Vacation - Fall Beauty & the Biltmore Estate

I've been promising to post about the beautiful fall foliage we saw on our vacation.  It was mid-October, and the color was just beginning.  Ordinarily, this is the peak time for color.  Still, we really enjoyed the beauty.  The house above is on the Biltmore Estate in Ashville, NC.  The grounds and gardens of the estate cover 8,000 acres.  Here are a few photos:

This pretty creek meandered from a waterfall.  Such an inviting spot that provokes serenity.  The grounds and gardens were developed by landscape architect, Frederick Law Olmsted. 

To me, these parts of the estate are worth more than the house, furnishings, and decorations put together.  Give me a body of water with trees, flowers, and birds, and I feel like a millionaire.

The photo below is taken from the front lawn of the Biltmore House.  The photo above is taken on the loggia (which I call a back porch) with a view of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the distance.

The house was built by George and Edith Vanderbilt in the late 1800's.  It took six years of construction and was officially opened on Christmas Eve, 1895.  This family wasn't just rich . . . they were filthy rich.  More about that in a later post. 

The first floor was used for entertaining and includes a winter garden, a library, a breakfast room and a banquet hall with an organ loft, music room, a salon (a French style sitting room), a tapestry gallery, the loggia, and even an elevator.

When you walk into the entry hall of the house, the Winter Garden is on the right.  I can imagine having my morning coffee and meditation here on cold days.  It's spacious, bright, and lovely.

Directly behind the garden room is a beautiful sitting room, done in shades of blue.  I love this.

I love this fabric, don't you?

I was intrigued by this old chest:

That's all for today.  Next time, I'll share a bit more of the first floor and the second-floor family rooms.  You'll love Mrs. Vanderbilt's bedroom.

Blessings to you, Gail-Friends. 

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