All My Laundry: The Biltmore!

Monday, February 7, 2011

The Biltmore!

This past weekend Lyndon and I attended an awards ceremony in Ashville, home of the Biltmore the largest private residence in the U.S. If you have never been here, I highly recommend you make a visit at some point in your life. It is incredible! The Biltmore was the home of George Washington Vanderbilt III. The house alone has 4 acres of floor space, 250 rooms, 33 family and guest bedrooms, 43 bathrooms, 65 fireplaces, 3 kitchens, an indoor swimming pool, an indoor gym and bowling alley. Pretty amazing considering it was constructed in 1889. He lived there with his wife and their only daughter. Just walking around the place was overwhelming, and you need a GPS to navigate. I can't believe it was for a family of three! I will say that they housed probably hundreds of staff to keep it up and prepare food and accomodations for the MANY parties they threw. It also sits on thousands of acres of land that he purchased at the time, and in the summer, there are beautiful gardens and a winery that produces some very tasty wine and beer. They also now have a hotel on the property which is where we stayed. I took pictures where I could, but they would not allow pics inside the mansion, so I bought some post cards so you can take a peek!

The Walled Garden

The Winter Garden which sat just inside the front door. The ceiling was made of all glass so flowers and greenery could be enjoyed year round.

The Banquet Hall that could seat about 65 people. It was the size of a standard basketball court.

The Billard Room

The Library which housed over 10,000 of the 23,000 books in the house! George loved to read!

Mr. Vanderbilt's Bedroom which overlooked the 125,000 acres that made up the estate!

Mrs. Vanderbilt's Bedroom which was decorated with silk imported from France. George built the house before he married Edith and brought her over to this house after they honeymooned in Europe. I am pretty sure they had to give her a paper bag to breathe into upon her arrival! Can you imagine this being your first house after getting married? It is said that the Vanderbilts were very friendly and generous especially to those who worked in and around the house. They gave fair pay and nice accomodations complete with indoor bathrooms for staff. After the George's death, Edith continued to live in the house and oversaw the dairy and vegatable farm. Their only child Corneila took over the estate later on. It was her and her husband who started the restoration and public viewings in the house during the depression.

This is the sitting room of the hotel that sits on the land, a mere four miles from the actual mansion. While not as grand as the mansion, it was very nice, nonetheless!