We are Back!

Finally back from our U.S.A. vacation, and we had SUCH a wonderful time with family & friends and seeing sights – there is SO much to see! It’s good to be back home and back into the swing of things here as school kicked off 4 days after arriving home.

I took in so many wonderful sights as far as home decor, antique malls, and amazing ‘Old World’ experiences while over there. One of the places I was awestruck by, was the Biltmore House in the mountains of Asheville, North Carolina. The estate grounds are a whopping 8,000 acres of beautiful scenery.

Here are a few fun facts about this amazing house:

• George Vanderbilt began construction in 1889, officially opened in 1895.
• The finished home contains over four acres of floor space, including 35 bedrooms, 43 bathrooms, and 65 fireplaces.
• the Library contains 10,000 volumes
• the Banquet Hall has a 70-foot ceiling
• the house also contains an indoor pool and a bowling alley!

Here are some of our pictures taken while touring the house. It’s only been in the last few years of social media that Biltmore house has allowed photographs to be taken inside the home by the public, so I feel privileged that we were able to do so.

Remember we were there right after Christmas and the Estate keeps their decorations up right through November, December and first week of January. So it was magnificently decorated for the holiday season.

The Banquet Hall

The tour starts at this beautiful atrium, then moves to the huge banquet hall – the one with the 70 foot (21.33m) ceiling.The banquet Hall: Beautiful model Christmas houses & buildings created a beautiful centrepiece for the long banquet table. That chandelier! The pipe organ! That TREE!

 The Breakfast Room

The family and guests ate breakfast here and sometimes lunch. The ceilings in each room are detailed art pieces in themselves!

Music Room:

My four kids enjoying themselves on the balcony. It was such a cold day. Below, Tori is using the guided tour recorder which tells you details about each room as you press the number of the area you are entering.

The Library:

And check out the painting on the ceiling in this library!
Huge tapestries line one of the walls in this joining room … can you imagine how long these took to create? Okay, this ceiling … stencilled! Can you imagine stencilling this??The grand staircase taking you up three levels and look at these giant chandeliers.

Mr Vanderbilt’s Bedroom:

Mrs Vanderbilt’s Bedroom: Hallways, Staircases and MORE Bedrooms

Bedroom where Mrs. Vanderbilt gave birth to their only child: I ADORE this wardrobe:
Look at the tiles above the fireplace in this bedroom. So pretty!

A Bowling Alley, Indoor Pool & Gymnasium:

These kinds of rooms were way ahead of their time when they were built in to this home. George Vanderbilt travelled overseas to world expos and brought back ideas and innovations to include in his new home. See the rowing machine in the gym below? Showers, parallel bars, rope ladder and dumbells.

Servants Quarters, Pantry & Kitchen:

Just one of the pantry storage rooms: There are several rooms like this built for servants: Large kitchen area also seats dining for servants. I felt like we were somewhere like “Downton Abbey”!

This is a serious coffee grinder: Original copper pans still get used today, they say.How about this for a laundry room? Washing machine? And of course there’s a place to store and hang all those table and bed linens!

The Gun Room & Gentlemen’s Room:

I would literally be here for days adding photos, but I’m sure you are tired of the pics already, so I’ll stop here.

If you are ever visiting North Carolina or just passing through, this is definitely a place you’ll want to add to your list of things to see. For more info on tickets and accommodation you can visit the Biltmore House official website here.

Note: I have not received any form of sponsorship from posting about the Biltmore House and all photos and opinions are my own.