THE INSTITUTE
The Art of Living Well
We believe a beautiful life is made at home. Westbrook explores the small things that make a home work returning to, the light at dusk, the table set for friends, a book left open beside a chair, flowers brought in from the garden, the rituals that makes a house a home and objects that become more meaningful with time.
The Journal
Westbrook House
Come Inside
The house has been home to the Institute since 1926. Today its rooms serve as places of study, gathering, observation and everyday life. Step through the door and discover the soul of Westbrook House.
The Institute is maintained not only by its researchers but by those who believe a well lived home is worth caring for. Members who believe that caring for a home is an act of care for the people who live within it. Your stories, photographs and traditions become part of the living archive.
THE WESTBROOK WAY OF LIFE
Five ways of living well.
LIGHT
The study of atmosphere to live beautifully.
GATHERING
The art of making people feel welcome.
LIVING
The ritual of ordinary days.
DISCOVERY
What the wider world can tell us about home.
STEWARDSHIP
The art of caring for what we keep.
CURRENTLY UNDER OBSERVATION
ARCHIVE L.018.2026
The Conservatory Pendant
LIGHT STUDIES
Selected for its ability to transform an ordinary room at the hour when day becomes evening. Its coloured glass softened winter evenings so noticeably that visitors stayed almost an hour longer after dinner. The Institute first began studying the relationship between light and mood in the Conservatory.
The Institute observed that coloured glass has an unusual ability to soften winter evenings so noticeably that visitors stayed almost an hour longer after dinner. During a series of evening observations at Westbrook House, researchers noted that nobody stood to leave after dinner. Conversation drifted from gardening to books and by the time the candles had burned low, someone remarked that the room itself seemed gentler.