Every once in a while, Architectural Digest does a feature on Ralph Lauren, with the last one being this online slideshow they put together of some of his homes. Lauren and his wife actually own five residences. There’s an apartment in Manhattan and two houses not far away: a beach house in Montauk, at the tip of Long Island, and an estate in Bedford, which is an hour north of New York City. There are also two more distant getaways: a ranch in Colorado, and a two-house retreat in the posh Round Hill Resort, near Montego Bay in Jamaica.
Through the years, some of these have been cover features for the design magazine. I’ve pulled out three such issues here, which were published between the years of 2002 and 2007. These won’t be of any interest to anyone who’s not a big Ralph Lauren fan, but for those of us who are – they can be fun glimpses into the life of the man himself. (Spoiler alert: Ralph Lauren’s homes look a lot like Ralph Lauren home catalogs).
A quick breakdown of what you’re looking at: the first residence is a Norman-style manor in Bedford, which was originally constructed in 1919. It’s something between a hunting lodge and a stately home. The mahogany paneled walls are dressed with dark green velvet curtains and decorated with paintings in dense arrangements. The décor feels dramatic, the colors deep, and the rooms seem like they’re caught in a perpetual late afternoon. All over the place, you see references to English life, but in a way that feels co-opted and made American – much like Ralph Lauren’s clothing.
The second home is the couple’s retreat in Jamaica, which seems to take more color from its surroundings than actually exhibit any itself. The interior has white walls and coverings, straw mats, natural wood structures, and sparse, cobalt blue decorations. The combination feels something like the restrained, elevated style of the 1940s.
Finally, the last is my favorite – Ralph and Ricky Lauren’s ranch in Colorado, which is something like the physical embodiment of RRL. The interiors here are decorated with Art Nouveau-style lamps, stickley wood chairs, and Navajo blankets. I love the look, but can also see how some people might feel uncomfortable with the over-the-top Native American references (I mean, there are teepees outside for Pete’s sake). One has to wonder how many Native-American-inspired, but made-in-China, RRL shirts one has to sell in order to buy that Native American chief blanket and American flag (both from the 1880s), which decorate the main lodge’s master bedroom.
