Oh my god: A new book celebrates the finest in modern religious architecture April 30, 2015 German theologian Rudolf Otto popularized the idea of the “numinous”, a feeling of awestruck oneness with the Holy Other liable to induce fear, trembling, a widening of the eyes. Built in the right way, religious spaces can induce numinous feelings: from the towering, echoey symmetry of Salisbury Cathedral to the dizzying, hallucinatory tiled ceiling of [...]
Story time: Escape to the past with British painter Eleanor Watson April 30, 2015 Eleanor Watson paints light-dappled rooms full of frills, finery and baroque detailing. Sometimes shadowy, sometimes ablaze in brilliant oranges, her paintings have the texture and atmostphere of memories – passionate, randomly detailed and with the occasional blank spot. Working from photographs, she recreates idealised, dreamlike spaces that seem familiar from museums and period dramas. In [...]
Beautiful things: Maritime clocks and parrot lamps April 30, 2015 The romantic image of the seabound adventurer telling the time from the position of the sun was rendered obsolete by clocks like these. But what we lost in romance, we gained in style and craftsmanship. Wempe’s Senator Brass clock is a technical masterpiece, with an eleven-jewel Swiss rate regulator for ultimate precision. And that’s just [...]
Out on the tiles: Italian mosaic experts Bisazza on how the ancient artform has survived the millennia April 30, 2015 As passengers disembark at Gatwick’s South Terminal and make their way down ramps to the luggage carousel, they’re met by two giant portraits of the Queen. In one, piercing blue eyes stare out of a youthful, newly-coronated face, while the other is of a plumper, cheerier disposition. Everyone fixates on them, tourists and homecomers alike, [...]
Sky high: Introducing the most expensive homes in the world April 30, 2015 For the super rich, a trophy home isn’t simply a place to live, it’s a savvy investment; the discreet market in prestigious properties is booming and they’re selling for record-breaking prices. The cities that are home to these super-luxe homes also get an ego boost, as their ability to attract some of the wealthiest individuals [...]
Architects of the future: How young designers are taking on space constraints, the cost of living and technology April 30, 2015 As property prices continue to rise and land available for development dwindles, architects and designers are tasked with devising ways to recommission and re-purpose spaces to make them suitable for modern life. Five architects and designers under 40 explain how they are taking inspiration from these challenges, and how they see their industry changing in [...]
What makes Scandinavia furniture style so popular? April 30, 2015 Perhaps it’s because of the cold. In Scandinavia there’s more of an incentive to make the inside of your house look super-stylish because unless you want to get frost bite or, in some parts of northern Norway, eaten by a polar bear, the inside of your house is where you’ll spend the majority of your [...]
Entrepreneur David Johnson is building an empire in the British Virgin Islands to rival Richard Branson’s Necker April 30, 2015 When Sir Richard Branson arrived in the British Virgin Islands, he was sufficiently smitten that he bought his own island, Necker. It’s easy to see why. This Caribbean tropical paradise enjoys a sunny season stretching to 10 months of the year, while gentle waves from a clear blue sea lap the BVI’s many sandy beaches. [...]
Living the Whincop Cheam: An interior-designed mansion with all the furniture thrown in April 30, 2015 In the town you grew up in, was there a road that everyone aspired to live on? It may have had the biggest houses or backed on to a luscious stretch of parkland, or it may simply have been where your MP lived, along with that guy who owned the local department store. In the [...]
Elvaston Mews in Kensington and Chelsea: The 19th century stable that’s as space-age as they come April 30, 2015 London’s mews houses are selling like proverbial hot cakes right now. But take away the “cool” factor and they’re pretty difficult buildings to work with. Built in the 19th century as stables for the wealthy owners of mansions in Kensington and Chelsea, they’re short, square, dark and rarely come with outside space. The mews [...]