ENAMOURED WITH CONSERVATORIES -
Homefront Magazine

Great conservatory architecture invites us to linger and enjoy its rich details, fanciful embellishments and sensuous curves. Filled with natural light, each work of art brings nature inside, quiets the mind and nurtures the soul.

Read on, because just in time for summer, Homefront is delighted to feature notable projects from the Tanglewood atelier. Here, following the traditions of days gone by, master craftspeople blend exquisite design and artisan woodworking to turn support brackets into sculpture and fluted pilasters, and old-world copper finials and antique stained glass panels into the most magnificent of glass houses.

Orangeries, greenhouses, garden rooms and glass pool enclosures...in a world of mass production, the grand individual design of each one of these majestic structures takes us back to the height of the industrial revolution. It was then, according to architect Alan Stein, that the newly invented use of steel and large panes of glass led to the creation of the first of these engineering marvels.

In the late nineteenth century, major American cities built grand conservatories to educate and entertain their citizenry. Beautiful to look at and magical to be in, these structures brought the world's flora and a city's populace together under one roof.

From the beginning, greenhouses and conservatories have blurred the very lines they've drawn. They extend a home into nature while keeping that selfsame nature at bay, delivering all the beauty of the outdoors and all the comforts of home. Much of the charm of conservatories stems from their classic lines and prime materials—wood and glass.

If you've ever been inside a house with a conservatory, you've likely witnessed the soft gravitation pulling everyone toward it, as if the house was tilted in that direction. They offer everything one could wish for in a social setting: supple ambience, a gentle hush (perfect for intimate conversation), lush greenery and fragrant blossoms, the warmth of wood, and the soft glow of natural light. It isn't a room to decorate so much as an environment to create.

Winter, spring, summer, and fall: nature is a four-season phenomenon, so it's only natural that the conservatory also be a year-round structure.