Farm & Farmhouse: Architecture & Design for a Historic Hudson Valley Home

Christopher Spitzmiller presents his book A Year at Clove Brook Farm as part of the ICAA Book Club series

On August 11, 2021, the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art (ICAA) hosted a virtual lecture featuring Christopher Spitzmiller, who spoke on topics related to his new book, A Year at Clove Brook Farm - Gardening, Tending Flocks, Keeping Bees, Collecting Antiques, and Entertaining Friends.

Christopher Spitzmiller is known to his friends and Instagram fans as the ultimate weekend farmer, who raises his own handsome chickens, grows his own flowers, and puts up his own jam, cider, and honey. In this—his first book—he treats readers to a full year at Clove Brook Farm, his idyllic but always-active country retreat. Naturally organized into four seasonal sections, the book begins with Spring where Spitzmiller evokes the chilly quiet of March before the farm bursts into the bloom of lilacs and apple blossoms; takes us behind-the-scenes in the dovecote with his Indian fantail pigeons; hosts an Easter lunch with a table laden with daffodils and his prettiest plates; and shares his recipe for freshly harvested rhubarb pie. Summer brings hydrangeas and dahlias; readying the chickens for the Dutchess County Fair, honey-gathering, and planting bulbs, and the ultimate fall feast of Thanksgiving with all the stops pulled. Winter closes the book with inspired holiday decorating, a holiday buffet to celebrate the bounty of the farm, and uniquely wrapped gifts to treasure.

Filled with tips on garden-planning, creating seasonal flower arrangements, and living with animals, A Year at Clove Brook Farm is a timely book as we are all focused making the most of our own homes and gardens—even if that’s only a row of herbs in a sunny urban window—and it is the the perfect inspiration for anyone enthralled by the fantasy of full-on farmstead living.

Christopher Spitzmiller’s lamps, tableware, and other ceramics are found in every chic A-list interior, including the White House, and are regularly featured in celebrated publications including Architectural Digest and the Wall Street Journal. He is on the board of the Garden Conservancy and the Lenox Hill Neighborhood House.

If you are interesting in purchasing this book, please visit the Rizzoli website here.

Sponsors

Our special thanks to Presenting Sponsor of the ICAA Book Club: Foster Reeve Architectural & Ornamental Plaster

Presented as part of the Bunny Mellon Curricula at the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art. The ICAA is very grateful to the Gerard B. Lambert Foundation for its generous support of this program, along with the Curricula's Lead Co-Sponsor Hollander Design Landscape Architects, Film Series Co-Sponsor Janice Parker Landscape Architects, Landscape Prize Co-Sponsor Harrison Design, Continuing Education and Public Programs Co-Sponsor Charlotte Moss, and Garden Symposium Co-Sponsor Kathryn M. and Ronald J. Herman Charitable Foundation.

Lead Annual Public Programs Sponsor: RINCK

Seasonal Public Programs Sponsor: Dell Mitchell Architects

Seasonal Public Programs Sponsor: Hyde Park Mouldings

Tags: classicism at home, icaa book club, bunnymellon