I’ll Take This: House in a Ballroom!

This was once the ballroom of a mansion Somerset, England, and its dissection into a four-bed home has left the drama of its dimensions undiminished.

The open-plan living floor is topped by an elaborately moulded glass ceiling worthy of a Victorian railway terminus;

lavishly proportioned windows light the orangery, study and library; and half an acre of formally landscaped gardens extend into woodland.
It’s a fascinating piece of property and is a good example of a well-done conversion of a historic building.  Yours for £515,000. HERE.

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What’s The Story?

First, thanks for all of the kind words that you sent after my second appearance on The Nate Berkus Show, and the lovely birthday wishes. I appreciate each and every message.

My friend, Lisa, sent me a story from the Guardian, called Anatomy of a Style: Vintage. It’s about a house furnished in vintage finds and treasures. It is clear that the owner of the house, a set designer in London, has collected the pieces over the years.She could probably tell you a story about almost each and every piece that she has in her house.  As she found different items, she added them one at a time, bit by bit, until the house became what it is today. Each piece contains a memory. She brought the tiles behind the sink back from a trip to India, and collected the scuffed mirrors. It is a deeply personal space. Following the article, the paper listed places that you could find similar things. That got me to thinking about this house, and then about my house and of course, your house.

Do the things in your house tell a story? Can you walk through the place and remember the time and place that you found certain items? If so, what will the story be?There is nothing wrong with places like Pottery Barn and Restoration Hardware, and the items they have on offer might be things that you love. But I think that there’s a huge difference between going to Pottery Barn and buying a piece of furniture, and hunting around around an old barn sale and buying a piece of furniture. You will remember that day and circumstance longer than you will remember a trip to the mall.

Do you have things in your house that tell a story? I hope you’ll share them!

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Fortified

How cool is this? It’s called Golden Hill Fort and is on the Isle of Wight in England.

This Victorian fort was built to counter possible attack from across the channel (aka France) but has now been converted into 18 luxury houses priced from £375,000 to £1m.  There is a communal garden on the top of the fort, with views across countryside to the Solent. The houses will have a very long leasehold - expected to be 999 years.Amazingly, the building was converted into an industrial area and used until the 1980s, and then was abandoned.

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