Thursday, February 16, 2017

Villa Vizcaya


My husband's grandmother unexpectedly passed last week, which brought us to Miami for several days.  We all needed to get out of the house for a bit, so we took advantage of some beautiful weather to head to the Deering Estate to clear our heads.  Although we tried to go more than once while living in Miami, it was always closed for events.  They were setting up for a huge wedding while we were there (likely costing far more than we make in a year), but it didn't ruin the visit, just the photos...  While the photos aren't great, I'd say they're not bad for wrangling a toddler, and that same teething boy is the reason not a single one is edited!

Villa Vizcaya was begun in 1914, and the main house was finished in 1916.  It contains countless antiquities brought over from Europe, including a stone console purportedly from Pompeii.  As usual, you're better off getting the history from Wikipedia, but here are some photos  including many details that caught my attention.  The estate was restored by the original decorator in 1934 following the Miami Hurricane of 1926, with the intention of opening it as a museum.






marble drain in the courtyard


the flower room



the iron fireback was a phoenix 


telephone closet


beautiful call bells throughout





you can see the toilet in the corner




even museums have water damage...

dragon curtain tieback

stunning paint color combinations 


























there are no less than three butler's pantries in the house


stone console from Pompeii 

hidden air intake 

 These photos refused to behave and let themselves be put in any sort of order, so oh well.  But as you can see, the house was built in the prime time of early technologies.  Servants bells, each with a unique pull, call buttons, annunciators, dumbwaiters, a variety of electric switches, and one of my favorite things - engraved switchplates.  Not to mention a telephone closet for Ross...