INTERIOR DESIGN - HOW TO HANG PICTURES.

 

 

 

HOW TO MAKE YOUR BACK YARD A DELIGHTFUL SEATING AREA

 

How to make an original small waterfall in your country house. 

Not everyone has summer cottages on the banks of a reservoir or river, but organizing and maintaining an artificial pond or lake requires a very tangible investment of time and money.

Make barbecue furniture out of pallets or barrels.

How to use regular discs or an old washing machine drum to create a barbecue oven.

Gazebo or light canopy

 



THE RETURN - by Geneen Marie Haugen

THE  RETURN by  Geneen Marie Haugen      Some day, if you are lucky,     you'll return from a thunderous journey     trailing snake scales, wing fragments     and the musk of Earth and moon.     Eyes will examine you for signs     of damage, or change     and you, too, will wonder     if your skin shows traces     of fur, or leaves,     if thrushes have built a nest     of your hair, if Andromeda     burns from your eyes.     Do not be surprised by prickly questions     from those who barely inhabit     their own fleeting lives, who barely taste     their own possibility, who barely dream.     If your hands are empty, treasureless,     if your toes have not grown claws,     if your obedient voice has not     become a wild cry, a howl,     you will reassure them. We warned you,     they might declare, there is nothing else,     no point, no meaning, no mystery at all,     just this frantic waiting to die.     And yet, they tremble, mute,     afraid you've returned without sweet     elixir for unspeakable thirst, without     a fluent dance or holy language     to teach them, without a compass     bearing to a forgotten border where     no one crosses without weeping     for the terrible beauty of galaxies     and granite and bone. They tremble,     hoping your lips hold a secret,     that the song your body now sings     will redeem them, yet they fear     your secret is dangerous, shattering,     and once it flies from your astonished     mouth, they — like you — must disintegrate     before unfolding tremulous wings.

HAPPY RIZZI HOUSE

Happy Rizzi House - built in 2001 in the German city of Braunschweig, as an office center by architect Konrad Kloster and designer James Rizzi who worked on this slightly... crazy project.

Thank you for stopping by, happy summer to everyone ! 

PARNHAM HOUSE - The mysterious story of the Tudors mansion, which in England is considered damned

Parnham House is one of the most impressive Tudor mansions in England. This magnificent building of the 16th century impresses not only with its beauty, magnificent architecture, it has great historical value. At the same time, the house has a very bad reputation. The mansion is not unreasonably considered damned. His owners were harassed by misfortunes, and the last of them died under very, very mysterious circumstances.

This residence was built back in 1400. This is the oldest Dorset mansion. For two centuries, Parnham House belonged to the noble dynasty Strode, which came into its possession in the mid-1500s. Richard Strode married Elizabeth Gerard, whose ancestors built this mansion in the early 15th century. The house is located off the road, on a hill. The estate is surrounded by a park in which there are many stone statues and figuratively trimmed bushes. All this has remained unchanged for centuries.

The mansion is a building that is a subject of special historical and architectural interest.

In 1551, the house was rebuilt by the Strode family. Bad stories with a mansion began after a tragedy occurred in the house during the English Civil War. July 5, 1645, protecting the house from the "round-headed", Lady Strode was brutally murdered by soldiers of Colonel Fairfax.

The mansion passed from hand to hand. In 1810, the new owner, William Oglander, trying to restore the former grandeur of the estate, entrusts its reconstruction to the famous court architect John Nash. Magnificent characteristic spiral staircases and stone windows are the main evidence of the work of a specialist who also worked on the restoration of Buckingham Palace.

In 1810, the reconstruction of the mansion was done by the court architect John Nash.

Sir William Oglander - received the title of Baronet in 1665. So, apparently, his services to the crown were noted, because he supported the monarchists in the English Civil War. For two hundred years, Parnham House belonged to the Oglander family. Unfortunately, the Oglander baronet family is extinct. The manor began again to quickly move from one owner to another.

In 1896, following Hans Sauer, "who sought to restore the Tudors' interior," according to Dorset Life, but did not succeed, Vincent Robinson acquired the estate. Attempts to restore the house failed to this owner. The owners were dying, the mansion was passed on to others.

The last owner kept the estate in impeccable order.

After these people, the property was transferred into the possession of the family of the famous pilot William Rhodes Moorhouse. He was an ace in British aviation, died during the First World War. Rhodes Moorhouse was the first pilot to receive Britain's highest military award, the Victoria Cross. Moorhouse was a hero.

Performing a combat mission, William flew out without a shooter, in his place they placed a 45-kilogram bomb. Flying as low as possible above the ground, the aviator dropped a bomb on the signal booth of the railway. At the same time, his plane was riddled with bullets, Murhaus was seriously injured, but was able to land a car and report on the completion of the mission. Only after that he fell dead and died the next day without regaining consciousness.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

In the 1920s, Parnham House became a country club. Among his visitors were such famous personalities as Arthur Conan Doyle and the Prince of Wales. During World War II, the estate was requisitioned for the needs of the American army. From 1956 to 1973, the mansion was a home for the elderly. After its closure, Parnham was empty for three years.
John and Jenny Makepeace bought the house to open a wood carving school there. All leading cabinetmakers studied at this institution. Until some time, a Makepeace couple with a furniture business was very comfortable using Parnham. In 2001, the Makepies sold the mansion to its last owner, Michael Treichl.

Treichl, a financier of Austrian descent, devoted 15 years of his life to the restoration of this huge house. Although the previous owners, the Makepies, said that anyone who buys this house should be allowed to demolish it.
In 2009, Dorset Life admired the work done in the house by the financier and his wife Emma, a former model: “They exceeded expectations in recreating the splendor of the stately home listed on I. At the same time, they were able to give it the intimate atmosphere of a delightful family home "

Emma and Michael Treichl

“Under the leadership of the British authorities and leading architects, changes were made in the layout so that daylight poured into the once separated dark rooms and corridors. The rooms were expanded and enlarged. But instead of becoming attic and inhospitable, they, on the contrary, attract with their atmosphere of comfort” "writes Dorset Life. All of this work Trehlom spent more than $ 14 million.
But on April 15, 2017, a suspicious fire broke out in Parnham. Almost immediately, the BBC and other media outlets reported the fire as "suspicious." In the press, this has become the main story. “For 32 years, this is one of the most intense fires I have ever seen,” said Beaminster fire commander Mark Greenham.

Michael Treichl was arrested on suspicion of arson. Treichl himself commented on it this way: “Restoring Parnham House was a matter of my life. Accusing me of arson, of trying to destroy him, is just crazy! ”
The financier was released on bail. Two months later, a strange thing happened - Treichla was found drowned in Lake Geneva in Switzerland. It was a very suspicious death. Circumstances remained unclear. Police suggested suicide. The case was closed in the same way, and the investigation of the fire at Parnham House was stopped.

Now the long-suffering house is still in the process of sale. A government report suggests that restoration work should be carried out as soon as possible, otherwise the mansion will collapse. The fire turned it into a charred shell. The estate includes 131 acres of magnificent land, where until recently there was a well-groomed beautiful park. Now this place looks completely abandoned.
Whoever undertakes in the end the implementation of such a grandiose project, he will have to obtain the permission of the local authorities to carry out any work, because this property is listed by England in the first class. This historical structure is a subject of exceptional interest.

The sale of the Elizabethan estate for £ 3 million was agreed with a mysterious buyer in early 2019. For unknown mysterious reasons, she failed. The buyer withdrew the deposit and disappeared without revealing his name. Time goes by and it works against Parnham House. It is hard to say what will happen in the near future with the fragile structure of a building damaged by a fire.

The majestic Tudor mansion is still waiting for its owners. Maybe Lady Strode’s restless spirit is still rushing along its deserted corridors? Who knows ... But one thing is clear: if there is a daredevil who will buy it, then he will have to not only fight with the bureaucratic machine of Britain and spend enormous funds. The owner needs to love it to turn into a fabulous modern home.