Solage Calistoga: What It Suits and What It Does Not
Low modern buildings on open ground at the top of the Napa Valley. Clean, bright and hot — which suits some weddings and not others.
Calistoga Ranch, Calistoga: The Problem, and Four Ways Out
A canyon property in oak woodland at the top of the Napa Valley — dark, narrow, and running on the terrain's clock rather than the sun's.
Gardens of Golden Gate Park, San Francisco: Field Notes
A planted garden complex in a San Francisco park that was once sand dunes — and a climate that makes summer the grey season.
Bartholomew Estate, Sonoma: A Walk Through the Site
A Sonoma estate of vineyard, oak woodland and old stone — walked in the order a wedding day uses it.
Auberge du Soleil, Rutherford: The Light Through the Day
A hillside resort above the Napa Valley floor, read hour by hour — fog, olives, and a west-facing valley at the end of the day.
Woodwinds, Branford: The Problem, and Four Ways Out
A banquet venue with a purpose-built ceremony garden in southern Connecticut — small, designed and closely bounded.
Whitney Center, Hamden: The Problem, and Four Ways Out
A modern function venue in south-central Connecticut — bright, pale and even, which is a specific problem with specific answers.
Lighthouse Point Marina, New Haven: The Problem, and Four Ways Out
A marina and point on New Haven harbour — completely exposed, which is one problem with four answers.
Whaler’s Inn, Mystic: The Light Through the Day
An inn in the centre of a historic New England shore town — where the light is decided by the street grid rather than by the sky.
Westbrook Inn, Westbrook: One Frame, and How It Is Made
A clapboard inn near the Connecticut shore, and the one frame a New England porch gives better than any room.