Arts & Crafts Bank Holiday
No - the Architectural kind, not the Make & Do kind! Saturday saw us travelling down to Sussex to see Guy's parents, as we had booked a visit to see Red House, William Morris' first home. Designed by Phillip Webb and Morris, it was the first building that shows all the characteristics of the Arts & Crafts style. Originally built on an acre surrounded by apple orchards, it's now in the middle of modern housing, but protected by two acres and lovely gardens. Rather than a manorial house, it's a 4 bedroom gentleman's family home, which nonetheless required an entire servants' wing. As it was only acquired in 2003, the National Trust is still doing lots of research and restoration work, which was evidenced when, thanks to the lovely hot sun, some of the plaster came away from the ceiling join in the gallery. On the edges, you could see some of the original frieze that had been painted on the walls - and they passed it around so we all could imagine what it looked like. The overall feeling was lovely: big public rooms and small private ones (apparently they got a medieval 4 poster bed in their room, and it seemed far too small for that), exposed beam ceilings covered in prickwork all intended to be painted by family and friends (even non-artists, as prickwork makes it easy to paint a repetitive pattern), a chunky medieval style staircase in the centre of the house with big windows lighting the hallway. The brickwork was very striking, as Webb used it on the interior fireplaces and exposed archways to "bring the outside in". The fireplaces were particularly interesting as not only did they have quotes and phrases painted on them, but none of them had mantlepieces to put things on. They were specifically designed as visual features to be used, and removed the opportunity for clutter. There were a few original paintings by Burnes-Jones as well as some stained glass pieces, but it was also interesting to note what had been added by later owners, as most has been prominant architects themselves.
Since we'd had such a good time at Red House, Sunday saw us heading for Standen, in the stunning West Sussex countryside. This was much more of a personification of the Arts & Crafts style, and very interesting to see after Red House. It's at least twice the size, as it was a country house for a London solicitor; plus he had a very large family (19 grandchildren!!). Again designed and built by Phillip Webb, the house is full of Morris & Co. interior fabrics and wallpapers. It was easy to see how the ideas behind the design led into what we think of the "modern house", with plain white walls and colourful furnishings. And it helped to give such a large house a really light and airy feel. It is huge - we did a self-guided tour around the open rooms, and that was only half the house. There was a massive kitchen garden and a fascinating little grotto at the back of the house built from the granite quarry used to source some of the building material. On an interesting side note: even the servants' quarters were decorated with wallpaper, and there are tiny architectural detail changes on the doors to separate the servants' wing from the main house.
I must admit, while I've been a huge fan of the Arts & Crafts style, I was never very keen on Morris' wallpapers or fabrics. But like so many things, once I saw them in context it made a huge impression. Guy practically had to drag me out of the resource room as I pored over a variety of books and photographs - so interesting!! There were several houses listed as being worth seeing, and fortunately only one of them has been completely lost. It has certainly given me a load of ideas for how I'd like to do things - and I'm hoping there's a good resource section at my local library!
We made our way back late Sunday night so we could get some stuff done at home Monday. Most of it was gardening work: I've dead-headed and trimmed the piris, and we're starting to get red tips back!! We think the previous owners didn't feed it properly, so it was in the process of dying from malnutrition. We earthed up the potatoes and have planted some marigolds around them. Mum also gave me some field poppies, which I have dotted around the garden. I relocated all my crocus bulbs, and trimmed the honeysuckle out front. It actually has its first flower buds on it!! *bounce* I also completely cleared the front of weeds, as we're going to build a raised bed there in order to plant stuff. Because the house has half a bay window, the footing comes out pretty far and it's not really deep enough to get big plants in. Hopefully Guy will get that done this week and I will be able to get planting!
Meanwhile, Guy finished cutting and varnishing the wood for the hallway shelves, and got most of it put up last night. We now have places for all those random things like car cleaners and shoe polishes and our collection of chargers: I feel so organised! I also got the bedroom semi-tidied and one load of laundry done. Hopefully this is the start to a good maintenance schedule. What with the demands of my last job and our finances, I'd not been able to keep things on an even keel very well. Brighter days ahead. }:)
Since we'd had such a good time at Red House, Sunday saw us heading for Standen, in the stunning West Sussex countryside. This was much more of a personification of the Arts & Crafts style, and very interesting to see after Red House. It's at least twice the size, as it was a country house for a London solicitor; plus he had a very large family (19 grandchildren!!). Again designed and built by Phillip Webb, the house is full of Morris & Co. interior fabrics and wallpapers. It was easy to see how the ideas behind the design led into what we think of the "modern house", with plain white walls and colourful furnishings. And it helped to give such a large house a really light and airy feel. It is huge - we did a self-guided tour around the open rooms, and that was only half the house. There was a massive kitchen garden and a fascinating little grotto at the back of the house built from the granite quarry used to source some of the building material. On an interesting side note: even the servants' quarters were decorated with wallpaper, and there are tiny architectural detail changes on the doors to separate the servants' wing from the main house.
I must admit, while I've been a huge fan of the Arts & Crafts style, I was never very keen on Morris' wallpapers or fabrics. But like so many things, once I saw them in context it made a huge impression. Guy practically had to drag me out of the resource room as I pored over a variety of books and photographs - so interesting!! There were several houses listed as being worth seeing, and fortunately only one of them has been completely lost. It has certainly given me a load of ideas for how I'd like to do things - and I'm hoping there's a good resource section at my local library!
We made our way back late Sunday night so we could get some stuff done at home Monday. Most of it was gardening work: I've dead-headed and trimmed the piris, and we're starting to get red tips back!! We think the previous owners didn't feed it properly, so it was in the process of dying from malnutrition. We earthed up the potatoes and have planted some marigolds around them. Mum also gave me some field poppies, which I have dotted around the garden. I relocated all my crocus bulbs, and trimmed the honeysuckle out front. It actually has its first flower buds on it!! *bounce* I also completely cleared the front of weeds, as we're going to build a raised bed there in order to plant stuff. Because the house has half a bay window, the footing comes out pretty far and it's not really deep enough to get big plants in. Hopefully Guy will get that done this week and I will be able to get planting!
Meanwhile, Guy finished cutting and varnishing the wood for the hallway shelves, and got most of it put up last night. We now have places for all those random things like car cleaners and shoe polishes and our collection of chargers: I feel so organised! I also got the bedroom semi-tidied and one load of laundry done. Hopefully this is the start to a good maintenance schedule. What with the demands of my last job and our finances, I'd not been able to keep things on an even keel very well. Brighter days ahead. }:)