Matt Gibberd, founder of high-end architectural estate agency The Modern House, shares his top tipsFor the past 16 years, I have spent my days nosing round other people’s homes like a design-obsessed basset hound. I have been granted access through hun…
Neoclassical villas restored to echo their stunning setting
Two villas set either side of a lake in the forests of Piedmont have been sensitively restored to make the most of the breathtaking surroundingsIn Italy, we call them boccalone,” explains Gemma Richards. “I’m going to have to look up the English…” The …
‘The cobalt blue felt like a risk’: a daring revamp of a dated house
How one family transformed an end-of-terrace in a London cul-de-sac into a sustainable home with a California vibeVic and Tyson Benton are each sitting in the spot that feels most like home: Vic on a built-in corner sofa, Tyson at the dining table unde…
Can I recycle a pizza box? We ask the expert
Recycling specialist Adam Herriott on what happens when household waste goes in the wrong bin – and what to do with compostable coffee-cup lidsOf all the memories I have of the pandemic last year, the image of bins sticks in my mind. Black bins piled h…
Houseplant of the week: Ficus lyrata | Gynelle Leon
In our new column, the founder of the plant shop Prick looks at this highly popular tree, loved for its big, glossy, fiddle-shaped leavesWhy will I love it?Ficus lyrata is the most popular indoor tree right now, loved for its unusual glossy leaves: wit…
How one family turned a derelict garage into a home
Thanks to an online search error, an architect transformed a tumbledown building into a three-bedroom houseMelanie Schubert and partner Paolo Vimercati didn’t set out to buy a derelict double garage when they were looking for a new home. In one online…
Experience: our house was moved to a different town
We lived in our dream home. Then suddenly a huge chasm split our town. Rather than buy a new home for the move, we decided to transplant the houseI moved to Malmberget – a town in the far north of Sweden, above the Arctic Circle – from a nearby village…
Raising the roof: lofty ambitions in Lisbon
London-based designer Rui Ribeiro returns to his roots to create a pied-à-terre in the Portuguese capitalWhen the London-based interior designer Rui Ribeiro set about looking for a pied-à-terre in Lisbon, it took him five years to find the ideal place….
The Innovation of Modular Housing: How Buildings Learn Pattern Languages
Apartments Built on an Assembly Line [ungated] – “The pandemic put a general crimp in housing construction, but made a California factory that churns out prefabricated housing extra busy.”[1,2] Mr. Holliday, who co-founded the factory with Larry Pace, …
Flower power: a florist’s cottage blooms in the dark
A pared-down palette makes a florist’s home in Cheshire an oasis of tranquillityIn florist Keith Dawson’s garden, the predominant colour is green. Hedges of hornbeam line the long alleyways, creating intimate paths that open into a wide lawn with a haw…