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Although this could very well be a picture of me finding a new treasure at a favorite nursery, it's actually an illustration by David Catrow for a children's book called Plantzilla.

Friday, August 9, 2013

Garden Bloggers' Fling: Filoli part two; The House

 
The day we visited Filoli, the temperature reached a little over a hundred degrees.  Fortunately, the inside of the grand old home was relatively cool!


Another map to help you make sense of the place:
The thing that tickled me most was that right next to the holding room is a lavatory.  Talk about room specialization! 
 
Map to Filoli House
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The following text is taken from the self-guided tour booklet:
 
 
Filoli represents an excellent example of architecture and garden design from the first part of the twentieth century.  Although the house is predominantly modified-Georgian in style, other major architectural traditions are also represented in the design.  The arched window heads of the first floor, the French doors, the exterior brick laid in Flemish bond, and details of the trim are from the Stuart period while the tiled roof is in the Spanish tradition.  This eclecticism reflects a Golden Age in California's history, free from the conventional rules of design and exuding a pride in creativity and expression.
 
Ceiling detail in the portico.



The marble fonts in the niches flanking the portico came from the Bourns' San Francisco house and are copies of ones excavated from Pompeii.

The floor plan is U-Shaped, with the Servants' Wing on one side of the front courtyard and the Ballroom on the other.  The long Transverse Hallway runs north to south, parallel to the valley in which the house is set.  Both the rooms of the house and the formal Garden are organized along this axis.  The residence, which connects to the garden wall, was sited to one side, preserving the valley floor and the grand vista to the north towards Crystal Springs Lake.

 
In the middle of the transverse hall.

The house contains 36,000 square feet of interior floor space on two floors and a mezzanine.  The spacious major rooms have ceiling heights of seventeen feet, while the ballroom ceiling is twenty-two-and -a-half feet high.  There are forty-three rooms and seventeen fireplaces.

Reception room.  The door on the right goes to the library which is currently closed in order to repair fallen plaster and other water damage.



Drawing room.


During the blooming season, exquisite specimens of Mrs. Roth's collection of orchids are displayed in the house and garden pavilion.  The beautiful flower arrangements in each of the rooms reflect Mrs. Roth's desire that Filoli be shown as a family home. 
 
 Dining room.

Staircase.

Ballroom.

 
The ballroom fireplace is much taller than I.  For more on the decoration and history of the ballroom and the whole house, really, go here.
 Kitchen.  Not pictured are the pastry room and cold storage rooms.

Butler's Pantry

Servants' call board.

Storage in the butlers' pantry. 


And every butler's pantry needs a walk in silver vault, right?  The cavity at the base of the vault held the family silver in a specially-created Tiffany chest.
 
It's easy to get lost on the main floor so it's probably a good thing that the wing containing the servants' quarters and the entire upstairs of the house are not open to the public.  Wouldn't it be fun to see the attic and basement of such a large house?
 
The house is featured in several motion pictures and you may also remember it as the home of Blake and Krystle Carrington from Dynasty.
 
Here's an interesting half hour tour complete with insider stories from retired curator, Tom Rogers.
 


27 comments:

  1. I really appreciated this tour from you since I missed it when we were there. If I had known it was cooler inside, I would have been in there like a shot. The butler's pantry is cool. I would love to have a big window like that over the sink in my kitchen.

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    1. That would be cool kitchen window. Sounds like a nice weekend project:)

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  2. My entire house would fit in the kitchen.

    Funny after reading this post I'm hankering for the new season of Downton Abbey. I think it was the servants call board that did it.

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    1. The place was huge and overwhelming! Several people mentioned Downton Abbey when they saw the servants' call board!

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  3. Thank you, Peter for sharing this tour! I love visiting such historic places, the house or better say palace is wonderful, especially ceiling, storage in the butlers',the ballroom with big paintings on the walls.

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    1. I'm glad you liked the tour, Nadezda! It is a grand home! I can't imagine living in such opulence.

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  4. I wanted to spend all day exploring that house, but got kicked out too early since I didn't get the badge for it. And by then, we had to leave. I'm so glad for these pictures and explanations. I hope you got to hear a lot of the docents' fascinating stories.

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    1. Was there a separate house badge? I was only wearing the one we got for the garden and folks were sweet as can be to me. There was a group of regular visitors from the area who were sharing stories about the twins and tales they had told about living there. I followed that group around a bit so that I could eavesdrop. Always enjoy some good gossip about a historical home.

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  5. Glad you caught that...I was outside just taking in the heat, the views, and all the gardens, as a hostage...erm...lucky guest of Susan M. Nothing like a tour from a local!

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    1. Sounds like you were having a wonderful time. That was the warmest weather I'd ever experienced so I enjoyed the relative coolness inside the house!

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  6. Thanks for covering the interior of the house, I didn't go inside. Certainly a grand place.

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    1. So much to keep clean - an endless job! Fun to look at though!

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  7. Beautiful!! But the olive groves from part 1 are what do it for me.

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    1. I thought of you when I saw that whole grove of them!

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  8. What I mainly remember from the house was the ice cream in the snack shop. Thanks to your post I can now describe the mansion when I talk to people about the fling.

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    1. Where was my head with that water thing? I totally missed the ice cream!

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  9. Wow, that is one extravagant house! I like the grand staircase though.

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    1. It's interesting to think of what the lives of the very rich were like during earlier times.

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  10. I carried Ming Dynasty vases up from the basement, and orchids in from the greenhouse, for Mrs Roth, as one of 8 gardeners in 1971... Best joy ever!

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    1. It must have been incredible to experience the house when it was actually lived and entertained in!

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    2. Mrs Roth was elderly, often gone, and seemed to live quietly. I was rarely taken to the house, to help place the blooming orchids in each room. My favorites were the Persian rugs everywhere! I still have/wear a red cashmere sweater given me as a Christmas gift/bonus; I was told Mrs Roth picked out the individual gifts for her staff personally. Yes, it was a privelege to work there.

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  11. Quite refreshing to see interiors in your blog for a change. And what a grand looking house not too dissimilar to the historical grand houses that can be found here :)

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  12. Beautiful, beautiful, but very Do Not Touch. I'd probably break something. Possibly on purpose.....

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    1. It's funny how fast staff comes out of the woodwork if you even look like you might touch something, step across a rope, or walk on the grass outside.

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Thanks so much for taking the time to comment! I love to hear your thoughts.