Engagement With The Landscape: San Lorenzo Residence, USA

Complementing the nature, the San Lorenzo Residence adds a touch of value to the surrounding landscapes, with out “stealing” their glory. Best for a family members that seeks an airy way of life and overall, peacefulness, the residence located in Los Angeles, USA, nearby a golf course, responds to the needs of the clientele: it is spacious and it promotes the concept of open (and transparent) living space.

Designed and created by Mike Jacobs Architecture, the residence is an uncluttered house atmosphere, with a spectacular interior private garden. “The big open living space is central to the organization and efficiency of the house the space of exchange. Pocket sliding doors open the south wall to the garden and north facing windows unfold to view the fairways produce direct connections to the exterior. These large openings passively cool the house and draw fresh air deep into the residual spaces to naturally ventilate the house.”  The house is perceived as the intersection of two L-shaped blocks uniting: one accommodates the social living space with the living room and the lounge location, that can be used for diverse outside activities and the other 1, wrapped in cedar and stucco, the bedrooms.

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Back home?

At Jardin de Marqueyssac

Chateaux Marqueyssac

Chateaux Marqueyssac

I have to admit, for a long time this has not happen to me, but this time it did: I wanted not to return home...

I have fallen deeply in love again with the French country side, the  Bastide Beaumont du Perigord, where we stayed, Bergerac and Bordeaux.... the Dordogne valley and castles, the farmhouses open for dinner.....the many people we met and their stories, all grew so dear to me, to the point of feeling extremely comfortable and at home.

"Our" home in Beaumont du Perigord

The house we had rented added to the incredible charm and it's a dangerous thing to be so happy away from home.

There is of course always the 'old home' factor. Having been born and raised in Europe, there are countless things which are dear to me and irreplaceable. Having lived in the States for about twenty years has mellowed it all a bit, but it's a bit like riding a bike, even if you haven't done it for years, it comes back in a flash.... you never loose the ability....

View from Castelnaud

There is something about the old world of Europe. Something is in my blood and my genes too, I feel even clothes, I buy there, fit me better....

Well, here I am, back, and getting into the rhythm of things, forgive me, it has only been three days since our return. I still want to say merci and au revoir...

Market in Isseygeac

I am surely not the only one having felt this way, there were many ex-pats, we have met in "our" small little town, in which we stayed, people from Australia, England, America, now at home in that lovely corner of France, the Perigord region, southwest in France, deep country, filled with plum orchards, sunflowers, wine and walnuts, ducks and geese....

Chateaux Banne

Maybe, one day, I will return eventually or at least spend some months there, exploring all I have left behind undiscovered....But then, it might happen elsewhere too, the urge to explore and put down a few roots in yet unknown places. I am a traveller, there is no denying it.

I am restless in that sense and to move on has been a longtime way of life for me. So many times I had to adjust and to recalculate my life. Sometimes by choice, sometimes by force. And it has become second nature. Maybe I have lost the ability to be truly home again in one place.

Small street in Beaumont

And now here I am...among people who are my friends and who make me feel at home.

The happiness of elsewhere is also an illusion...

Doorway in Beaumont

Here I am, in our house, which is my castle....Filled to the brim with memories and soon I will be content again.

But not just yet.

Window in Beaumont

I am glad for school has begun and provides the needed rhythm, the order I can hang on to, the work for which I am grateful and the things, which need to be taken care of. The dog has been so happy to be reunited with us and the garden cries out for my hands. Our friends have been welcoming and so kind, I have been gone for a while, it needs more then a few days to come back...

Looking out for news in L'Abbey St.Avit

I am returning.... home! Filled with insights and outlooks....Windows and doors of my imagination.

All images by V.Zlotkowski copyright 2012.

Boscobel

Boscobel from the South (garden)

Boscobel (Build 1808), a wonderful old estate and garden, also the summer home of a Shakespeare festival, sits high up above the Hudson, in Garrison, NY, near Cold Springs. The mansion once belonged to a gentleman and his family, who came to money, perhaps not in the most honorable way, which sounds not that unusual. He became one of the first millionaires. He build himself an amazingly large house, but  never lived to see it. After completion, his wife and son moved there and in succession the only granddaughter with fifteen children.
The house was eventually abandoned in the 1890 and stood empty until the Forties, when it was bought by the State of New York. Fortunately the house was saved by a Foundation, which secured the house, moved it to it's current location and restored the 
place in the most detail oriented fashion. 
The mansion today houses the largest collection of Federal style original furniture and brings an era to life from long ago. 

In the foreground the Constitution Marsh, behind the Hudson and West Point Academy

Not only this, the grounds have been build 1961 to complement the setting high above the Hudson with magnificent views, the former owners could have only dreamed of.
At the time of designing the gardens the trees and shrubberies were planted mature, so the impression of an old, settled in estate is absolutely perfect! 

The rose garden holds many beautiful species and this year, so I have been told, it has a record on rose blossoms.
The orangery is a charming addition and the herb garden a delight. 

The grounds are completed by an apple orchard and a lake with a large fountain...

The labor of love... Speaking of:
We are going to see Shakespeare's Love's Labour's Lost,  a pleasure I can't wait to indulge in!


When you're in the area, it would be a wonderful addition to any tour along the Hudson.




All images by Victoria Zlotkowsi