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‘The view through the picture window is utterly absorbing. You can lose hours just watching the birds pirouetting through the sky…’ These poetic words, uttered by Caroline Jenkinson, just one of the countryside-based creatives featured on these pages, may have only been an evocative throwaway comment, but they stayed with me long after we spoke. In a world that is more uncertain and upsetting than ever, what I would give to while away some time watching swallows dancing in the sky. That sense of romantic escape, retreat, renewal and solace is at the very heart of ELLE Decoration Country. It resonates with me and, given this is our 20th volume, it has clearly struck a chord with all of you, too. As ever, we seek to emphasise that, far from…

As the global pandemic hit, architect Scott Lewis and his partner Caroline Jenkinson, a former furniture buyer for Heal’s and The Conran Shop, were part of the mass exodus of creatives leaving London for the countryside. Unlike many others who continued with their stressful 9-5 city jobs from bucolic locations, the couple had a more radical life change planned. They chose to design and build perhaps the UK’s smallest and most stylish holiday rental, The Bide, which sits on farmland in the rolling Dorset countryside. Here, Caroline tells us how they did it… What made you decide to leave London? We hatched a plan to leave in 2019. Scott is from Dorset and we both hankered for a life by the sea. Having spent more than eight years in the city,…

Land of infinite horizons

The relationship between land and sea on this shingle headland, one of the most beautiful but extreme parts of the Kent coast, is direct and powerful. With its open panorama, it’s no wonder that Dungeness served as a maritime lookout station for centuries, and also as a place for launching and landing boats. The area’s fishing families played a pivotal part in establishing a community here, having built the first store sheds and timber houses to dot this remote landscape. Some have called this small hamlet desolate, and it’s true that in the depths of winter and in bad weather it does feel exposed to nature and the elements. But this is also a place that is rich in bird life, fauna and flora. The shingle comes alive with colour in…

Land of infinite horizons

Imagine the scene: you’re slowly making your way through still water on a sunny afternoon, greenery on all sides, while dragonflies hover overhead. This is the picture painted by a growing class of converts to the swimming pond. That traditional square of brilliant blue water may be an enduring status symbol, but those in the know are seeking natural highs. ‘One client described it as swimming through a Monet painting,’ says Paul Mercer, who founded the Norfolk-based Swimming Pond Company in 2006 in the hope of recreating the magic of swimming in rock pools in Australia and South Africa. ‘At that point nobody had heard of swimming ponds, so we had our work cut out for us.’ Sixteen years later and it’s a very different story – one that speaks to…

3 OF THE BEST PLANTS FOR SWIMMING PONDS

PURPLE LOOSESTRIFE LYTHRUM SALICARIA ‘I always use purple loosestrife because it looks amazing in mid-summer with its tall blooms, which flower over a long period. It’s an essential plant.’ YELLOW FLAG IRIS IRIS PSEUDACORUS ‘For early colour, this is simply a must for any pond in the UK. Its vibrant yellow flowers look fantastic when it emerges in late spring.’ WATER LILY NYMPHAEA ‘GLADSTONIANA’ ‘This variety of lily has wonderfully showy, large cup-shaped blooms. There’s something tranquil about water and white flowers. I use this in most of our projects.’…

STORM KING ART CENTER New Windsor, New York, US Since opening in the 1960s, this huge 500-acre site in the Hudson Valley has become an A-Z of contemporary sculpture. Originally dedicated to Hudson River School paintings (an American landscape art movement of the mid-19th century), the centre changed its focus after purchasing 13 works from the estate of sculptor David Smith, and began placing pieces within nature. Perhaps the most iconic structures to be erected here are by Chinese-born American artist Mark di Suvero, whose towering steel designs have an epic, agricultural quality that suits the vast landscape. Visit this year to see Fallen Sky by Boston-based artist Sarah Sze – Storm King’s first permanent commission in more than a decade. stormking.org DYLAN LEWIS SCULPTURE GARDEN Stellenbosch, South Africa When internationally renowned sculptor Dylan Lewis…

Level the field Architects Ciguë intended to touch the landscape as lightly as possible with House in Saint-Julien le Petit (opposite), a small country home in the Haute-Vienne region of France. Resisting the downward slope of its site, the two-bedroom property is built over a single level that only meets the ground along one edge. Open-plan living spaces culminate in an elevated terrace that spans the façade, which is finished in a combination of spruce sourced from local woodland and black-stained larch. Central to the design concept are special foundations called helical anchors, which wind into the ground just like a screw into a piece of wood. This means that, were the building ever to be taken down, it would leave little trace. These elements imbue the property with a lightweight…

SANDS OF CHANGE

There are no cars on Lamu, a small island on the archipelago at the northernmost tip of Kenya’s coastline. To get around you go on foot, by motorbike, or by donkey – the latter can be found in their hundreds amid the dunes that define this untouched landscape. It is here that Umra Omar, a mother of two and woman with a mission, has made her home. She is the founder of Safari Doctors, a non-profit organisation that provides medical care for people living in the most remote parts of the country. As a young girl, she was raised by her grandmother and other family members on an island close to Lamu. Since then, she has lived in Nairobi, a boarding school in Wales, and the US, where she met Ziggy,…

SANDS OF CHANGE

THE SECRET COVE

‘The site faces west so the sunsets are amazing,’ says Heather Howat of Battersby Howat architects, ‘but that view can also be hostile; it’s incredibly beautiful but sometimes there’s nowhere to hide.’ Overlooking a bay with a pebble and sand beach, and surrounded by hardy shore pines, the low-slung property is cleverly designed to make the most of, but also shelter its residents from, the changeable environment. Originally home to a basic cabin, the three-acre plot had been owned by the clients for 20 years before they engaged the Vancouver-based practice – whose work they had admired for some time – to maximise its full potential. IT MAY BE KNOWN AS THE SUNSHINE COAST, BUT THE STRETCH OF RUGGED LAND THAT EDGES CANADA’S STRAIT OF GEORGIA SEES ITS FAIR SHARE OF…

THE SECRET COVE

When architect Massimo Adario inhales the revitalising scent of citrus that floats on the warm breeze outside his holiday home in Massa Lubrense, on Italy’s picturesque Sorrento Peninsula, he is reminded of his childhood. ‘My great-grandparents bought this land and the nearby villa in the early 1900s. This apartment was originally the house of the farmer who cultivated the surrounding lemon groves,’ he explains. Once lovingly cared for, the building had been abandoned for many years and was far from the idyllic setting of his memories when Massimo decided to embark on a renovation. ‘It had crumbling walls and vaults, the lemon grove was almost completely burned by the sun and the pergola had collapsed,’ he recalls. Wanting to protect its heritage, Massimo chose to retain the original layout of this historic…

CASTLE IN THE SAND

On warm summer days, when the beaches on the East Sussex coast are dotted with sunseekers, creatives from Rye-based firm RX Architects can sometimes be found building sandcastles with local schoolchildren. It’s just one of the many ways this practice, founded in 2016 by Rob Pollard and Derek Rankin, shows its love of the area. Its latest project, a new-build on Camber Sands, pays a passing resemblance to a sandcastle itself. ‘Someone told us it looks like it’s been freshly turned out of a mould,’ agrees Rob. Sleek and perfectly formed, with precision-engineered angles, it is a thoroughly modern interpretation of a beach house. The reason for its minimal form, however, is not simply aesthetic. Sand, picked up by the powerful winds that whip this natural beauty spot, can cause serious…

CASTLE IN THE SAND

THE PEACEFULNESS PROJECT

Odile Hertenberger and Stéphane Hypolite are passionate about what is good and, by extension, good for you. Until recently, they’d headed up the Parisian organic restaurant Bio Boa but, like for many people, the pandemic was a catalyst for a life change. For the couple, it was one that had been quietly simmering in the background for many years. In 2011, they had bought several ruined farmhouses on a hectare of land in the Indre region of France between Paris and Bordeaux. Odile remembers visiting there as a child, spending time in the house that once belonged to her great-grandfather, renowned artist Fernand Hertenberger. Back then, the building was a regular rendezvous point for creatives seeking inspiration, with the painters, sculptors and architects of the day all in attendance. Odile and…

THE PEACEFULNESS PROJECT

ESCAPE THE ORDINARY

Drive south from Sydney for 75 miles and the din of urban life recedes as the landscape changes, revealing rolling hills blanketed by rich green grass. It was here, hidden on the outskirts of the town of Kiama, that George Geagea first discovered Greyleigh, a decaying 19th-century dairy farm once celebrated for its award-winning cattle. George had worked with interior designers Dominique Brammah and Shannon Shlom of Duet for his city home and enlisted them again for this renovation, confident the duo could breathe new life into the house. While the footprint and bones remained intact, Dominique and Shannon gutted the rooms, resurrecting the property with a playful mix of clashing prints, unruly colours and provincial-meets-modern fabrics. ‘The clients never said no. We ran amok and the crazier we got, the more…

ESCAPE THE ORDINARY

Deep in the forests of Meylandt-Obbeek, a nature reserve and bird sanctuary just a short drive from the Belgian city of Hasselt, lies a secret. Hidden among the trees is an architectural gem of a house that seems completely in tune with its verdant surroundings. As you approach the property – the result of a collaboration between interior designer Dorien Cooreman (pictured) of Moka Projects and Elizabet Iglesias, an architect at ILB Architecten – it gives little away of the magic that lies within. Blocky volumes of stone and blackened-wood cladding combine to create its façade, but step inside and the experience is akin to forest bathing – the Japanese ritual known as shinrin-yoku, where you immerse yourself among trees to slow down and seek relaxation. Here, there’s that atmosphere of…

As former inhabitants go, a large herd of dairy cows is a little out of the ordinary. These days, you’re more likely to see a cosy Maker & Son sofa and lighting by Pinch than cattle in this former agricultural building, thanks to a sensitive renovation by Nice Projects – a London-based design studio founded by Simone McEwan and Sacha Leong. The duo oversaw the transformation of this barn, which began with its near-total demolition. Only the external walls, windows and original roof line remain. Inside, nods to rural style, such as timber beams and a new flagstone flooring in the entrance, exist side-by-side with a relaxed, modern take on luxury. For its owners, a couple and their two young daughters, this home is intended as a sanctuary. Choosing to move…

the edit FIELD & FOREST

the edit FIELD & FOREST

ELEVATED PRINCIPLES

It took three years of planning and seven years of work, with owners Paulo and Anna Luiza Brito poring over every decorative detail, to produce this stunning mountaintop refuge. It was, say the couple, the ‘right amount of time’. Others might not be quite so relaxed about the process, but when it results in a villa as calming as Quinta do Lago, a laid-back approach is understandable. Located in the small village of Araras, an hour-and-a-half drive uphill from Rio de Janeiro, the retreat was intended as a weekend and holiday home for Paulo, Anna Luiza and their four children, aged between 12 and 25. Tired of the daily rush, the family dreamed of a house outside the big city, somewhere that would fulfil three fundamental needs: simplicity, comfort and a…

ELEVATED PRINCIPLES

‘It was as if someone had dined and left at once, leaving everything as it was,’ says architect Patrizio Fradiani, recalling the first time he entered his new home, which had been sealed behind a heavy metal door for almost half a decade. ‘The furniture, tableware, plates and cutlery were all covered in a thick layer of dust. It looked like a film set; truly fascinating, but also really bizarre. I couldn’t open the shutters as they were falling apart, so I saw the entire apartment by torch light.’ It was an unconventional and slightly Scooby-Doo-like introduction to the 14th-century palazzo, but for Patrizio and his husband, Mark, it would have taken more than dust and cobwebs to dissuade them from buying the largest and grandest residence in the building. Located…

SPLENDID ISOLATION

Halfway up a mountainside in Ibiza, hidden in the middle of a dense Mediterranean forest, sits Can Brut, a holiday villa with a temple-like exterior. Crafting an oasis of calm for a family of five was the task for interior design and architecture firm Framework Studio, which has created a new-build that makes the most of this peaceful and uniquely secluded location. Using the traditional architecture of the island as a starting point, the lead on the project, Francesca Finotti, then nudged the property’s aesthetic in a more modern and luxurious direction, with enviable results. ‘Both the villa and the garden around it were designed to blend in with the landscape,’ she explains. Clad in local stone, the building appears to have grown out of the earth. The same stone was…

SPLENDID ISOLATION

HOME ON THE RANGE

‘It’s a beautiful place, but it’s a very wild place at the same time,’ says Steve Raike, partner at architecture firm Lake Flato. Tasked with creating a new home on the breathtaking Ishawooa Mesa Ranch in the remote reaches of Wyoming, he and his team have produced a property that not only celebrates the landscape, but also serves as a shelter from it. High up in the heart of the Shoshone National Forest, which adjoins the famous Yellowstone National Park, the summers at this working ranch are harsh, with the sun blazing down on not just this land’s owners, but also the animals they share their 200-plus acres with. These include horses, cattle, hogs, chickens and the occasional uninvited bear. The high altitude means that winters are similarly tough, so the…

HOME ON THE RANGE

the edit MOUNTAIN

the edit MOUNTAIN

THE WATERFRONT RESTAURANT The Three Chimneys Colbost, Isle of Skye Reopened last year after having been bought by Scottish-born hotelier Gordon Campbell Gray, this beloved restaurant on the edge of Loch Dunvegan has lost none of its charm. Neither, we are happy to report, has it lost its head chef: culinary wizard Scott Davies. Still inspired by the amazing natural larder Scotland has to offer, he continues to work with a vast network of local farmers, fishermen and foragers, using the finest catches and cuts to produce plates of food that wow with their intricacy and depth of flavour. Scorched langoustine with a cauliflower panna cotta and pickles gives you a taster of the experimentation on show. For a truly memorable experience, book the kitchen table, where you and up to seven guests…

BIDE HOME ‘VP1’ or ‘Flowerpot’ pendant light by Verner Panton for &Tradition (andtradition.com) SANDS OF CHANGE For a similar patchwork quilt, try pieces by BasShu, from End (endclothing.com) For similar linen cushions and throws, try Caravane (caravane.co.uk) For a similar paper lampshade, try the ‘Regolit’ from Ikea (ikea.com) THE SECRET COVE ‘Flat’ dining table by Rimadesio (rimadesio.it) ‘Hiroshima’ dining chairs by Naoto Fukasawa for Maruni (maruni.com) ‘Beauty’ sofa by Antonio Citterio for Flexform (flexform.it) ‘Twiggy’ floor lamp by Marc Sadler for Foscarini (foscarini.com) ‘Blava’ armchairs by Kozai Modern (kozaimoderntrade.com) ‘Lamino’ easy chair by Yngve Ekström for Swedese, available at Skandium (skandium.com) ZEST FOR LIFE ‘Parentesi’ wall light by Achille Castiglioni and Pio Manzù for Flos (flos.com) Handmade ceramic tiles by Francesco De Maio (francescodemaio.it) Bamboo furniture (chairs, side tables, daybed and bed) all original pieces designed by…

‘The countryman… walks out into the verdant meadows, into an atmosphere clear and pure, and as he breathes it into his lungs some unknown power streams through his limbs, invigorating body and soul. The peace in nature fills his mind with calm and cheer, the bright green grass under his feet awakens a sense of beauty, almost of reverence. In the fragrance that is borne so sweetly to his nostrils, in the quietude that broods so blissfully around him, there is comfort and rest.’ TAKEN FROM INDEPENDENT PEOPLE BY HALLDÓR LAXNESS PICTURE: JAKE BALSTON WORDS: INDEPENDENT PEOPLE BY HALLDÓR LAXNESS IS PUBLISHED BY VINTAGE CLASSICS. ISBN IS 9780099527121…

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