Displaying posts labeled "Rustic"

Designer Richard Ouellette and architect Maxime Vandal of my favourite Canadian design firm Les Ensembliers have a beautiful weekend/summer farm house in West Bolton, Québec. I follow their Instagram account to keep up to date on their design projects but mostly because I am obsessed with their farm and the beauty of the landscape and the relaxed vibe of farm life with their sweet dog Zack. They make and sell flower bouquets, vinegar, honey and have recently opened an online shop that sells their wares along with those of some really talented Québec artisans. Here are some photos of their farm…

AZULIK Residence was developed with no blueprints or previous drawings of any kind. This freedom reveals its originality and the essence of its most significant challenge: to honor those who came before –the flora, the fauna, and the soil. Its location, completely immersed in the jungle, required finding creative ways to work with concrete and manual labor to avoid destructive heavy machinery. Furthermore, we developed an unconventional structure that is not supported by columns or beams but is rather woven like a basket. Thus, the building was planned as a fabric, where interweaving elements are integrated to make up the entire edifice. This is one of the most unique and magical places I have ever seen! Located in the gorgeous Mexican town of Tulum and designed by Roth Architecture.

This 16th century country house in West Sussex is a wonderful example of going neutral and keeping things light and warm in a home that was probably very dark. All of the exposed beams and brick are gorgeous and add so much texture and a sense of pride of the home’s history. Designed by Rui Ribeiro.

What an absolutely beautiful example of blending a home in with the landscape. In this case it’s a home of traditional Mallorcan architecture made of local sandstone, with the Serra de Tramontana mountains in the background. The home’s structures form a courtyard that houses a pool surrounded by more stone. Hats off to Twobo architecture for creating this masterpiece.

This home speaks to me on sooooo many levels. Having a history and rustic vibe yet simple, modern architecture on the inside. That dichotomy as well as white vs black makes this home have so much energy and evokes emotion. I am completely smitten. Designed by Hallworth.

Nestled on ten acres in the foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains, is the quintessential Adobe of Montecito, named by an early owner, Ennisbrook, an Irish word meaning land by a river. Dating back in parts to the mid-1800s, it is an early architectural darling of the town it inhabits. The Adobe was left gutted with dust floors, essentially derelict as a result of an abandoned renovation when my clients acquired the property. The property had a heavy, mature, gravitas in juxtaposition to the young newlywed owners. The seriousness of the building required subtle strong detailing. However, the primary design inspiration came from Notre Dame du Ronschamp.  Corbusier’s masterpiece has an air of brutal honesty. The space is monastic and meditative, heavy-lidded and softly lit.   Architecturally we had similar conditions. Ennisbrook has limited fenestration and dark timber, hewn trussed ceiling original to the building.  Ronschamp’s walls are stark white, yet ethereal.  We similarly employed white reflective plaster and floors cast in integral white concrete, which speckled and crazed like a bird’s eggshell. Our light is restricted, but serene.  The kitchen blackened as a hearth itself is the heart of the home. Three years later the client moved into a home that was entirely realized, furnished with brutal simplicity, comfortable and negligently sexy, redolent of the past but infinitely modern, a perfect hillside retreat.