Page 89 - Architectural Digest - USA (February 2020)

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peed is an inexorable part of life in the 21st century.
Breaking news travels around the world in a matter
of minutes, aided by the myriad technological
wonders that now dictate the pace of our quotidian
rituals. Instagram, for better or worse, instanta-
neously broadcasts the food people are eating and
the sights they’re seeing. Amazon continues to
collapse the space between desire and fulfillment.
And even in the arena of residential design, one
cannot escape the cantankerous creed of Veruca
Salt: “I want it now!”
Mercifully, there are exceptions. A stately
and soulful home in Northern California offers a compelling
counter-narrative to the virtue of velocity. Lovingly crafted
over decades, the house draws strength from the many caring
hands that have shaped its conception and evolution. The story
begins in the mid-1980s, when one of the current homeowners,
then married to his first wife, embarked on a two-month voyage
of discovery to study some of Italy’s most important palazzi
and villas. Joining him were architect Ned Forrest and designer
Rory McCarthy, both longtime friends.
“We essentially devised the footprint of the house while
we were in Italy,” the husband recalls. “We found inspiration

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