Uncategorized

Christmas Touches at the Biltmore

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With Thanksgiving now behind us and the
Christmas season upon us
Today we are heading back to visit the
Biltmore  for Christmas…


This cozy dining table is set with the Vanderbilt’s personally monogrammed china.

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Biltmore House is lovely any time of year and
when I visited in early October most of its rooms
were decorated just as they normally would have been when
George W. Vanderbilt and later his
family lived there.

Mildly disappointed that I wouldn’t be seeing
the house during the holiday season
in all its Christmas finery,
while on the self-guided tour I came upon several women
who were busy putting up greenery and ornaments on a fireplace mantel.
My heart leaped and I oooohed outloud,
“You’re decorating for Christmas!”

One of the staff members said that yes, they started early
as there are 250 rooms within Biltmore’s walls
and it takes a lot of manpower to finish the work ~ 
a plus for all of us who were
now visiting!
My trip would be complete.
🙂


This table setting is situated on the left side of the great Banquet Hall.  Fabulous handwoven tapestries hang within
many of Biltmore’s main rooms.  Here three fireplaces on this end of the room would have kept guests and family members quite comfortable during festive winter parties.

Today’s post is timely too if you haven’t seen and read
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out on news stands now.
The Biltmore is shown in all of its Christmas beauty
within the magazine’s pages and was
most likely photographed during last holiday season
once all of its decorations were on-display.
{Please click on the wording above to order your copy.}


Sorry, a bit blurry!

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Another dining room is set here for more intimate gatherings…
Setting a beautiful table is something I really enjoy so with
great pleasure I tried to photograph took all of the dining areas featured at Biltmore Estate for you.

I love how the color red was carried
throughout the home
don’t you?
🙂


Here the flocked burgundy velvet dining chairs and the
matching velvet curtains continue the hue as it also done
in most of the home’s other rooms.

Check out all the gilding on this lovely writing desk and the pen and ink set!
This particular sitting room with views of the valley below
had no deep red in it that I recall but was decorated
in lovely shades of periwinkle and navy found here
in the settee, armchairs and in the rug underfoot.

A gentlemen’s room above left and top right, and in a ladies’ parlor share more of the deep reds turning to wine.
I love the depictions of the stag and boar running away from the hunting party along the fireplace soffit in the
gentlemen’s smoking room.
The small table set for tea was in one of the ladies’
bedrooms.


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In this stairway the swirling black ironwork
winding up the staircase and echoed in the triple chandelier carry on the hunting lodge theme of the whole estate.


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Moving along  into the upstairs and into a family room
symmetrically decorated with four ten-foot Christmas trees
set with matching gold orbs and twinkling white lights
a mannequin is dressed in character Rose DeWitt Bukater’s purple full-length Edwardian gown
from the movie Titanic.
Over at The Inn at Biltmore more of the Titanic film’s
dresses are on display.

This Christmas tree and armoire are situated in an upstairs hallway which
displays many paintings and drawings by famous artists such as John Singer Sargent.

I loved this ladies bedroom which had lovely cream colored walls, more of the flocked burgundy wallpaper and drapes plus softly draping silk shades set in the French Doors and the bay window facing the front of the home.


The writing desk set here by the window must have been a wonderful place to write letters and invitations…

This bedroom was decorated with less ornate
Louis XV style French furnishings than those found in other parts of the home ~ a more conservative
French country style.

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Back downstairs  and into the kitchen staff areas
the last stop on this tour today…
This is the servants’ dining room and though conservatively furnished with 
simple bentwood chairs
the table itself is enormous ~ it was
quite up to date in its time.


Last month I wrote  two posts about touring the
of which the latter includes a little video.
To find more information about Biltmore Estate’s history
please click on these highlighted words and please visit
for tickets to visit and to stay at The Inn and other local
accommodations in the village.


Sharing with


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Happy Christmas season to you,
Uncategorized

An Evening Stroll through America’s Downton Abbey, Biltmore Estate

Today I thought I’d share
Biltmore Estate as the Vanderbilt family
would have seen it
on a lovely fall evening walk…


After photographing the rose garden below
I wandered along this pathway and found this set of
French iron gates leading out to pastures and fields off
to the western side of Biltmore Estate
where the family most likely walked, rode their saddlebreds
and hunted over a century ago now.

There is an equestrian center on site and you can
bring and board your own horse!
Here is the information page.

These gates take you away from the house proper and down along the roadway, over a beautiful fishing stream, then winding down to the lower rose garden and arboretum.
I’m really glad that I arrived late in the day as I was able to capture these views as the sun was going down.
Although for viewing the house and seeing more of the estate
it would have been better to arrive earlier
as viewing the house and full estate one needs really
more than one day for maximum effect. 

But, being there late in the day allowed for enjoying the evening light, the Blue Ridge mountains in the distance
and just the cool fall weather found in the hills.

Too, I kept expecting deer to appear out in the fields
and that would have been just a perfect ending to
a day of elaborate and ornate perfect day!
😉
Just a few photos from the rose garden…

Beautiful palest of pinky whites ~ possibly the rose
Winchester Cathedral
as my Winchesters would turn a slight pink as the flowers
matured and especially in the fall.
One of Winchester Cathedral’s parent roses is
Mary Rose
which is a lovely pink so the child rose
can sometimes hint back to its parent.

Lovely!



A view while walking up to the top of the garden.

Actual daylight with no alterations to show plantings any brighter.
Fall plantings of mums and sweet pansies tucked below.

More fall color…
🙂


Rose petals naturally strewn along my path.

Here and below I’ve opened up the lens a bit
to show the glasshouse a bit brighter.
This photograph I deepened the colors a bit
to show the mountains beyond.

This lovely water fountain, too, I’ve opened up the lens
making the picture a little bit grainy.
In the next photographs, the light was deepening
into night…

With the hazy sunlight…
And darkened below to see the mountains and cloud
formations better…

Lovely sitting areas abound in the park…

Lovely mophead hydrangeas displaying
their darkening pink turning to rust
here in the fall…
Here’s a video I made while photographing this day.
I’d love it if you’d leave a comment
or two.
Thank you!
🙂


[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87qrPEkj5AM&w=320&h=266]
Please visit friends I share with ~
Friday at the Firehouse ~ A Fireman’s Wife
Thursday Favorite Things ~ Katherine’s Corner
What To Do Weekends ~ Shoestring Elegance
Sweet Inspiration ~ The Boondocks Blog
Saturday Sparks ~ Pieced Pastimes
Inspire Me Monday ~ Create with Joy
Over the Moon ~ Marilyn’s Treats
Have a lovely weekend,