Kettle's Yard

“Possibly the most perfect house; I visited in 2018 and think about it at least once a week. It was the creation of Jim and Helen Ede (Jim was the first curator of modern art at the Tate, if I remember correctly), and the house holds a very personal, obviously beloved collection of work, including many gifts from friends. The paintings are hung wherever they might catch the eye--under windowsills, to align with low-slumg armchairs, or just perfectly placed on a wall as you turn the corner, and the house itself feels easy and lived-in; quietly radical, maybe, in its assertion that art is actually meant to be lived with and enjoyed. They held open houses regularly, inviting in students and neighbors to enjoy the art. And now the house is kept as it was when the Edes lived there, and you can visit. I was particularly charmed by the collections of pebbles everywhere on display--organized by color in shallow baskets, coiled in spirals, lined up on sills. The "Louvre of the Pebble" indeed.”

“Created by Jim Ede, wholehearted supporter of artists and lover of pebbles. A magical place that I love to bring people to without explanation - you’ll leave wanting to hang paintings near the baseboards. Well worth the day trip from London.”

“An aspirational idyll! Full of art collected from Ede's friends like Barbara Hepworth and Ben Nicholson, with carpets hung in ingenious ways, chairs the docents encourage you to sit in, books they encourage you to take off the shelf and read, and plants casting perfect shifting shadows. My number one recommendation for a daytrip from London.”