Family Houses in the Country - Hardcover

De Chabaneix, Gilles; D'Arnoux, Alexandra

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0517708604 ISBN 13: 9780517708606

Publisher: Clarkson Potter, 2000

Synopsis

In this richly evocative book, another celebration of the magic of homes away from home, the author of Family Houses by the Sea offers warm and perceptive portraits of country houses where idiosyncratic decorative details combine with family traditions to create unique memories that last a lifetime.

Every person--whether a harried urbanite or satisfied suburbanite--harbors thoughts of a dream house. We all desire a home away from our daily cares where our family can commingle in gracious surroundings to create warm patterns of memory and peace. Family Houses in the Country takes us to such retreats in the woods and hillsides, and to the remembered splendors of picnics under cloudless skies and rainy-day costume parties where attic trunks are raided for their treasures. Examining real homes both to evince the existing beauty of their rooms and gardens and to evoke the beautiful ghosts that benignly reside within, author Alexandra d'Arnoux and photographer Gilles de Chabaneix travel through the United States, England, Scotland, Italy, and France to find remarkable houses imbued with the spirit of families who delight in living in them.

As readers we are treated to a peek inside a family homestead nestled in California's Napa Valley, where sun and vines and loved ones seem to inhabit an eternal summer's day. We experience the isolated, strangely welcoming manor of Kerdaoualas, which, situated on a hill in Brittany, casts its shadow over sea and country-side. We explore every room in a lake house in New Hampshire. And we're not surprised to find that a funny, architecturally intriguing home in Shropshire once housed a medieval abbey.  

Family Houses in the Country celebrates family values, real family values: togetherness, the coexistence of generations, the gentle rhythms of childhood, and the comforting rewards of maturity. We may not all be fortunate enough to have grown up in such houses as these, but we do occupy them--at least in our dreams.

About this title

Review:

Be forewarned: envy, awe, and heavy sighs are likely reactions to Family Houses in the Country. Filled with marvelously provocative photographs, the authors take us on a journey across the world and across time. The first section of the book takes us to homes owned by a single family for generations. Visit Bardochat, a classic 1896 English country estate in Argyllshire, and share tales of living in the third floor nursery under a watchful nanny's care. Get lost in Combermere Abbey, built by Cistercian monks in 1131, and now inhabited by a young family. The stories of their owners are as amazing as the estates.

From ancestral manors, the book moves on to homes purchased by a more recent generation and beginning to feel a comfortable groove worn by extended family and friends. Take a leisurely stroll through a sprawling second home built on the steep slopes of New Hampshire's Newfound Lake and have coffee and pancakes with the family (promptly at 9 a.m., please).

The final section, "Personal Inspirations," observes those houses that, though out of the way or dilapidated, spoke to the owners and inspired them to create their dream homes, whether it be a large stone cottage with smoky chimneys and sloping floors in Bucks County or in a rustic former barn in New England.

Ultimately, Family Houses in the Country celebrates family togetherness and traditions, whether centuries or decades old. The author remarks, "In a world that is ceaselessly changing, family houses embody continuity through so many shared memories." Though our own homes may not be as posh as ones revealed here, you feel like you can walk right into the photographs and join the families as they sit down for tea or a glass of wine. --Dana Van Nest

About the Author:

Alexandra d'Arnoux--author of Family Houses by the Sea--has written extensively for Maison et Jardin and House & Garden. She currently works for Architectural Digest and lives in Paris.

Photographer Gilles de Chabaneix's work has appeared in many home, style, and design books. He also lives in Paris.

About this edition

• Publisher: Clarkson Potter
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0517708604
• ISBN 13: 9780517708606
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 256