You have been so kind to ask how the ideas for the law office were received. There are several rounds of presentations but the first one was a success and at this point we are a go for the look presented. If you missed it click here to catch up.
Yesterday The Writer and I spent the day in Atlanta meeting with folks from North Carolina about printing my wallpaper collection. We hope to have some exciting news to share on that in a few weeks. Then we oooed and ahhed our way through Scott’s Antique Show. I am so very excited, over the moon, about my find. We have always loved The Biltmore House in Ashville, N.C. and the accompanying Biltmore Village. We spent our honeymoon there and return often. If you have never been you must plan a trip today!
Envisioned in 1888 by George Vanderbilt, Biltmore is a 250 room mansion on 8,000 acres in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
While still a bachelor George moved into the estate in October of 1895
photo by jcPollack
but the doors were not thrown open to guests until Christmas Eve and what a celebration it was and still is today.
Here is a link to a video to whet your appetite. The Vanderbilt’s world.
He didn’t stop with the house. As we know from Downton Abbey, it takes a lot of folks to keep a place this size running so he built a village. Yep. A village to house his staff, a railroad to bring in supplies, stores and shops, schools, churches, hospitals, it’s all there.
Why, you ask, is she on this tear about Biltmore all the sudden. Well, it has to do with my “find”. Notice the arched top windows in the picture above? The school is sort of modeled on this building and they are in the process of doing some renovations which involve replacing the windows with (I am sure) more energy efficient ones.
Therefore, the original gorgeous windows were made available to a very few lucky souls. Most stayed in the Ashville area but two of the final three now belong to …..ME!
They already have a home in my head. You will have to stay tuned to see where they land. I am in my element!
p.s. The most amazing time I have ever had at The Biltmore occurred one year when a company Hubbie worked for rented the entire estate for an evening in the fall. If you can believe it we got to drive right up to the door like we lived there, park in the motor court and have free reign of the entire place for one whole night. We had cocktails by candlelight under the stars in the garden and were served a gourmet dinner in the charming English stables that have been converted into a restaurant. Everything we ate was either grown or raised on the estate. I still pinch myself. I’m sure Carson was lurking somewhere close by. smile Ask someone if you don’t know what that means… they will tell you.
