Elegant pare

Residential Architect, Sept-Oct, 2005 by Meghan Drueding

moorcrag, windermere, england, 1898 c.f.a. voysey

"simplicity in decoration is one of the most essential qualities without which no true richness is possible."

--c.f.a. voysey

Modernists and Traditionalists alike admire the sure-handed lines of C.F.A. Voysey's country houses. The English Arts and Crafts architect developed his own take on the cottage idiom, employing steeply pitched slate roofs, roughly plastered exterior walls, and horizontal bands of windows. Such characteristics give Moorcrag, a Voysey house in the Cumbria section of Britain, an air of unpretentious livability.

Voysey also designed interiors, furniture, metalwork, and textiles, and to each discipline he applied his doctrine of simplicity. "To know where to stop and what not to do is a long way on the road to being a great decorator," he wrote. Inside and out, his contextual, creative body of work demonstrates the truth behind his words.