I’m captivated by a beautiful barn. It’s the rhythm of the windows and doors, along with the rich red-and-white color palette, that caught my eye on this one in Essex, Mass. at Cogswell’s Grant.

The small white windows march along a little higgledy-piggledy. They’re mounted in the stables at horse-scale, meaning the horses have a great view, but my nose would only barely clear the sill. The doors in between are sized for people, of course. So both those tending the stables and their charges are represented in the architecture. This supports the theory that the best elevations express something about those within.

The little wooden visors with brackets over the windows and doors provide shade and shadow, as well as visual interest. Part of their appeal it the hint of formality that they suggest, something we don’t generally expect from an outbuilding. Such contrast is often vital to an engaging design. The large expanse of red clapboards beautifully offsets the line of dancing windows and doors, trimmed in white. The resulting elevation makes for a happy building. How lucky those horses are.

by Katie Hutchison for the House Enthusiast

Swedish film directed by Bent Hamer

Set in the post-war 1940’s, Folke, a Swedish efficiency expert, observes the kitchen habits of Isak, a Norwegian bachelor farmer, as part of a study run by Sweden’s Home Research Institute. Malmberg, the scientist left in charge of the study, explains to his charges that the goal is to “rationalize the kitchen and the placement of the stations” to suit Norwegian bachelors. The rules of the study require that the observers live in trailers outside their subjects’ homes. They are to conduct their research (each atop a tall, pedestal chair) in their hosts’ kitchens for a period of days/weeks without interacting with their subjects. Such is the quirky premise of this delightful film.

Hamer, the director, is well aware of his audience as yet another observer in the mix, and creates a film that rewards the attentive.

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