Clarity

If there were an architecture by Hugh Newell Jacobsen fan club, Gates would be president.

Nef House, in Great Barrington, MA is a favorite. 

Inspired by the traditional vernacular architecture of rural America, 

his signature gabled pavillion building forms feel traditional and familiar

yet contain open, light filled interiors that are clearly modern. 

There are so many elements to love in this HNJ beach cottage- the horizontal bead board, the Greek Revival references,

the floor-level double hung windows,

spacious hallways, gracefully proportioned rooms, and a whole lot of white paint.  I could move in tomorrow...                                     

   

Selflessness

He earned his nickname, "The Protector," after getting suspended in elementary school for fighting with bullies who tried to stuff a special-needs child into a locker, and for intervening when some youths were picking on a homeless man.  Maybe you know someone just like him.

Lt. Michael Murphy was a Navy Seal killed in July 2005, when his unit was outnumbered and pinned down in the mountains of Afghanistan.  In a last ditch effort to save his team, he pulled out his satallite phone, walked into a clearing to get reception and called for reinforcements in a hail of bullets.  He was shot and dropped the phone, but picked it up to calmly finish the call, and ever the gentleman, courteously signed off, "Thank you."

On this Memorial Day, we say, "Thank you," to all of the men and women of the military

who so courageously and selflessly put themselves in harm's way to hold the line against those who would take away another's freedom.

The 52nd Annual Hunt Country Stable Tour

The 52nd Annual Hunt Country Stable tour will be held this weekend, May 28-29, 2011 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.  If you missed purchasing tickets in advance, you can still get them at any stop on the tour for $25.  For more information, click here.

Every year, for one weekend, the horses of Middleburg and Upperville, Virginia, kindly open the doors of their stables to visitors.

Horse lovers anticipate this event the way shoe lovers anticipate a Manolo Blahnik sample sale. 

We look at them

and they look at us.

When you're through rubbing velvet noses with the horsey-set, Boxwood Winery, designed by Hugh Newell Jacobsen, is offering tours as well. 

Rita and John Kent Cooke hired Washington, D.C.-based Hugh Newell Jacobsen to design Boxwood Winery, located on a National Historic Landmark property, and one of Virginia’s earliest horse farms.

Mr. Jacobsen designed the winery with his characteristic modern feel, but chose materials- fieldstone, seam metal roofs and cupolas, typical of 18^th century rural Virginia.

To see Mr. Jacobsen's video, plans and photos of Boxwood, click here.