Remember the beach

The best parts of blogging is one is able to look back at their (recent) life and revisit the places they've seen.

This cold weather in the Mid-Atlantic region had me longing for my trip to Florida last spring. A few clicks and I was back in Aly's Beach, at least virtually!

 Just one look at these pictures and the blue sky reminded me of the warm weather and crashing waves.

 Aly's beach was still very much under construction last year and I wonder how it has progressed.

 Maybe I should be planning another trip to check up on it!

What I wouldn't give to be sitting under that trellis rather than tramping through our cold snow and windy streets!

I'll take these virtual vacations in lieu of the real thing (for now!).

Winter cheer

The unseasonably warm weather has left us and winter has returned with a vengeance.  I picked up some cheerful colored roses to warm up my apartment this weekend and take the chill off.

I normally don't leave  roses long stemmed but something seemed right about this. Have you been doing anything to take away the winter blues?

Confusing weather

While I chug away at deadlines I thought I would share with you a scene from the Georgetown canal where Forsythia seems to be confused by our unseasonably warm weather.  Hopeful signs of spring!

My black doors

 This weekend I crossed something off my bucket list; I painted my interior doors black!

While I was at it I removed all of the brass and glass hardware and took off  90 years worth of grime, stray paint, and tarnish. While I like the brass to have patina it wasn't in the best shape. Besides, brass ages quickly so I anticipate it to be shiny for only about a month.

Previously the doors were painted the same white as the trim.  I love the new contrast between the black doors and crisp door casing (attained by using blue painters tape as you can see above -what did we do before this stuff?).  What do you think; approve?

Jib Doors

Lately I've had Jib doors on my mind; you know, the flush trim less doors hidden in a wall. I recently viewed a house which had jib doors (seen above) leading to a bathroom from each bedroom. I can't see a door like this without thinking of the famous Horst image of Pauline de Rothschild's bedroom from 1969.

What do you think, love them as much as me?  Don't forget the post from 2007 on The Peak of Chic about jib doors; can you believe we've been blogging this long, it feels like just yesterday!

An intriguing powder room

I recently was in a house with one of the most beautiful powder rooms I had ever seen.  The walls were paneled with a split between mirrors and a beautiful hand painted metallic Japanese tea wallpaper. It felt like being in the ocean!

One didn't know where the wallpaper started and the mirror began. I also loved the fossilized marble sinktop which had subtle shells ingrained into it.  Details count, even in the bathroom!

Maymont, Richmond

Richmond is full of historic house museums as you've seen in my previous posts.  One last museum I'll share with you is Maymont.

Built in Romanesque style by architect Edgerton Stewart Rogers in 1893 high above the banks of the James River, the mansion and 100 acre estate was home to James and Sallie Dooley.

The house and grounds have been a public museum and park since 1925 when Mrs. Dooley passed away.

 The imposing stone facade hides a rather giddy and over the top Victorian interior.

 The grounds are beautiful with stunning views down to the river.

The original outbuildings of the estate survive and are used to this day in the maintenance of the house and park.

 I especially loved this carriage barn with service court. Wouldn't this make a charming house?

 The water tower is located right behind the carriage house.

The Dooleys are buried together on the estate on a bluff overlooking the James river in a beautiful mausoleum designed by William Churchill Noland.

Virginia House, Richmond

After my trip to Richmond I had one regret; I didn't schedule an appointment to tour Virginia House!

Located next door, literally, to Agecroft Hall, the house was also built of ancient materials imported from an old house in England as part of Thomas William's original plan to build an authentic Tudor Village in Richmond.

Virginia House was built by Alexander and Virginia (hence the name) Weddells but began life as a priory in 1109 built by Earl Warwick which was later remodeled in the 17th century.

 Much like their neighbor, Agecroft Hall, the house was purchased at a demolition sale.

The Weddells built their new old house in anticipation of it eventually becoming the headquarters and museum for the Virginia Historical Society.

Despite that plan, the house was built as a modern home albeit one of historical materials and importance.

While the materials began to arrive in 1926 via ship they were so waterlogged that they had to sit to dry out for 6 months before building could procede. The Weddells finally moved into their new old house in 1929.

If you didn't know this modern history of the structure you'd assume it was a 17th century house that had been well preserved for hundreds of years. Of course, nothing this grand was constructed in the New World at this time, particularly in Richmond!

Through the drive and to the back of the house you see the modern house emerge. A 3 car garage currently operates as the shed and workroom for the extensive gardens.

Henry Grant Morse was again the architect responsible for the reconstruction of the structure which was based on many different houses found throughout England.

Noted landscape architect Charles Gillette designed the gardens which are to this day spectacular, even in the middle of winter!

The land slopes steeply down to the James River so the gardens are terraced with the house rising high above the many garden rooms.

William Lawrence Bottomley was brought on by Mrs. Wenddells to design an outdoor garden loggia connected to the house from some more building remnants.

This is probably my favorite part of the house.

The ceiling of the Loggia came from a house on the grounds of Knole in England while the columns were salvaged from Spain.

The roof of the loggia is a patio to view the gardens and river from above.

The loggia shelters this private water garden from the rear gardens.

From the rear terrace one looks down upon the formal gardens as art and towards the James River beyond.

The structure of the gardens shows more clearly in their dormant period.

The springtime shows the gardens to their best advantage I'm told.

The grounds are dotted with lots of interesting sculpture such as this Egyptian frieze fragment found within a garden wall.

The Weddells used Gillette over a period of many years to design these extensive gardens which appear to have taken generations to compose.

My favorite sculptures however are these 2 funny little men standing about 5'-0" tall. Does anyone know anything about them?

Don't forget to book a tour before your visit to Richmond. I'll just have to go back to Richmond to tour Virginia House!