Ince Castle

Property daydreaming is a very big part of my life, I can spend hours scrolling through houses online, pining after magnificent homes and thinking of how I would use the space myself. So of course when Rightmove posted a listing for a castle, I just had to take a look, and what a charming castle I found.

An Exterior Shot of Ince Castle

Ince Castle is not your typical castle, for starters its more of a manor house, but retains the grandly name, and in my opinion is quite deserving of its title. Originally built in the 14^th Century in Saltash, Cornwall, Ince Castle was then re-built in 1642 for Henry Killigrew, and just like any good castle, it’s full of drama. The local myth is that Killigrew supposedly had four wives, each kept in their own tower of the castle, completely unaware of one another; true or not a little bit of salacious history just adds to the fun of it all.

The house sits on an almost island surrounded by the river Lynher, a picturesque setting for such a beautiful home. With acres of fields surrounding the property, and several other smaller cottages that come with the purchases on the almost island, it’s pretty much your own personal, private heaven.

A Birdseye View of the Castle and River Lynher

The castle has been whittled through many owners, however after years of being sold to farmers, primarily for the land, the house fell into disrepair. By 1960 it was owned by Patricia Viscountess Boyd, who unfortunately had to rebuild the house in 1988 after a fire broke out, supposedly as a result of Boyd leaving lit cigarettes around the house. For a house that seems to have been poked and prodded, burnt down or rebuilt every 100 years or so, there is still a gracefulness to the property that maintains its original authenticity.

The Library at Ince Castle

The library is a beautiful whimsy of colours and pattern clashes that always seem unattainable when attempting it yourself. From the blue wallpaper, boisterous carpet and even the books all seem talk loudly but fit together nonetheless. I especially love the vibrant blue ottoman and the portrait centrepiece.

The Entryway at Ince Castle

The entryway boasts an enviable amount of space, with a spiral staircase and wooden front doors that sneak a peek to the greenery outside. The drawing room is full to the brim with sofas and chairs in an array of textiles and fabrics; my favourites are the button-back green velvet numbers with the fun seat fringing, as well as the beautiful ornate dining chairs in the forefront of the image with a fun patchwork seat that shouldn’t work with the traditionally carved backs, but just does.

The Drawing Room at Ince Castle

There is a complete decadency to the dining room, from the lavish mantelpiece and the accompany mirror, to the rug full of pastel colours and ageing patterns.

The Dining Room at Ince Castle

The rug in this reception room is a beautiful, beautiful thing; the pattern for a start, and to quickly follow are the colours, peach pinks, midnight blue, green blues, it’s simply stunning.

Squirrel Hall at Ince Castle

The Billiard Room at Ince Castle

In every room there’s a little bit of detailing that is completely charming, like in the billiard room the velvet fringed hanging light over the table is just the perfect sort of slightly dated, but too fun to get rid of feature that I would definitely find myself keeping and using as the centrepiece for the room.

The castle has 13 bedrooms, unfortunately the listing shows just two of them. The first one is absolutely glorious, perfectly delicate and glamorous. The wallpaper is stunning, I especially love that it’s been featured on the ceiling as well.

A Bedroom at Ince Castle

A Jib Door in a Bedrom at Ince Castle via Country Life

Another Bedroom at Ince Castle

The second bedroom is reminiscent of a stately home, with four poster bed draped in fabric, the floor covered in little rugs and a lighthearted floral wallpaper.

View of the Pool at Ince Castle

On the outside, not only do you get a glimpse of the spectacular view, but the pool, which is nothing specially bar the rather interesting spiked pillars donning each corner, which adds a little dramatic flair to the poolside view.

If you have a cool £7 million to spare, Ince Castle is as close to owning your own island as you might get in the UK. Filled with character and history, it’s a dramatic backdrop that just calling out your name.

 

For more information, visit Rightmove, or Knight Frank

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Malplaquet House – Where Time Stood Still

A love for interior design and the activity of fantasy house-hunting tend to go hand-in-hand, so when Cate emailed me over a link to this divine property in London, my eyes lit up with excitement. Tucked away in the East End is a house that teleports you back through time and into a land of mystery and magic!

The exterior, although bold in size, is a little misleading as it fails to prepare you for the strikingly curated and fabulously spooky interiors. After over a century of being uninhabited the building was bought by director of the Fitzwilliam Museum, Tim Knox and landscape gardener Todd Longstaffe-Gowan, who masterfully filled the property with their budding collection of objet d’art and obscure artefacts assembled over the years from markets and auctions.

The house was originally built in 1741, and later restored in 1997 but preserved in all its historic detail and glory. It’s the kind of home that is so unlike anything else we tend to see on a day-to-day basis that there is an intriguingly creepy edge to it, like something out of a period drama, perfectly fitting for telling a ghost story or two. Knox and Longstaffe-Gowan have gloriously filled the house with the perfect balance of wackiness and wonderments. You can see how the years of curating museums has influenced the decorative of this house, and perhaps vice versa.

Each room is effortlessly complied of trinkets and treasures, integrated with the period features, it’s the optimum example of a ‘house with character’ that is so often a necessity among buyers, however I have a sneaking suspicion that this might be just a little too avant-garde for the average taste. The house has everything, drama, romance, madness, it makes you a little nervous, filling your stomach with butterflies.
A stairwell has been decorating with an over-flowing collection of mounted animal heads, probably causing you to duck and weave your way around like an obstacle-course. I’d imagine that this home isn’t an easy-living situation, but more like living-art, each room with its quirks and adventures. The contrast between the taxidermy heads and the Virgin Mary statue casually place in the corner of the landing creates a rather eclectic look. It seems like almost a super-stylish haunted house that you’d find at fairs and adventure parks, although instead of being scary it’s just ultimately alluring.

The main bathroom in Malplaquet House has to be my favourite room, the walls are littered with a collection of crucifixes that invokes a wild, fanatic response. The largest crucifix looms over the roll-top bath, giving off a sacrificial atmosphere, or as if a séance or exorcism is about to take place. Its finishing touches like this one that create the visually dramatic and flamboyant ambience of the home.

The house holds itself in a rare fashion, it makes no apologies for its appearance or personality, there is no attempt to ‘fit-in’, but there is also no sense of overkill or a try-hard attitude present either. The interiors are filled with an authentic disposition that comes from a collection of bizarre and bewildering artefacts that have been accumulated in a natural process.
Whoever takes on the challenge of being the building’s next occupants is perhaps not just buying a home, but is becoming the invited guest of a house that stands the test of time, and exudes character and brilliance.

The Malplaquet House is available to buy from Fyfe McDade

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Book Club: The Modern House

The Modern House, a real estate company who specialise in the selling of the finest modern homes, celebrated their ten year anniversary in 2015 and so to mark the occasion they released a book with some of the best properties they’ve had throughout their decade of business. The book is a fantastic read whether you love modern architecture or are simply intrigued to get a sneak peek into some of Britain’s most wonderful homes. I’ve picked out some of my favourite homes from the book to share with you.

Doctor Rogers’ House located in London, built by Richard and Su Rogers in 1968

The beauty of this property lies in how the colours of the interior and the colours of the adorning nature integrate so perfectly together. The influence of Californian modernism isn’t lost on the architecture or interior features and yet doesn’t look out of place in its typically English surroundings, there’s a humble attitude to this house that makes you want to run up those paving stones and be invited inside this welcoming exterior.

Doctor Rogers’ House located in London, built by Richard and Su Rogers in 1968

The Modern House features a property on Angel + Blume’s home turf, Cambridge, and one that we know personally. The Laslett House was designed by Trevor Dannatt in 1958 and is owned today by Tim Hayward, the man who resurrected the legendary Fitzbillies.

Laslett House located in Cambridge, built by Trevor Dannatt in 1958

The house is wonderfully minimal and full of natural elements. There’s a beautiful flow of white brick walls, wood flooring and glass panelling that evokes an authentic sense of calm and laid-back sophistication.

Laslett House located in Cambridge, built by Trevor Dannatt in 1958

The next property takes the form of an old converted Pianola factory in north London. Its interiors are reminiscent of ordered chaos with foliage, picture frames and furniture all positioned in the home seemingly unsystematically and yet at the same time with the feeling of thoughtfulness and care. The home is like a blank canvas, the perfect location for an artist to create their masterpieces with just enough personal memorabilia to fight off a spooky clinical atmosphere.

An Art Collector’s Warehouse located in London, built by 6a Architects in 2012

An Art Collector’s Warehouse located in London, built by 6a Architects in 2012

Stratton Park in Hampshire is a fine example of how modern homes can look their best when juxtaposed with older existing architectural features. The house was built over a mansion from 1803, all that remains is the Doric Portico, something that might have been rather a brash display of grandeur if left to its own devices, but with the modern home positioned to its side it becomes more of a whimsical and elaborate garden sculpture.

Stratton Park located in Hampshire, built by Stephen Gardiner and Christopher Knight in 1964

The idea of living in a fort would thrill most children (and some adults) and so proving that you can make a home out of anything, a nineteenth century fort was converted into a home in 2004. The Martello Tower Y in Suffolk is a highly intriguing concept and there’s no doubt that the views from up there phenomenal!

 

Martello Tower Y located in Suffolk, built by Piercy & Company in 2004

Despite its somewhat bulky external appearance the interior of the home is elegant and sophisticated, and its unique features like the original fort structure make a compelling argument for the building’s beauty.

The Walled Garden located in East Sussex, built by Michael Manser in 2002

This home wonderfully incorporates modern American architectural style into the Sussex countryside.  The beautiful glass and steelwork and the adjacent old red brick wall create the perfect contrast that gives this property it’s extra added character.

The Walled Garden located in East Sussex, built by Michael Manser in 2002

Finally, you might remember this lovely house from a blog a few weeks ago, Fog House in London was commissioned by Janet Street Porter in 2004 and is a beautiful accumulation of colour and style.

Fog House located in London, built by Adjaye Associates in 2004

Fog House located in London, built by Adjaye Associates in 2004

The Modern House is full to the brim of exciting properties, amazing inspiration and invites you to spend a few hours dreaming of modern havens.

The Modern House is available from Artifice.

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Arts and Crafts in the Heart of L.A.

A guilt pleasure of mine is to play a game of make believe on real estate websites in America, hit the ‘price: high to low’ setting and scroll through some amazing properties, pretending I can afford them. This is exactly how I found this masterpiece of a house in Los Angeles, currently for sale via themls.com.

The house was built in 1913 by Frederick E. Engstrum and designed by Frank A. Brown, following an Arts and Crafts style design, and has been dubbed the one of the finest and largest Craftsmen houses in America. The exterior is absolutely mesmerising as the house is almost lost in the surrounding overgrown woodland. With so many small and unusual features this house would have you exploring for days on end.

The house was named ‘Artemesia’ and is still full of its original features including tiles, stained glass, panelling and light fixtures. It’s truly a house of character, with a story to tell.

It easy to see that a lot of the permanent interior details have been kept in tact, which is quite a feat considering Los Angeles has modern, contemporary homes by the bucket load. The interiors of the Artemesia home are almost frozen in time and there’s something really magical and graceful about this.

The design of the house takes influence from the Tudor-revival architectural movement that surfaced in America in the late 1800s to the early 1900s, as well as the American take on the Arts and Crafts movement. Here you can see the beautiful detail of an original fireplace that is in keeping with the Arts and Crafts motif of the house.

There is a sense of grandeur and magnificence in the interiors that has been sewn into the house, at its very core. The large ballroom with its beautifully wide columns indicates a rich history the house may have had, tales of old Hollywood-esque parties thrown and the company kept, the house exudes a vibrant, well-lived, old Hollywood atmosphere, even in the bathrooms…

The shower is beautifully hidden away with steps leading down to it from the bathroom.

It even features a historic pipe organ, built by Murray Harris, a world renowned organ builder, and it’s on of his largest remaining creations. Having a residential pipe organ during the late 19^th and early 20^th century would have been considered a rather fashionable addition to a home and played by a hired professional, the organ would have been the source of entertainment and music during a social gathering at the house.

Console details of the Pipe Organ

Sound Screen feature of the Pipe Organ

A feature like this is in a home is almost unheard of nowadays, making the house seem even more out of this world and extraordinary.

There is a true romantic, fairy-tale like nature to this house; from the woodland areas surrounding the property, to the deliciously outlandish pipe organ, to the intricate, well-preserved detailing of the interiors. In a place like Los Angeles which is so full of splendour and outrageousness especially in terms of property, it seems upsettingly easy for charming homes such as this one to get somehow lost between mansions. But there is something so pure and special about this house and the way it’s been transported from another era without appearing dated or fairly useless in a modern world, that there is a magical sense about it and a hope that it will be an everlasting triumph in the world of design.

For more information: www.artemesia.us

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