by Suzanne Blank Redstone and her husband, Peter Redstone, have lived on the same Devon farm, nestled in a tree-lined valley a mile from the sea, for 50 years. The couple’s current home was once their cow, a simple, functional structure they built in 1979 to shelter their herd of Jerseys during the winter.
Today, it is an architectural statement, albeit a very obvious one. It was longlisted for the 2023 Royal Institute of British Architects house of the year and also won the prestigious Manser medal, with a photograph of the property selected for this year’s Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition, which takes place in London so far. August 18.
The Redstones worked on the project with David Kohn Architects, who transformed this building and many others on the farm, including the farmhouse, into new homes for the community-minded. go with them – many of them creative people – along with their young families.
The high central space is artist Suzanne’s studio. A glass wall overlooks a leafy veranda, and new partition walls in locally made agricultural concrete block. Wrapped around the studio is the kitchen-dining room-sitting room, library, Peter’s office, guest room and the couple’s bedroom. There are two further bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs, but it was important that all the essentials were on one level. “To future-proof it, we made the ground floor wheelchair accessible,” says Suzanne.
Similarly, the Douglas fir kitchen cabinets are fitted with large circular oak handles, made on a local farm. They bring a graphic punch to the space and are easier for older hands to grip.
It was while staying at a farmhouse in Whitley Bay in 1973 that the couple wrote a manifesto for their future lives.
Natural light is a central theme in Suzanne’s art, so she took great interest in the placement of the cow’s windows and skylights, particularly the circular one above her studio. She recommended that the deep surrounds of each roof light be powder-coated in different bright colors to give each room its own character.
As a nod to their home’s agricultural history, as well as saving money, the couple used the aluminum shades of the lamps that once heated the cubs – powder coated again. “We used all sorts of things from the farm: the studio’s sliding door is made from old cow doors; the meat saver is now a cabinet, and an old crate serves as a stand for the record player,” says Suzanne. And much of their furniture was taken down from both sides of the family.
Suzanne – who grew up in New York – and Peter, who is British, met in the United States in 1968. They married in 1970 before moving to London, with Suzanne working as an artist and accompanying Peter on his extension projects for management consultancy McKinsey.
It was when they were staying in a farmhouse in Whitley Bay, Tyneside, in 1973 that they wrote a manifesto for their future lives, and decided to buy their own farm. During the search for a suitable place, Suzanne became pregnant with the first of her children.
When they found this 20-hectare (50-acre) plot in Devon a few months later, they were hooked. “We looked all over the country but we already knew this area. The old farmhouse and buildings were in this beautiful red soil valley and it was quite close to the cultural scene in Dartington,” recalls Peter.
The old farmhouse and buildings were in this beautiful red soil valley close to the cultural scene in Dartington
Red Peter
To prepare for farming, Peter took several training courses. “Tractor driving, milking, and artificial insemination of cows,” says Suzanne. They decided to focus on dairying. “I had a dream that one day we would make ice cream, so we decided on jersey cows because they are beautiful and their cream is so rich.”
As their four children grew up on the farm, they begged their parents to make their ice cream dream come true. The couple took up the challenge in 1987, making and selling ice cream in a small shop in Torquay, with the help of the children.
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Rocombe Farm’s organic ice cream quickly became a success. Eventually, the couple partnered with Yeo Valley and moved production to a nearby factory. After a few years, they agreed to a friendly takeover. In the early 2000s, as foot and mouth disease swept through the countryside, they decided it was time to give up the cows. “We found a farmer not far away to take the whole herd. It allowed me to return to my art practice, while the children were also growing up,” says Suzanne.
When Suzanne began participating in the open studios of local artists, the couple began using their now-vacant farm buildings to help establish, in 2003, the nine-day community-based Art Farm Project, which involved approximately 50 artist works displayed there and around the property, drawing thousands to Rocombe.
Suzanne and Peter’s children live and work all over the world, but return with their children for long periods on the farm. Both enjoy the community spirit that comes with the latest phase of their lives. Six young families, some with artistic connections, now live in the houses created by the Red Stones. The couple always wanted to live “as a community, with independence, but in close contact with other people”, says Peter. “We see a lot of these people and it feels like a very healthy way to be.”
