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As day broke on November 1, elephant safaris for tourists in the Kaziranga National Park resumed after a long pandemic-induced break. Many local residents heaved a sigh of relief, hoping the vacationers would finally start flocking in.

But a few kilometres away from where the elephant safaris started, Jaya Dutta woke up to a sight that made her break down: her coconut trees, which had just started flowering, lay on the ground, probably felled in a nocturnal onslaught by a hungry pachyderm.

This was the second loss of property in a month. In October, Duttas family and three of their neighbours were told in October that they were living inside the premises of the national park. The choice was theirs, an official from the district administration reportedly told them: dismantle your homes voluntarily or face eviction. The former, the official told them, would be less messy for everyone it would let them preserve valuables they possessed and claiming compensation would be easier. Soon, the district administration followed up with a formal eviction notice.

So sometime in the second week of October, as the rains let up, they hammered down their hearths, built several decades ago. That was the only home my husband had ever known, said Dutta. He was born in that house, his father died in it. Now it is gone.

The Duttas, the poorest among the four families facing eviction, shifted to a primary school building a few metres away. But each day, Dutta would go back to where their old home stood, pluck fruits from the trees she had grown over the years and sell them in the nearby market by the highway further south. Her family lived on these earnings as her husband was sick and unable to work. The other day, I sold the gooseberries and brought rice, she said. The coconuts had started flowering. I was pinning my hopes on the coconuts, but now they are gone, too.

Evictions in Kaziranga usually attract a lot of media attention in Assam, but there was scant coverage of the events of October in the local press. This is perhaps because only a few families were displaced and no force was used the Duttas and their neighbours voluntarily tore down their homes.

But the displacement is not isolated. It flows from a Gauhati High Court order in 2015, directing evictions to clear land for the reserve forest, that could affect nearly 700 families, their homes and their fields. So far, the administration has dragged its feet on the evictions. But the court has now demanded a status report by November 23.

The Kaziranga National Park is now more than twice the size that it was in January 1974, when it was first notified as a park. From 430 square kilometres, it has swelled to 914 square kilometres, courtesy nine additions to the park area over the decades. The latest three additions, amounting to 30 square kilometres, were notified in September by the state government.

These additions have often been sources of conflict between the authorities and the local population. Although the idea of the park has been more or less accepted, this has not been the case of its additions, notes researcher Jolle Smadja.

As Kaziranga became a focal point for Assamese pride, the tussles around the park from the periodic additions to who got evicted and who was allowed to stay within reserve limits became political. The politics of eviction was shaped by the larger anxiety in Assam, of foreigners taking over indigenous lands, .

The authorities have moved cautiously, and some allege, selectively. Before September this year, the last addition had been made in 1999. But large parts of these notified areas were not handed over to the park authorities until very recently. Some are still to be handed over, despite the court order.

The petition that was partly responsible for the court order for evictions was driven by the intention to remove illegal migrants from the additions and adjoining animal corridors. It was filed in 2012 by Mrinal Saikia, a Bharatiya Janata Party politician who is now a state legislator. Saikia alleged that some of those living in areas earmarked for the reserve were undocumented migrants from Bangladesh and part of the poaching racket operating in the park.

Saikias petition was clubbed with a suo motu petition by the Gauhati High Court. Alarmed by news reports it had taken up the matter of illegal poaching of rhinoceros and other wild animals in Kaziranga.

In 2013, when the court ordered evictions from the additions to the park within three months, it was challenged. Local residents in the additions, backed by the peasants rights group, Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti, moved the court. They were made party to the case.

They argued that the additions amounted to altering the parks borders and the Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972 did not allow such an exercise when the 2nd, 3rd and 5th additions were notified in 1985. Besides, while such a provision was inserted in the Act in 1992, the additions could only be made on the recommendation of the National Wildlife Board. The boards recommendations, they pointed out, had not been sought before notifying the 6th addition in 1999.

They also invoked the Forest Rights Act of 2006, which empowers forest-dwelling communities, lamenting that it had amounted to very little in Assam. In 2009, Gauhati High Court had adjudicated that state had no forest-dwelling communities a judgement that experts say was based on a poor reading of the historical and environmental complexities of the state.

But the court stuck to its original position. In November 2015, the court dismissed the local residents petitions, directing the civil administration to take expeditious steps to evict the inhabitants from these areas. The concept of national park in the Wildlife Act contemplates that there should be no human habitation, the court declared.

Outside the courtroom, Assam was undergoing a political churn at the time and Kaziranga was made a somewhat unlikely party to it.

The BJP had emerged as the most successful party in the 2014 Parliamentary elections, and was campaigning to dislodge the incumbent Congress in the 2016 state elections.

The party had liberally drawn on Kaziranga and its most famous inhabitant, the one-horned rhino, during its Lok Sabha election campaign, riding on increasing concerns about poaching, an emotive issue with the Assamese middle class. The rhino was Assams state animal, after all, and had become an enduring symbol of Assamese nationalism. The BJP left no stone unturned to make the poaching of rhinos in KNP into a highly-charged election issue, writes historian Arupjyoti Saikia in a recent essay.

For example, at a rally in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls, Narendra Modi, then the BJPs prime ministerial candidate, accused the Congress-led state government of promoting the poaching of Kazirangas rhinos the pride of Assam to make space for illegal migrants.

It was the first time in the history of the state, observers say, that the issue of poaching was so explicitly fused with the contentious subject of undocumented migration to seek votes.

Commenting on the prime ministers speech, social scientist Sanjoy Barbora writes: For people who were about to vote for new representatives in the states legislative assembly, references to settlers and outsiders evoked memories of violence that had become a regular feature of political mobilisation in the state since the 1980s.

Not surprisingly, the BJP swept the Assam elections of 2016, riding largely on an anti-immigrant campaign that often invoked the rhino.

Not too long after, the government started its first eviction drive in Kaziranga, ostensibly to implement the 2015 courts order. The previous Congress government had not acted on it before it was voted out of power. But its target was not any of the additions, but the villages of Banderdubi, Deuchur-chang and Palkhowa.

In its order, the court had also asked for these villages to be cleared although they were not part of the national park or its additions at the time.

Banderdubi and Deuchur-chang were recorded as revenue villages in government records most inhabitants had permanent land titles. Yet the court said that the villages stood on what was once forest land and insisted that such land could not be de-reserved and converted to revenue village as the state government had done.

It is perhaps not so difficult to understand why the government chose these villages first: they were home largely to Muslims of immigrant origin, whom the BJP had branded as infiltrators in its high-pitched election campaign.

The eviction was an ugly affair two people died and several were injured as the police opened fire to disperse protesters resisting the demolition drive. But, cheered on by Assamese nationalist groups and the BJP high command, the state government maintained that eviction drives would continue.

They did not. In Kaziranga, things soon quietened down. The 2nd, 3rd, and 5th additions remained largely untouched (most of the 6th addition is the Brahmaputra river, barring some grazing fields with few human settlements, and the 4th addition is also largely uninhabited). District officials said eviction notices were issued in the 2nd addition, but they decided not to follow up on them, given the public sentiment at the time.

Although officials would not admit it in public, the reason behind the governments retreat is general knowledge in the area: the 2nd, 3rd, and 5th additions are inhabited largely by communities considered indigenous to Assam and tea tribes.

But just as the matter seemed to be slipping out off public consciousness, the high court took it up again in August, writing a letter to the forest department, asking for a status report.

On November 5, the Eastern Assam Wildlife Division issued a press statement saying the civil administration of Bokakhat sub-division under Golaghat district has handed over the 3rd and 5th addition areas to the Eastern Assam Wildlife Division of Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve.

The Duttas home was in the 5th addition.

According to the official records, a total of 32 eviction notices have been issued so far all in the 3rd and 5th additions. The more heavily populated 2nd addition, home to around 600 families, most of them belonging to the Mising tribe, has been spared as of now. We are starting with the 3rd and 5th additions it will happen in a phased manner, said Shagufta Suheliy, circle officer of Bokakhat under which the additions fall. We have to consider multiple factors the 3rd and 5th additions amount to a significant amount of land.

Suheliy said discussions with those who stand to be evicted and those who have voluntarily retreated had been positive. They were sceptical initially, but now they have understood, said the official. We have told them they would receive fair compensation and it will be disbursed soon.

Many feel they have little choice but to move. The brute force of the 2016 evictions seems to have had a chilling effect. You cant fight with the government, said Niru Dutta, whose family also razed their home in October after an eviction notice. We saw what happened in Banderdubi we just hope that the government gives us compensation as they have promised soon.

For communities considered indigenous, the question of compensation is far from settled. In Halodhibari, an Adivasi dominated village that is partly located in the 5th addition, the demand is land in lieu of land. Here, the village commons where people farm are under threat people have been told their fields fall in the 5th addition.

What use is monetary compensation if we dont get land to farm? asked Ajay Karmakar, a farmer from the village. How will we survive without our farms? If the government agrees to give us fertile land somewhere else, we will talk.

Karmakar added: We want a village exactly like what we have the same people, the school, everything. It cant be that only people with land titles get compensation or land.

In Sildubi-2, part of the 2nd addition, there are similar conversations. The village came into being in 1972, when the state government settled people from the Mising community whose land had been swallowed by the Brahmaputra further east. If the animals have rights, so do we as the indigenous people of the land, said Mithun Pasang, a young man from the village. But for the sake of Kaziranga, we are willing to make sacrifices if the government gives us land somewhere else Guwahati, Delhi, Bokakhat we dont care, but it has to be fertile land where we can farm.

Just monetary compensation, though, Pasang specified, was not good enough.

Sunil Das, the headman of Sildubi-1, who challenged the additions with seven others in the high court, took a similar line. Land for land that is it, he said. We have given enough of our ancestral lands to Kaziranga already. You cant just draw a line in the map, call it an addition and ask us to leave. Where will we go?

Others have recalibrated their demands over time. Darsingh Hanse, the headman of a village largely inhabited by the Karbi community, was also one of the petitioners in the high court case challenging the additions. The Karbis stand to lose acres and acres of farmland that falls in the 3rd addition.

Now, the community is willing to give up the land for the right price, said Hanse. We are tired of fighting as it is our crops get destroyed by the animals all the time, he explained. We know we will become landless after that, but so be it. For the sake of Kaziranga, we will give up our land, but theres one thing people should know: we are not encroachers; we belong here.

Local land rights activists predict that most people who seem to be adamant about land in lieu of land will ultimately agree if given fair monetary compensation. People know that new land is not possible, said Deep Gogoi, a Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti leader from the area. They will move, but the compensation has to be right.

Indeed, Birsa Orang, the headman of Halodhibari, who had moved court along with Das and Hanse, was also more non-committal than younger men in the village. We will have to discuss with everyone our people, the forest officials, he said when asked about the plan of action.

Observers of the conflict over the years say it is not surprising that resistance is wearing off. Media, largely urban based, portray them as encroachers and unhealthy neighbours to a heritage site, said Biswajit Sarma, a researcher from the Indian Institute of Technology in Guwahati who works on Kaziranga. Obviously, nobody wants to live with such fears and slurs.

But how willingly people move would depend on the range and nature of compensation, he added. If compensation is solely determined by possession of permanent titles, several hundred families do not have it, said Sarma. People living in and around the park had settled there over the years under a variety of circumstances many of them were victims of erosion and rehabilitated by the government in those areas, explained Sarma.

Such historical and ecological factors behind village settlement are important in determining compensation and alternate livelihood opportunities, Sarma said. Evidence suggests that brutal dispossession leaves an intergenerational public memory. A hostile segment of population is inimical to the interest of the park and wildlife in the longer run.

Gogoi spoke along similar lines. The Misings of Sildubi dont have land titles, he said. But how can you call them encroachers each Mising person is akin to a land title themselves.

Conservationists and forest officials, however, say that time is running out and sentiments need to be kept aside. They went to court and lost, said Uttam Saikia, a local journalist and resident, and currently Kazirangas Honorary Wildlife Warden. Now they have no logic but only emotional pitches of indigenous, etc. What is illegal is illegal.

Saikia said if the additions were not cleared of human settlements quickly, trouble lay ahead. They are blocking corridors, forcing the animals to take other routes and that will inevitably lead to new human-animal conflicts, he said. My point is simple do you want to save Kaziranga or not?

Robin Sharma, research officer at the park, spoke of disappearing forest cover because of human settlements and the pressure it was putting on animal habitat. The rhino, even if it wants to, cannot just go anywhere else, he said. But people can definitely go to another town or village.

P Sivakumar, the parks director, said it was imperative that land additions be made to maintain the success story of rhino conservation in Kaziranga. Theres an upper limit on how many animals can sustain in a fixed area, he said. After that, we cannot have a healthy population.

With the current area at its disposal, the park cannot sustain more than 3,000 rhinos, said Sivakumar. It is currently home to around 2,400.

But local residents say that the rhino cant be saved at the expense of people. It is simply not possible, said Gogoi. From poaching to floods, we have always given protection to the rhinos. So if they think rhinos will thrive if they throw all humans out, they are wrong.

Observers say that the debate between contrasting views of conservation can only be settled through a long- term and comprehensive ecological study, which Kaziranga has never seen. We dont know the entire gamut of challenges the park faces and how far the current measures form logical solutions, said Sarma.

In India, he said, conservation was still subjected to the paradigm that only a complete separation of human and wildlife habitat will protect the wildlife. This was misguided, he felt: only a paradigm that assures inclusion and mutual trust can produce sustainable results in conservation.

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As Kaziranga National Park spreads, residents tear down their homes before they are evicted - Scroll.in

USA TODAY Sports' Paul Myerberg breaks down the latest Amway Coaches Poll. USA TODAY

Florida quarterback Kyle Trask is the talk of college football.

Through six games, the senior has thrown 28 touchdowns in 211 attempts, putting him ahead of the record-setting pace set last season by LSU quarterback Joe Burrow, who would win the Heisman Trophy in a landslide.

The competition for the Heisman is a bit stiffer in 2020. In terms of college production, in fact, this year's quarterback class is ramping up to be one of the best in recent history.

Here's a look at the best of the best the 10 best Bowl Subdivision quarterbacks during a season when two dozen or more passers are under consideration.

1. Kyle Trask, Florida

Burrow played 15 games last season. Trask won't play as many during this unique year. But if his current pace is extrapolated across 15 games, Trask would ended up with 525 attempts, nearly exactly the same amount as Burrow (527) tossed in 2019. And at the rate set through six games, Trask would eclipse Burrow's mark of 60 passing touchdowns and throw for roughly the same amount of yardage (5,428 to Burrow's 5,671).

Trask's pace may be unsustainable. But it's worth noting that Burrow's 2019 totals included games against Georgia Southern, Northwestern State and Utah State. In nine conference games, Burrow threw 32 touchdowns on 10.4 yards per attempt. As noted, Trask is sitting at 28 scores on 10.3 yards per attempt through six games against the SEC.

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2. Justin Fields, Ohio State

Fields has a chance at reclaiming some national attention in this week's matchup against unbeaten Indiana. Through three games, he has as many touchdowns (11) as incompletions, which is nearly as mind-boggling as his completion percentage (86.7%).

Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields has accounted for more touchdowns (13) than incompletions (11) this season(Photo: Jamie Sabau, Getty Images)

3. Trevor Lawrence, Clemson

After missing two games following his positive test for COVID-19, including Clemson's overtime loss to Notre Dame, Lawrence is scheduled to return Saturday against Florida State. The Seminoles are a friendly matchup: Lawrence has thrown seven touchdowns in his two games in this former rivalry, both lopsided wins. Through six games in 2020, Lawrence has made three appearances and 14 attempts in the fourth quarter.

4. Mac Jones, Alabama

Will Jones and this offense have any rust when Alabama retakes the field Saturday against Kentucky? The Crimson Tide haven't played since Halloween, with a normal off week followed by the cancellation of last week's game against LSU after the Tigers' outbreak of COVID-19 cases. Even withoutplayingthis month, Jones ranks eighth in the Bowl Subdivision in passing yards, first in yards per attempt and third in efficiency rating.

5. Zach Wilson, Brigham Young

As conferences races heat up in the Power Five and Group of Five, BYU is set to end its regular season against North Alabama and San Diego State. Can Wilson make enough noise in these games to remain in the Heisman mix? (The same can be asked of BYU's chances of being a College Football Playoff contender.) Even if not, Wilson's play in 2020 puts him in the upper echelon of passers in program history, which is a statement in itself given the Cougars' history at the position.

BYU quarterback Zach Wilson scores a touchdown against Louisiana Tech during the second half at LaVell Edwards Stadium.(Photo: Rick Bowmer, Pool photo via USA TODAY Sports)

6. Sam Howell, North Carolina

Howell can't be blamed for the play of the Tar Heels' defense, which has struggled against ACC competition and hit a low in Saturday's 59-53 win against Wake Forest. The sophomore is at his best when in a shootout, however: In the four games when UNC has given up at least 30 points,Howell has throw for 1,624 yards on 12.9 yards per attempt and 16 touchdowns with two interceptions.

7. D'Eriq King, Miami (Fla.)

While limited as a runner by Virginia Tech, which accounted for six sacks and eight tackles for loss, King threw for 255 yards and a score to key the Hurricanes' fourth-quarter comeback and 25-24 win. Though other factors are at play another offseason under coach Manny Diaz, other additions in recruiting and via transfers King's arrival from Houston this offseason has played an enormous role in Miami's development into an ACC and playoff contender.

8. Dillon Gabriel, Central Florida

With Gabriel under center, UCF leads the nation in passing plays of 20 or more yards (47), ranks second in plays of 30 or more yards (25), first in plays of 40 or more yards (17) and is one of two teams, with Alabama, with two or more completions of 80 or more yards. The sophomore is playing the best football of his young career heading into Saturday's matchup with Cincinnati.

9. Kellen Mond, Texas A&M

Overshadowed in the SEC by Trask and Jones, Mond has been terrific in his past two games, with a combined 484 yards and seven touchdowns without an interceptionin wins against Arkansas and South Carolina. The senior and multiple-year starter has A&M smack in the mix for a playoff berth.

10. Malik Willis, Liberty

The former Auburn transfer has a shot at joining the short list of FBS quarterbacks to post 2,000 passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards in the same season. With three games left in coach Hugh Freeze's quarterback-friendly system,Willis has thrown for 1,645 yards on 9.1 yards per attempt and run for 700 yards on 7.1 yards per carry with a combined 24 touchdowns.

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Ranking the best QBs in college football through Week 11 of the 2020 season: Kyle Trask's pace is record-setting - USA TODAY

The governments 10-point plan for putting the UK on track to reach net zero carbon emissions has been welcomed by experts as a good start, but many fear that the 12bn of public investment proposed will be too little to achieve the sweeping changes to the UKs economy that will be needed.

Sir David King, a former government chief scientist and chair of the Centre for Climate Repair at Cambridge University, said: [This] is nowhere near enough either to manage the commitment to net zero emissions by 2050 or to provide a safe future. As we emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic and its impact on our economy, there needs to be an understanding that this is the opportunity to grow our economy in a direction that is fit for purpose in this century.

He contrasted the 12bn with Chinas commitment to investing 2.1% of GDP in the green economy. We need clarity from the government on the transitional process over the coming decade that would include major investments into promising greenhouse gas removal technologies, and disinvestments from the fossil fuel industry, King said.

PwC has estimated that 400bn of investment in green infrastructure is required in the next decade to meet the net zero target. Steve Jennings, the head of energy and utilities at PwC, said: Government is signalling an intent and an ambition which is really positive, but the 12bn investment is the significant point. This may not be enough. It will be the private sector that has to invest significantly and create and support these green jobs, and the private sector will look for a compelling investment case to invest the sums required.

Ed Davey, the leader of the Liberal Democrats and a former energy and climate secretary in the coalition government, said: Its shockingly unambitious this is not the long-term strategy we need, and I dont trust the Conservatives to deliver given what they have been doing in the last few years.

A government spokesman conceded that only 3bn of the funding announced was new. Of the 12bn, 3bn of it is brand-new investment, which crosses over the different range of areas, he said. Just as important as the money, Id point to the targets that are contained in the plan, not just in terms of petrol and diesel vehicles, but also the targets we have put in place around heat pumps, carbon capture, and restoring the natural environment and nature.

The solar industry pointed out that the government had missed out solar from its green plans, though there may be more detail in the energy white paper, which is expected later this year.

Some in the electric vehicle industry were also nervous. Charley Grimston, the chief executive of Altelium, which makes software for electric vehicles, said: 500m for mass-scale production of batteries does not compare to investment in countries such as Germany, where figures are in the billions for new battery manufacturing plants.

For some of the items on the 10-point list, public funding will play only a minor role. Offshore wind companies, for instance, are expected to invest tens of billions in building new windfarms. Offshore wind is mature technology, and companies need only the right system of energy regulation to reassure them they can turn a profit and spur them to invest.

Car manufacturers are expected to take the lead on electric vehicles, investing in new plant and training the workforce, and North Sea oil and gas companies are regarded as well placed to move into hydrogen fuel and carbon capture and storage technology.

This means the 12bn from taxpayers will be only a start, and would be quickly outweighed by private-sector investment. Chris Stark, the chief executive of the Committee on Climate Change, pointed out on Twitter: Private offshore wind investment alone would dwarf the 12bn Majority will be private investment, with some public investment alongside.

Keith Anderson, the chief executive of Scottish Power, which plans to invest 10bn in green projects in the UK, said the government did not need to spend more taxpayer money to reach its goals, if it set up the right investment frameworks to galvanise private capital.

I dont think the government needs to spend huge amounts of taxpayer money, he told the Guardian. If we have proper policy framework and investment frameworks then money will flow into the system quite readily. Take the offshore wind sector, for example: the government stated an ambition, set up its [contracts for difference] mechanism, and this has created a self-perpetuating industrial success story. We are starting to see the same thing in electric vehicles where costs are beginning to come down.

There is a catch, however: currently, the cost of greening the power sector has been met by additions to electricity bills, which can be controversial and which hit the poorest hardest. The UKs only new nuclear power plant under construction, Hinkley Point C, was agreed under a deal with the French company EDF that will require billpayers to pay more than 90 per megawatt hour for 35 years, estimated to put as much as 18 on each households bill per year.

If the government is to avoid loading future costs on to bills, a more equitable way will need to be found. The prime minister has hinted at carbon pricing, but who would pay and how such a system would be managed has yet to be set out.

Another problem is that for many of the projects, there is no clear way to encourage private-sector investment. For instance, redesigning towns and cities to encourage cycling and walking is likely to fall to local authorities, but the sums so far made available to them are not close to enough for the large-scale transformation required.

Restoring nature and planting trees will also be costly, and is likely to have to come from the public purse, some of it in the form of subsidies to farmers. Hilary McGrady, the director general of the National Trust, welcomed the governments promise of 80m for a nature recovery fund, but added: We know that billions are needed to restore nature and make the sort of impact thats required to tackle climate change. We will need long-term commitments of reliable funding, including through the new agricultural system, and further deeper commitments to achieve the goals set out in the governments 25-year plan for the environment.

Public-sector investment is not just a cost. Using energy more efficiently will be a saving, and moving to renewable energy will cut fuel costs, while green jobs will be an economic boon.

The benefits will also be felt in improved public health and wellbeing, as well as a safer climate. For instance, the Federation of Master Builders estimates that insulating the UKs draughty homes will save the NHS at least 2bn a year in preventable illness, and switching to electric vehicles will prevent some of the 40,000 deaths each year from air pollution. The CBI has calculated that 3m working days are lost each year to air pollution at present.

Some experts want the government to put in place longer-term mechanisms that will mean that new low-carbon technologies pay for themselves over time. Myles Allen, a professor of geosystem science at Oxford University, said: The prime minister doesnt say who is going to pay for carbon capture in the long term. Its fine to use public money to get it going, but its not fair on taxpayers to spend all that without a clear business model for the private sector to take over.

There is a really simple solution called a carbon takeback obligation which would spread the cost over the entire fossil fuel industry and its customers, keeping it manageable and fair. Bring this in and net zero by 2050 really does start to look within reach.

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Is 12bn enough to get UK on track for net zero carbon emissions? - The Guardian

We could all use a little inspiration right about now, and this new book certainly fits the bill.

[Photo: courtesy Phaidon]Life Meets Art takes readers around the globe, through time, and inside the homes of famous creative people. As part of the research process, author Sam Lubell visited many of the 250 homes featured in the book before the coronavirus hit, taking in the scent of the space, listening to its ambient sounds, and seeing how the light hit the walls.

The resulting selection leaves much to ogle at, and is a feast both for the eyes and imagination. Many of the homes have a style that mirrors the owners professional aesthetic (leopard print abounds at Diane von Furstenbergs home, for instance). But Lubell says there were surprises too, and peoples hidden talents emerged from the woodwork of their homes. Author Edith Wharton was a skilled designer, and in 1901 collaborated with architect Ogden Codman Jr. on her classical home in Lenox, Massachusetts. And it turns out the writer of Les Misrables, Victor Hugo, was also a furniture maker, and crafted eccentric new pieces out of disparate parts. No matter what the homes look likefrom surreal to glamorous to traditionalLubell says all of them are a reflection of owners who were constantly starting trends, not following them.

Here are a few of the most eye-popping homes.

The late fashion icon bought this two-floor penthouse, formerly the home of author PG Wodehouse, in Londons Mayfair neighborhood in 2009. The designer was in the process of converting the space when he died in 2010. Design firm Paul Davies London has since made the interior a tribute to McQueen, featuring luxe champagne-colored seating and glittering chandeliers that are juxtaposed against black walls and a skull motif that will be familiar to fans. The private residence went up for sale in 2016.

The 1942 home of the Danish architect, whom Lubell calls a national treasure, is an airy, light-filled delight. Considered one of the pioneers of the Danish Modern movement, Juhls former home has white walls and natural wood floors, which are the perfect backdrop for his own furniture, including the FJ 45 armchair and Chieftan lounger chair, in which the armrests and back are separated from the frame. Though the preserved space is currently closed to the public, you can take a virtual tour.

The industrial designers townhouse in Manhattans Hells Kitchen is a sparkling white canvas built for splashes of color. Sky-high ceilings and stark white walls recede from focus, putting the emphasis on individual pieces: a Sit Kit Luca Boffi sofa, a mandarin orange Gufram Bounce Chair, and large carpet with overlapping, organic blots of fuchsia, purple, lavender, and lime green. Sorry, you cant see this one in personits a private residence.

Lubell says visiting the former residence of this modernist architect is a must (though, unfortunately, its temporarily closed to visitors). The VDL Research House was built in 1932 and named after philanthropist C.H. Van Der Leeuw, who provided Neutra with a loan to build it. It sits atop a hill near Los Angeless Silver Lake reservoir and has some serious views. But theres much to be admired on its interior, too: a modular design considered ahead of its time; tall, windowed clerestories, glazed walls and dividers. After a 1963 fire, Neutra and his son redesigned the space with a more complex layout and to better account for sunlight, says Lubell.

All those in favor of maximalism, this is the home for you. Nineteenth-century English painter Lord Frederic Leightons 1864 London residence, designed by architect George Aitchison, extravagantly combines traditional British style with that of his travels across the Middle East. A two-story hall features a gold chandelier and arched, gold mosaic windows. In another room, corinthian columns contrast with jewel-toned, blue Moorish tiles, and in another, a gallery wall is treated in olive green silk below a massive polygonal skylight. The residence is open to the public.

Valadons apartment and studio, in the Montmartre neighborhood of Paris, reveals the many layers to her life. Valadon started as a model for Auguste Renoir and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec in the 1880s, went on to train with Edgar Degas, and eventually became a painter herself. But Lubell says she always fought for recognition. Some rooms, tight on space, reveal the hardships of her life. But her studios tall windows and skylights make it bright and spacious. The space was restored in 2014 and is generally open to the public.

The 1986 home of the Spanish sculptor and painter is light-filled and airy. Creamy white walls are punctuated by built-in stone shelving that houses ceramic pots of all sizes. A large, off-white sectional sits below a tall, natural ceiling with exposed timber beams, creating a peaceful, traditional escape on the volcanic island of Lanarote in the Canary Islands. The residence is generally open to the public.

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See inside the stunning homes of the world's most famous architects and designers - Fast Company

Grand Rapids Chair Company had a careful plan laid out: to slowly, deliberately break into home.

The Michigan-based company, founded in 1997, has built a sizable international business making seating for restaurants, and creative director Dean Jeffery reasoned that it could make a dent in the residential business with its new brand, Only Good Things. A lot of e-commerce furniture brands are focused on big upholstered pieces like sofas, and the kitchen and dining rooms are an afterthought, he says. So, we thought it was a chance for us to expand. The initial goal was to launch in 2022, stretching development over a nice-and-easy three-year period. Then 2020 happened, and Jeffreys timeline was cut down to six months.

Its no secret that the restaurant industry has been hit hard during the pandemic, and that is primarily where our customers are, says Jeffery. Many of the companys hospitality project orders were put on hold or canceled altogether. The push for residential and e-commerce was something that the pandemic almost forced us to do. We had to throw caution to the wind and jump in full force before it was too late.

Grand Rapids was hardly alone. This spring, after the initial shock and disorientation of COVID died down, a new reality began to settle inand it wasnt good for the commercial interior design industry. Hotels, facing a devastating drop-off in bookings, canceled planned renovations. Restaurants and retail shops have found it hard enough to stay afloat, never mind investing in a new look. And maybe youve heard that the office is dead?

Facing a ruinous landscape, many manufacturers and design firms that specialize in commercial work have zeroed in on a new market for their goods and services: the home.

FAST-TRACKING E-COMMERCE

The most obvious example of this pivot has come from office furniture makers, who have all become work-from-home furniture makers. Some of that move was simplea few product tweaks and some new marketing copy. But behind the scenes, going from office to home office is complicated by the fact that big contract players arent used to selling to individual homeowners.

Their challenge has been to not only recast their product for the home, but find a way to actually get it there. That shift had already been in the works before COVID, says Amanda Schneider, founder of Chicago design research agency ThinkLab, and host of the Design Nerds Anonymous podcast, a show that explores macro trends in contract design. The pivot to serve residential customers is more about becoming digital so anyone can buy your product without complex distribution, she tells Business of Home.

The debut collection from Only Good Things, the new residential brand from Grand Rapids Chair CompanyCourtesy of Only Good Things

This push helps explain why the big legacy players have been snapping up smaller DTC companies. Last year, for example, Pennsylvania-based furniture giant Knoll acquired buzzy Portland, Oregonbased online office furniture maker Fully, whose revenue growth subsequently shot up 100 percent. Not to be outdone, another major contract player, Indiana-based Kimball International, acquired New Yorkbased DTC furniture maker Poppin earlier this month.

In other words, the big makers of office furniture were already looking to get better at selling direct to small businesses and homeowners, but the pandemic has sped things up.

Of course, big corporations have the option of simply buying their way into a new distribution channel. The COVID-19 era has been harder on small and midsize hospitality-focused brands like Grand Rapids. Plus, there are built-in challenges for commercial makers of any size.

Last year, Knoll acquired Fully, a DTC maker of office (and home office) furniture.Courtesy of Knoll

Residential brands have spent years building relationships with designers at the big A&D firms and making sure theyre using their product, says Jeffery. And often, those designers are using that companys product in their own homes, where they are interacting with a piece every day. Our products have never had that chance, because they go into hotels and restaurants.

Ironically, it was an entirely different macro change in the market that convinced Jeffery to shoot for the home: the slide toward resimercial. As hospitality design has moved into a more homey territory, weve seen this massive push from designers asking if they can spec our pieces for residential work, he says. That was the [original] catalyst for Only Good Things.

While ideally, the brand would have debuted with a mostly original portfolio of new designs with a sprinkling of bestsellers from Grand Rapids Chair Company, speeding up the timeline meant that it had to rely entirely on existing designs from the commercial line. For this initial launch, the only change from one brand to the other was to retool some color schemes. Only Good Things is, at base, a commercial collection remarketed for the home.

A COMMERCIAL DROUGHT

Of course, its not only commercial manufacturers who have been affected by the drying up of contract workdesign firms felt the impact first. According to research that Schneiders firm conducted, new leads have been stagnant for the majority of the pandemic: Anywhere from 60 to 75 percent of respondents have consistently reported that they have either very few bids or none at all.

A window from a residential project by ArcsineCourtesy of Arcsine

Adam Winig, co-founder of Oakland, Californiabased architecture and design studio Arcsine, has seen those numbers play out in real time. With a portfolio full of stylish restaurants and hotels, Arcsine was directly in the path of COVID disruption; Winig reports that the pandemic led to a 50 to 60 percent drop-off in commercial work. A number of our airport restaurant projects, [which were] in varying stages of design and permitting, have been put on hold, he tells BOH. Additionally, several of our non-airport restaurants went on hold or were terminated fully.

To make up the difference, Winig has been looking to grow the residential side of his business. Luckily, he had prior experience. Prior to co-founding Arcsine, my primary focus was on luxury residential projects. [Here], high-end residential has always been part of our purview; however, it was less actively sought afterwe took on projects that came directly to us, he says. When our contract work started to take a hit, I leaned into [my] network and reconnected with general contractors I had worked with in the past.

The pandemic also caused a sharp decline in commercial work for New Yorkbased design firm Workshop/APD, which normally splits its time roughly 50-50 between residential and contract projects. However, company principal Andrew Kotchen says this swing is not the first time business has gone topsy-turvy, and they were ready for it. Coming out of the 2008 recession, we made a conscious effort to diversify beyond just single-family residential projects into commercial and hospitality so that we would not be so vulnerable to a slowdown in one sector that could crush our business, he tells BOH.

Taking on commercial work helped Workshop/APD find its way out of the last big market disruption. Holding on to residential work has helped it weather this one.

TAPPING INTO COMMERCIAL EXPERTISE

While there are clear challenges for commercial brands looking to break into the crowded home market, they also bring evident advantages. A design firm accustomed to the strict deadlines and budgets of commercial work may hold unique appeal for an antsy homeowner. And a designer who focuses on luxury hotels doesnt need to reinvent the wheel to tackle a bedroom refresh.

Makers of commercial product, too, have unique strengths, says Jeffery. Because Grand Rapids Chair Company manufactures all of its products to contract-grade standards, there are multiple durability tests baked into its process. Residential brands dont have the quality were able to offer, he explains. You go into a big box furniture store and sit on a chair, and while it might look great, you can tell that its worn out just from being on display. How is that going to hold up in your home? Were selling at those same prices, but our pieces will last.

The debut collection from Only Good Things focuses on seating and tables.Courtesy of Only Good Things

Another advantage: The scale of commercial production volume (a typical order is in the realm of 30 chairs, as opposed to two or three), allows Only Good Things to keep its pricing competitive with West Elm or Blu Dot for a trade-quality product.

And the fact that all of Grand Rapids Chair Companys products are made in America has been a benefit during a year when delays have been rampant in overseas production. We saw a lot of new customers who were looking for domestic manufacturing because they were facing such lengthy lead times, says Jeffery.

A BALANCING ACT

There are good and bad aspects to COVID-19s drawn-out vice grip on every aspect of American lifeincluding the design business. Pfizer and Modernas remarkably effective vaccines, announced back to back, are reasons to be hopeful. Skyrocketing case numbers across the country are a sobering reminder that its going to get worse before it gets better.

News coming out of the commercial corner of the industry suggests similar patterns. BOHs sources report that commercial work has been perking up a little in recent months. However, its an occasional project here and therenot an avalanche of new workand everyone expects contract design to remain depressed throughout 2021. In other words, theyll be staying in the home for a while to come.

But when COVID-19 ends, will they all rush back to the commercial side of the industry? Most, it seems, are planning to keep their options open. Only Good Things gives us more freedom to expand beyond just furniture with things like lighting or accessories, says Jeffery. It has so much potential to be nimble and grow in different directions.

Homepage image: Sherman upholstered dining chairs in Rust Velvet; courtesy of Only Good Things

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Commercial designers are coming for the home - Business of Home

Designing the Hamptons: Long Island's Luxury Homes

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The Hamptons are defined by a storied past. As wealthy New Yorkers were drawn to this part of Long Islands South Fork for the last century and a half, they increasingly built a series of exclusive and luxurious homes. Today, new residences along the coastline are some of the most expensive properties in the United States. As summer homes and vacation getaways, many of these residences are designed as private retreats surrounded by nature.

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Homes in the Hamptons have become synonymous with decadence. Popularized through television and film, this string of seaside communities are built around diverse landscapes. Between Long Islands dense woodlands and sandy beaches, new homes embrace the outdoors and provide space for recreation and relaxation. Close to sea level and surrounded by nature, they are made with new approaches to Long Island design while including ample space for an affluent few.

Set among fields along the south-facing coast of Long Island and within a short walk to the ocean, this Hamptons residence is a quiet refuge for a growing family and offers extraordinary views of the surrounding landscape. The residence lies parallel to the water, looking south into preserved agricultural land and north to a field of wildflowers and native grasses.

The Peconic House is comprised of a 4,000-square-foot building and 2,000-square-foot terrace. Gently wedged into a hillock just north of the great sycamore and featuring low-slung proportions, the residence is designed to preserve the trees sun exposure and original views to Peconic Bay. Its roof is planted with native meadow grasses to camouflage human intervention.

The goal for this Hamptons pool house was to create a maximum variety of experiences within a relatively small set of indoor and outdoor spaces, all within eyeshot and earshot of each other. Moving through the space reveals a range of dedicated areas: a seating area with fireplace, trellised sections that frame the sky, as well as enclosed areas for storage, a changing room and bathroom.

Straddling freshwater wetlands and a tidal estuary just six feet above sea level, this houses site demanded sensitivity to environmental concerns. The houses basic massing was limited to a one-story, 1,900 square foot design, raised eight feet above the ground. The spaces within this envelope are articulated by a structural system thatorganizes the home.

Building codes in the Hamptons specify that a pool house can only contain 200 square feet of interior space. Here, the interior section maxing out at exactly 200 square feet, and enclosable by folding doors was carefully crafted to maximize the space: it contains a kitchenette, bathroom, day bed and chair.

Located at the edge of a heavily wooded 3-acre plot in East Hampton, New York, The C+S house is a complete redesign and renovation of an existing 1970s era residence and serves as a retreat for the Manhattan based clients; a graphic designer, and an art consultant and curator. Clean lines and minimalist details were chosen to breathe new life into the existing house.

Designed by Blaze Makoid Architecture with interiors by Purvi Padia Design, this 17,000 square foot family compound is located on a flat, four-and-a-half-acre flag lot in the Hamptons with views of Sagg Pond. It was conceived of as a garden wall in that the landscape connects agrarian inspired outbuildings.

This residence is primarily used when the clients extended family comes from England for long visits. The design objective was to make unique spaces by providing a range of destinations within the site through diverse scales, functions, and views: from gathering in the expansive living room overlooking the fields of the former peach orchard to reading alone on a shaded bench between the library and the edge of the forest.

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Designing the Hamptons: Long Island's Luxury Homes - ArchDaily

Author Nathan Watson - November 18, 2020November 18, 2020Making your home warm and inviting isnt hardespecially with these tips from Lauren Murphy. Photo via Lauren Murphy Realtor LAH Real Estate on Facebook

Whether youre staying home and self-quarantiningor having family and friends over, thesetips will make your home feel festive through the season and beyond.We turned to Lauren Murphy, local interior designer and agent at LAH Real Estate, to learn more.

Based right here in Birmingham, Lauren Murphy can do it all. As an interior designer and realtor at LAH Real Estate, Lauren is dedicated to finding her clients the perfect houseand then using her passion for interior design to bring their vision to life.

Lauren grew up in Alabama, graduating with a degree in Interior Design from The University of Alabama and obtaining a masters in Historic Preservation from the University of Georgia. Afterwards, she moved to Birmingham, where she lives with her husband and two precious puppies.

When we wanted to learn more about sprucing up our homes this Thanksgiving, we knew where to turnthe experts at LAH Real Estate.

Tidying up around your home may seem like a no-brainer, but it truly makes a huge difference. Whether its finally getting to that pile of laundry or dusting in places you normally pass over, little steps like that can make your home seem even more open and inviting.

Whether youre having people over or trying to sell your home, decluttering is a MUST! Storing away any personal items and tidying up around the home makes a huge difference when you have guests.

Now that your home is nice and tidy, its time to add some visual flair:

Personally, I like all my big furniture pieces and staples to be neutral tones. Then, I use accent pieces with color to mix things up. That way, you can change your statement pieces if you need to without replacing all of your furniture.

One of the best ways to make your home feel natural and alive is by addingyou guessed itplant life! You can find eye-catching greenery at places like Botanica, Shoppe and even Trader Joes. P.S. Trader Joes has small white pumpkins that make excellent centerpieces.

Plants arent the only way to make your home warm and inviting. Candles and diffusers are an easy way to add a welcoming scent to your homethe trick is finding the scent that works for you.

Pro tip: Shy away from overpowering scents like cinnamonfind a fresh, subtle scent. You can even make your own at several local hand-poured candle companies in Birmingham.

P.S. use fresh Eucalyptus from Trader Joes in the shower. When the hot shower steam gets going it lets off a nice aroma. Always a plus to make guests feel like they are staying in a luxuriousBed & Breakfast!

Whether youre looking to spruce up your home for the holidays, or hoping to get your home ready to sell, the experts at LAH Real Estate know all the tips and tricks to turn your house into a home!

Reach out to the team at your local branch to get started:

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3 tips from local interior designer Lauren Murphy to make your Thanksgiving celebration festive + cozy - Bham Now

These custom built homes are the stuff dreams are made of, showcasing exceptional design and building prowess. They beat strong competition this year to win their categories.

Winner: Split Building Custom Built Home Up to $600,000

A double height void defines the living space in this new build by Split Building. It won the Custom Built Home up to $600,000 category.

Central to the design of this stylish architect-designed home is a double height void with gallery space on the upper level leading to the bedrooms. The kitchen is tucked under the bedrooms on the ground floor and leads onto a fully equipped outdoor entertaining area. Timber has been used along with cladding to add warmth to this light and bright home.

splitbuilding.com.au

This new house by Split Building has a fully equipped outdoor kitchen and entertaining space.

Winner: Solitary Designer Homes Custom Built Home $600,000 to $1 million

This new home by Solitary Designer Homes won the Custom Built $600,000 to $1 million category.

Lightweight construction and generous use of louvred windows were the perfect choice for this seaside house, allowing it to make the most of the north-easterly breezes. Designed to step down the site in three parts to manage height issues without losing out on ocean views, there are separate areas for the children and adults, offering easy access to the decks and pool. Working with a sloping site had its challenges but the result is a stunning contemporary family home.

solitarydesignerhomes.com.au

This spectacular home by Solitary Designer Homes has been designed to step down the steep site.

Winner: Hammerhead Building Projects Custom Built Home $1 million to $2 million

This house built by Hammerhead Building Projects references Japanese design.

Taking inspiration from the owner's Japanese heritage, this home in the Byron Bay hinterland is a collection of separate wings connected by a low-profile roofline. The floorplan has been designed for flexibility, with living areas positioned to take advantage of the north and easterly aspects while also being able to open up to the south for better cross-ventilation. Natural materials dominate in this beautifully crafted house, including stone and Australian timbers.

hammerheadbuilding.com.au

Indoor/outdoor flow is fundamental to this house built by Hammerhead Building Projects.

Winner: Bellevarde Constructions Custom Built House over $4 million

This extraordinary house built by Bellevarde Constructions won the Custom Built over $4 million category.

As impressive as it is, it's the work you cannot see that makes this Point Piper house designed by Durbach Bloch Jaggers so exceptional. Extensive excavation and underpinning anchor this four-level off-form concrete harbourside home into place. Punctuated by double-storey voids and angled balconies, the house has a 7m-wide glass roof made from a single piece of glass that had to be craned into position. It has a smart-home system, underfloor heating, sauna and triple car stacker.

bellevardeconstructions.com.au

Originally published as Check out the best newly built homes in NSW

Concrete formwork is the standout in this amazing project by Bellevarde Constructions.

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Check out the best newly built homes in NSW - Daily Examiner

While there has always been a kinship between the fashion and the home industries, the two have only grown closer this year during the pandemic. (Hello, cashmere loungewear.) But it was months before COVID-19 hit that Kym Gold, co-founder of denim brand True Religion, made the decision to step away from clothing retail to launch Style Union Home, a Los Angelesbased pottery and lifestyle brand.

Kym GoldCourtesy of Style Union Home

Golds interest in ceramics began last year when her son took her to a pottery class for her birthday. I started throwing and I thought, This is so much fun, she says. I had a studio space, and [decided] to make this a business. My son said, Mom, why cant it just be a hobby? Thats just not me!

The shift from designer denim to ceramics isnt quite as big of a leap as it seems. A seasoned entrepreneur, this is the sixth company Gold has founded, albeit the first outside of the fashion industry. (Her most recent venture, Babakul, sold bohemian clothing until the label dissolved in 2014.) But all the while, shes also had a foot in the world of interiors and real estate: For years, Gold has been designing and staging, including flipping a number of properties. Along the way, she struggled to find a brand that produced both high-style tabletop pieces and practical home accessories like pet food bowls or entry baskets that matched her taste. Her solution? If I dont find something, Ill just make it, she says.

The resulting ceramics reflect a streamlined cool, with a refined palette of bisque, black or a color-blocked combination of the two; some pieces are also available in teal, orange or a sunny yellow. The brands two place settings reflect the companys range: the restrained Legacy (a simple pair of plates and a bowl with a spout-like notch) and the more freewheeling Malibu (with irregular, undulating edges on all three pieces); the collection also features a dash of humor, with personalized pet bowls and three playful labeled serving pieces (napkins, chips and guac) that resemble crumpled cloth bags.

Creating a brand with what Gold calls whole-home cohesiveness (a quality that stems from a shared material language and design sensibility) is one of her primary goalsand it makes the collection attractive not only to homeowners, but also to hospitality groups and stagers. Im working with Soho House in London, stagers, interior [designers], and a lot of bridal, explains Gold of her current clientele. When I was staging my own homes that I built, it was really difficult to find something like a basket that would go with the sculpture so that the pieces werent jumping out at youthat they had an easy flow. Thats hard [to achieve] when you have so many other vendors that you get to pick from.

A table setting using pieces from the Legacy collectionCourtesy of Style Union Home

Still, Gold is bringing some lessons from fashion along. For starters, she has chosen to have the Style Union Home production cycle sync up with the fall/spring fashion calendar. Shes also adopting a personal approach to product testing she learned from fashion: Anything I ever designed or made, I would wear it to make sure it fit perfectly and that there were no issues, says Gold. In the same way, everybody eats on my plates, the pieces are all in my house.

Like everything else, the pandemic affected Golds plans. In January, she was purchasing equipment and developing design concepts. In early March, she started hiring. Then came COVID-19. Challenge No. 1 is doing everything yourself; challenge No. 2 is trying to build a team, but having everybody working remotely when youre working with a hands-on product, she says.

Despite that hurdle, Gold was able to assemble her team and develop a modern-day cottage industry, giving the potters wheels to take home; the pieces are then dropped off at her house for firing and glazing. Her goal was to build up shippable stock before launching. From my business background, I knew that I needed to gear up for inventoryI knew I was going to have buyers that wanted the product right away, she says.

One unique aspect about Style Union Home: Gold has been building the company with the intention of being acquired. Its not about the money, she says. Im a woman, I hire a lot of women, and [Im] dividing shares for their futuretheres the excitement of leaving a legacy for the people who work with me. Its a team. Giving back underpins the business in other ways, too; Gold donates 5 percent of all sales from her Unity collection to Black Women for Wellness, a Los Angelesbased nonprofit that is committed to the health and well-being of Black women through education, empowerment and advocacy.

High-gloss meets a matte finish in the Laurie dinner plate for a sophisticated place setting.Courtesy of Style Union Home

Gold sees an eventual acquisition as a necessary next step to grow Style Union Homeadditional capital that would give her the freedom to expand her team and bring on a strategic partner, in addition to the purchasing power that would go toward additional pottery equipment. Im finding that companies like West Elm and Restoration Hardware are going to want to acquire a company like mine [because] its very difficult to go overseas right now, she says.

Since launching Style Union Home in August, Gold has been filling orders daily, bolstered in part through Zoom-based collaborations with companies like Girls Night In, but also through her fashion network. On December 1, the brand will launch a collection with Kim Chi Avocado, the lifestyle brand started by Fred Segal Couture partner Yunnie Kim Morena. Golds tabletop pieces will also show at NY Now and Shoppe Object next year, albeit virtuallywith a few pandemic-borne workarounds to help along the way, from videos on her website to sending out tile samples to editors and showrooms.

For the time being, Style Union Home will continue to focus on ceramics, but in the coming seasons, napkins, pillows and other lifestyle pieces will make their way into the brands portfolio. Its still a new medium for me, which is a challenge, but clay is exciting[and] Im getting orders every day, says Gold. Im excited to be waking up with a new passion, and its not fashionits passion for the home.

Homepage image: The Jill Candle in three sizes, by Style Union Home | Courtesy of Style Union Home

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This fashion entrepreneur is giving home a spin - Business of Home

Netflixs Holiday Home Makeover with Mr. Christmas follows Mr. Christmas himself, interior designer Benjamin Bradley, as he teams up with his most trusty elves to transform his clients loved spaces and help them welcome the holiday season with a bang. He takes the dull and dreary out of the everyday setting and turns it into a warm and pleasant place to ensure that everyone can feel the genuine merriment of the festival. Benjamin usually only designs homes and relatively small spaces, but as we saw in the second episode, he took on a Fire Department at the behest of Jeffrey Kempf Jr., whose story just had to be highlighted.

A native of West Islip, Long Island, New York, Jeffrey Kempf Jr. is a volunteer firefighter who followed his father and grandfathers footsteps when it came to his career. Because his father, Jeffrey Jacko Kempf Sr., was the Chief at the West Islip Fire Department, Jeffrey Jr., or Jeff, basically grew up there, visiting him after school and helping out wherever he could. Unfortunately, though, last year, in August, at the age of 60, Jeffrey Sr. passed away after losing his battle with cancer.

Jeffrey Sr.s death obviously crushed his family, but because of his nature and his loud, loving, and caring personality, the whole community of West Islip felt the loss. Thus, to continue on his path, keep up the tradition of celebrating Christmas in the over-the-top way that he loved to, and to keep his memories alive, Jeff Kempf Jr. contacted Benjamin Bradley and his team for help. Subsequently, together the team, Jeff, and many of the volunteer firefighters, along with their family members decorated the Department in such a way that it would have made Jeffrey Sr. proud.

Jeffrey Kempf Jr. still resides in West Islip, New York, with his wife, Samantha Kempf, and their only child, a now three-year-old son named Jeffrey Kempf III. And according to records, along with being a maintenance worker at the North Patchogue Fire District, Jeff is also a part-time Fire and Rescue dispatcher at the West Islip Fire District, holding the position of a Captain.

Jeffs place of work as the Captain is the West Islip Fire Department Mohawk Engine Company #5, stationed on Union Boulevard, which houses three engines. Even though he is a volunteer, Jeff still prides himself on the fact that he is a trained firefighter thanks to regular sessions at the Suffolk County Fire Academy as well as weekly ones within the Department itself.

The best part of it all for Jeff, it seems like, is that his son, Jeffrey III, has started taking an interest in his work as well, showing up for visits and walking around with a radio in hand, just like he himself used to when he was a little kid.

Read More: How to Hire Mr. Christmas? How Much Does He Cost?

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Where Is Jeffrey Kempf Jr. Now? Holiday Home Makeover with Mr. Christmas Update - The Cinemaholic