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Arts & Literature, Culture, Homes, Magazines, Previews, Reviews

Country Life Magazine – November 20, 2024 Preview

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Country Life Magazine (November 20, 2024): The latest issue features Winston Churchill – The wit and wisdom of the great man…

‘Let us go forward together’

As we approach the 150th anniversary of Sir Winston Churchill’s birthday, Amie Elizabeth White and Octavia Pollock pay homage to the great man, in his own words.

Entertaining His Majesty

In the second of two articles, John Goodall charts the 1560s and 1620s expansion of Apethorpe Palace in Northamptonshire

Landscape of ‘seamless sameness’

England’s heather moorland and its glorious purple swathe is a wonder of the Western world, suggest John Lewis-Stempel

Why is a raven like a writing desk?

Do you know a Yonerywander from a Vinvertuperator? Engage your inner Edward Lear as Daniel McKay welcomes you into his wacky world of whimwondery

Wibble wobble, wibble wobble, jelly made of paint

Food, glorious food is fuelling the creativity of modern still-life artists discovers Catriona Gray

Sex, lies and sewing machines

The sewing machine rose to be an emblem of domesticity, but its invention is a story of Saints and Singers. Matthew Dennison follows the thread

Interiors

Raze to the ground or renovate? Has the open-plan layout had its day? Cart shed or garage? Giles Kime considers some key architectural conundrums

Wisley reinvented

John Hoyland is captivated by the spectacular transformation of Piet Oudolf’s double borders at the RHS garden in Surrey

Some like it hot

If you like your chili ‘hotter than the hinges of hell’, Tom Parker Bowles has just the dish for you (and there’s not a bean in sight)

Wooden walls restored

John Goodall lauds a decade-long project to rescue a unique painted church at Ursi, Romania

Architecture, Home Design, Homes, Tours, Videos

Tours: Iconic Mid-Century Modern In Palm Springs

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The Local Project (November 12, 2024): Inside an iconic mid-century home designed by Steven Harris Architects, Palm Springs Residence is a study in restraint, honouring both the existing structure and the work of those who came before. This sensitive renovation reimagines the original house, known as Charney House, designed by Donald Wexler in 1956.

Video timeline: 00:00 – Introduction to the Iconic Mid-century Home 00:52 – The Original Plan and Inspiration 02:18 – A Minimal Layout 02:48 – The Afternoon Light and Vibes 03:46 – A Very California House 04:05 – Proud Moments

“Wexler was brilliant, with an extraordinary sense of syntax and grammar; everything lines up with everything,” says Steven Harris, partner at Steven Harris Architects. Interestingly, Harris and his partner bought the house accidentally. “We were helping another friend with their house and fell in love with the place,” recalls Harris. After spending time inside an iconic mid-century home designed by Wexler, Harris’s vision was rooted in preserving as much of the original as possible. “Almost everything here is original to the house,” he notes. “For me, the greatest liability would be for someone to drive by on the street and immediately say, ‘oh! that’s a Steven Harris house.’”

Alterations inside the iconic mid-century home designed by Wexler were largely stylistic and inspired by a Wassily Kandinsky painting. “If you look at it from the air, you will see flashes and curves and various shapes, which on one hand is quite graphic, and on the other, almost every view is perspectival because the things you’re looking at are only oblique. Things shift off of each other in a very curious and interesting way.” Stepping inside an iconic mid-century home designed by Wexler, the front door is indicated by a covered passage, flanked by an oblique terrazzo sidewalk extending from the driveway.

Architecture, Home Design, Homes, Tours, Videos

Architecture: ‘Shepherd’s Hut’ – A Secretive Design

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The Local Project (July 26, 2024): Inspired by structures found near New Zealand’s Southern Alps, The Shepherd’s Hut is the worlds most secret home. The minimalist house – designed by Fearon Hay in collaboration with interior designer Paul Kennedy – sits comfortably in the landscape while offering a flexible set of interiors.

Video timeline: 00:00 – Introduction to the World’s Most Secret Home 01:07 – Behind the Design and Name 02:31 – The Arrival Sequence 02:58 – A Playful and Relaxed Brief 04:29 – The Floor Plan and Layout 06:25 – The Interior Material Palette 07:59 – The Exterior Material Palette 08:48 – Proud Moments

Settled on the Wānaka lakefront, the worlds most secret home is often in the path of cold wind crossing from Makarora. “When there are storms, you can feel very alone, but with the warmth of the fires, my two dogs rugged up with sheepskin, you essentially become a shepherd,” says Matt Chapman, custodian of the property. “When we created the home, I didn’t want too much space for an abundance of possessions. I’d reached a point in my life where minimalism and simplicity were the ways I wanted to exist.”

While maintaining a minimalist focus, the design brief for the project proposed a spatially flexible home that enables new experiences. “When we encountered the site, it was an opportunity to build a structure with length,” says Tim Hay, architect at Fearon Hay. “We liked the idea of a very simple silhouette … we wanted the building to have a sense of retreat and integration with the landscape.”

Arts & Literature, Culture, Homes, Magazines, Previews, Reviews

Country Life Magazine – November 6, 2024 Preview

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Country Life Magazine (November 5, 2024): The latest issue features…

The legacy

Kate Green salutes Lt-Col John McCrae for giving us the poppy as a symbol of remembrance

Fake it ’til you make it

Nature’s mimics and frauds are full of cunning survival tricks, as Laura Parker discovers

Gentleman’s Life

  • Simon Mills walks a wardrobe tightrope
  • Matthew Dennison charts the rise and fall of the waistband
  • Hetty Lintell’s pick of the latest fashions in orange, brown, pink and more
  • Harry Pearson finds there’s nothing like a ’tache to divide opinion
  • Nicholas Foulkes marvels at rare métiers d’art timepieces
  • Jonathan Self examines the allure of the exotic menagerie
  • Tom Parker Bowles savours oysters, the food of love

Emma Ridgway’s favourite painting

The Foundling Museum director selects a captivating, life-size portrait of performing choir girls

The Sound and the Fury

Carla Carlisle tries to look on the sunny side, but remains on the alert for ‘tragedy and trouble’

Nine towers on high

John Martin Robinson examines two Lancashire powerhouses: Lathom House and Knowsley Hall

London Life

  • Get your skates on at Somerset House
  • Jo Rodgers seeks out the best Sunday roasts
  • William Hosie toasts London pubs

A life lived, a dream dreamt

Inscriptions etched by soldiers are a window into the First World War, suggests David Crossland

Are you feeling Broad-minded?

The wondrous wetlands of East Anglia are a marshy, manmade marvel for John Lewis-Stempel

Whispers of winter

Lia Leendertz weighs up the chances of an Indian summer

Conversations on conservation

A 1974 country-house revolution was a major turning point for our old buildings, says Simon Jenkins

Digging for victory and veg

The Anderson shelter was a war-time lifesaver in more ways than one, reveals Russell Higham

Interiors

Bright ideas with Amelia Thorpe

Swaying in rhythm

Tilly Ware applauds the bold planting in The Old Vicarage garden at Wormingford, Essex

Kitchen garden cook

Melanie Johnson harnesses the nutritious punch of cauliflower

Foraging

John Wright urges caution as he extols the virtues of blewits, the most tasty of wild mushrooms

Travel

  • Rosie Paterson shares the latest in luxury travel news
  • Mark Hedges celebrates a mile-stone birthday in style at a villa in Mallorca
  • Pamela Goodman gets a buzz on a Spanish holiday

The bare Bone

Mary Miers assesses the career of Sir Muirhead Bone, the first of Britain’s Official War Artists

Arts & Literature, Culture, Homes, Magazines, Previews, Reviews

Country Life Magazine – October 30, 2024 Preview

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Country Life Magazine (October 30, 2024): The latest issue features…

Zandra Rhodes’s favourite painting

The fashion designer chooses a colourful, cheering scene.

A home reborn

Magnificent Knowsley Hall, Lancashire, has been rescued from institutional use through an admirable restoration project and is once again a home, discovers John Martin Robinson.

The Legacy

Amie Elizabeth White dons a Blue Peter badge to salute the show’s creator, John Hunter Blair.

Heal the land, heal the waters

Our precious rivers hold myriad life forms, yet have been sullied by the hands of humans. John Lewis-Stempel urges us to take care of them.

You’ve got peemail

Dogs, bats and other creatures keep up with the news through sniffing and sensing. Laura Parker reports on the animal kingdom’s telegraph system.

The ghost hunters

Deep in a glad or underwater, our rarest plants defy discovery. Peter Marren joins the quest.

Let Nature never be forgot

A cornucopia of delights awaits Tiffany Daneff in Alan Titchmarsh’s Hampshire garden, with secluded seats, ponds and plenty of space for wildlife.

The Renaissance men

Well-educated and curious, the British tourists with an eye for art laid the foundations of our great collections, finds Michael Hall.

Return to the steppe

Teresa Levonian-Cole boards the Golden Eagle Trans-Siberian Express to traverse Uzbekistan, a land brimming with art, history and caviar.

And, as always, much much more, including luxury, recipes, interior inspiration and gardens.

Arts & Literature, Culture, Homes, Magazines, Previews, Reviews

Country Life Magazine – October 16, 2024 Preview

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Country Life Magazine (October 15, 2024): The latest issue features…

Murder on the palace floor

John Goodall charts the rise, fall and rise again of the Palace of Holyroodhouse in the Edinburgh landmark’s 900-year history

A nose for Nature

Harnessing the power of a dog’s snout can play a crucial role in protecting curlew, newts and red squirrels, discovers Alexa Phillips

England at its best

Kate Green celebrates the 70th birthday of Exmoor National Park, famed for a beguiling blend of wild beauty and farmed landscape

The hunger games

Find out what happens when the greenery bites back as Deborah Nicholls-Lee develops a taste for Britain’s carnivorous plants

Sarah Bardwell’s favourite painting

The managing director of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra chooses a vibrant, glowing work   

The legacy

Conservation owes much to Dr Dick Potts, says Kate Green

This perfumed arcadia

The smooth flanks of the Downs are our oldest manmade habitat, suggests John Lewis-Stempel from a lofty perch on Caburn hill

Meet the tusk force

Paula Lester puts her stalking skills to the test as she sets out in pursuit of Chinese water deer on a Bedfordshire farm

Duck and cover

Harry Pearson hails the dandy, diving eider duck, safeguarded since the time of St Cuthbert

Once upon a time in the west

David Profumo relives the days when the fabled waters of Lewis were seemingly ‘paved with fish’

The good stuff

The advent of autumn calls for richer hues, advises Hetty Lintell

100 Interiors

Matthew Dennison recommends a pediment for a grand flourish

Where her tears fell, asters grew

Michaelmas daisies are among the shining stars of the autumn garden, declares John Hoyland

Natural beauty

Amelia Thorpe selects sculptures to adorn any outside space      

Kitchen garden cook

Melanie Johnson on parsnips

Foraging

John Wright goes rooting around for the subtle, subterranean flavour of Britain’s native truffles

Gone fishing

This piscatorial profession and pastime has kept artists hooked for centuries, finds Carla Passino

Not to be sneezed at

Snuff taking is nothing to get sniffy about, argues Harry Pearson

She’s got the key, she’s got the secret

James Clarke examines The Secret Garden’s enduring appeal a century after the author’s death

Moving with the times

Michael Billington is spoilt for choice with a run of first nights

Architecture, Home Design, Homes, Tours, Videos

Urban Architecture Tour: ‘Upper House’ In Brisbane

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The Local Project (October 11, 2024): Addressing the issue of connection deficit in vertical living, Upper House fosters a sense of community among residents. Crafted by Koichi Takada Architects on behalf of developer Aria, the ultimate penthouse and spacious apartment building proposes a new, healthier way of inhabiting a city. Set in South Brisbane, known widely as a social and cultural hub, Upper House sits close to art galleries, theatres, bars and cafes.

Video timeline: 00:00 – Introduction to the Ultimate Penthouse 01:22 – Including the Surrounding Culture 02:07 – The Facade Inspiration 02:48 – The Calm Interiors and Layout 03:59 – A Neutral Material Palette 04:35 – The World Class Design 05:37 – A Walkthrough of the Wellness Retreat 06:17 – Creating a Connective Space

The project takes cues from the suburb, inviting people to come together: while the building offers 1000 square metres of communal amenities, it also embodies a work of art and features the ultimate penthouse. Michael Hurley, development director at Aria, describes the design as “a series of dancing balconies” with timber ribbon running up the facade and a triple-height timber rooftop.

“[The design] just screamed out and said ‘world-class, never-been-done-before’. It was curvy, it was organic, it was unique, and it was Aria” he says. At the base of Upper House, a large podium displays work by Indigenous artist Judy Watson. The piece recognises the Turrbal people as the traditional owners and custodians of the land on which the project is built. Beyond the podium, the facade is inspired by Moreton Bay fig trees – what can be viewed as ribbons are timber ‘roots’ framing the main structure and the ultimate penthouse. Curling around the edges of the roof, the bold details form a pergola and shading device that protect the open wellness retreat.

#Penthouse #HouseTour #Wellness

Arts & Literature, Culture, Homes, Magazines, Previews, Reviews

Country Life Magazine – October 9, 2024 Preview

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Country Life Magazine (October 8, 2024): The latest issue features…

Daffy goes digital

Annie Tempest’s inimitable characters totter gently into the modern age with a new website

Mud, mud, glorious mud

Dogs, birds, pigs and humans alike follow hippopotami down the hollow. Deborah Nicholls-Lee dons her wellies and joins them

A sense of time and place

Ben Pentreath unravels what makes an interior English, that indefinable, yet instantly recog-nisable and beguiling aesthetic

Made in the Marches

The border of England and Wales is proving inspiring for artisanal craftsmen, finds Arabella Youens

Mixing old and new

Country Life’s Interiors Editor Giles Kime opens the doors to his revived 17th-century cottage

New looks for a new season

From bamboo bookshelves to lamps and pots, Amelia Thorpe chooses accessories to covet

Turi King’s favourite painting

The scientist and historian picks a powerful royal portrait   

Growing pains

Minette Batters takes her seat in the House of Lords

The right place to build

The historic streetscapes of our towns and cities reveal lessons we still need to learn about how to build, believes Ptolemy Dean

The legacy

Kate Green salutes Dorothy Brooke and the global equine charity that bears her name

Antlered majesty

Manmade, yet wild, deer parks prove we can create Arcadia, asserts John Lewis-Stempel

Timber of the gods

Jack Watkins admires the huge, ancient and once-exotic cedars that punctuate our landscapes

The good stuff

Hetty Lintell tallies her trinkets

Interiors

An imaginative kitchen extension and tea-tinged fabrics

Building on great bone structure

The good bones that anchor the gardens of Foscote Manor, Buckinghamshire, please the eye of George Plumptre

Foraging

John Wright raises a dram of home-made vodka to the crab apple      

Operation mincemeat

Always comforting, cottage pie satisfies Tom Parker Bowles

Salt of the earth

Pick up a handful or several of salted peanuts when you’re next in the pub, urges Rob Crossan

I have news for ewe

The humble sheep changed the course of British art history, reveals Bendor Grosvenor

Arts & Literature, Culture, Homes, Magazines, Previews, Reviews

Country Life Magazine – October 2, 2024 Preview

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Country Life Magazine (October 1, 2024): The latest issue features…

Mud-gilded places

In the first of a new series exploring England’s varied landscapes, John Lewis-Stempel discovers a paradise for wildlife amid the bleak desolation of the estuary

Pretty Chitty-Bang-Bang, we love you

Mary Miers reveals the origins of Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang, as Ian Fleming’s beloved magical flying car prepares to turn 60

Travel

  • Rosie Paterson digs out some private hideaways
  • Steven King experiences how the other half lived as he stays in the homes of some illustrious names
  • A trip to Tuscany is the perfect tonic for Pamela Goodman

The rest is history

Michael Hall examines the noble art of history painting through the output of such masters as van Dyck, Rubens and Fuseli

Inigo Lambertini’s favourite painting

The Italian ambassador picks a profound classical work of art   

Homesick for the olden days

Carla Carlisle takes a wistful look at history and admits we didn’t realise we had it so good

A Georgian triumph

John Goodall reveals the eight winners in this year’s Georgian Group Architectural Awards

Handsome and genteel

In the second of two articles, Jeremy Musson charts the revival of George Washington’s Mount Vernon mansion in Virginia

The legacy

Carla Passino hails the founders of the peerless Wallace Collection

Our last hurrah

October is the time for filling up winter stores, says Lia Leendertz

Bury me in a willow-shaped coffin

English osier beds are enjoying a revival, finds Jane Wheatley

Another string to the bow

Harry Pearson meets Britain’s master luthier Roger Hansell

The good stuff

Hetty Lintell goes wild for jewellery      

Interiors

Bright and beautiful paint and wallpaper, with Amelia Thorpe

London Life

  • Rosie Paterson follows the V&A’s precious cargo
  • Samantha Cameron is in the hot seat
  • Jack Watkins relives Primrose Hill’s Death Pyramid plan
  • John Goodall asks whether enough is enough for the capital’s skyline

The world on the doorstep

Caroline Donald visits the gardens of China, Italy and Africa without leaving Seend Manor in Wiltshire

Kitchen garden cook

Melanie Johnson on quince

Foraging

John Wright gets imaginative in the kitchen with sweet chestnuts

The show must go on

James Fisher can’t see beyond an England cricket win in Pakistan

Architecture, Design, Homes, Tours, Videos

Design: Inside An NYC Townhouse Made Of Shipping Containers

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Architectural Digest (September 24, 2024): “We just respond creatively to what humanity pushes aside.” Today AD is in Brooklyn, New York to tour a townhouse comprising 18 shipping containers.

Designers Ada Tolla and Giuseppe Lignano, founders of LOT-EK, have been using shipping containers in their work for 30 years, becoming pioneers in sustainable architecture.

Comprised of 18 containers from a yard in New Jersey, this townhouse exemplifies how humble materials can be turned into something extraordinary and pave the way for a more sustainable future.