for your “al fresco” meals.

Genoa (Genova) is a port city and the capital of northwest Italy’s Liguria region. It’s known for its central role in maritime trade over many centuries. In the old town stands the Romanesque Cathedral of San Lorenzo, with its black-and-white-striped facade and frescoed interior. Narrow lanes open onto monumental squares like Piazza de Ferrari, site of an iconic bronze fountain and Teatro Carlo Felice opera house.