This morning, Architectural Digest editor in chief Margaret Russell went on the Today Show to talk about the magazine's February cover beaut: Prince Charles' Scottish country estate. Designed by architect Robert Adam in the 18th century for the fifth Earl of Dumfries, Dumfries House sat empty for the better part of 150 years until 2005, when its then-owner first tried to unload to the Scottish National Trust and then, when that failed, sell off its contents through Christie's. It was Prince Charles, ever the preservationist, who swooped in and bought the place just weeks before anything went to auction—he "saved it just in time," says Russell, noting that he took pains to preserve all the original furniture and interior detailing. "Anyone who goes into a house often puts something in about themselves and not about restoring it, and what's interesting about this house is is that right now it exists exactly as it was in the mid 1700s when it was finished—all the furniture is in the rooms that they were designed for," she says. See the Today Show segment that contains the truly beautiful Arch Digest photos below. (Slideshow here.)
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· A look inside Prince Charles' home [The Today Show]
· Prince Charles Unveils Dumfries House [Arch Digest]