Vizcaya: the tea room

The Tea Room (or Enclosed Loggia as it was originally known) is probably the most beautiful room in the house, if not in all of Florida! Tooting his own horn, Chalfin himself called it an 'enchanted room'. Facing the Italian gardens, the room leaves the Renaissance behind and is decorated in an early Neoclassical style from the 18th century.

The room was originally furnished with highly colored striped upholstered pieces and small tables on a highly stylized marble mosaic floor made in New York and shipped in pieces. See an older photograph of the space below.The wall paintings depict Neapolitan scenery and date to the late 18th century.

The table above is the only piece of furniture left and is original to the room.The gilded wrought-iron gates that lead into the courtyard were bought before the house was designed from the Villa Pisani in Venice.Their height required a high ceiling which was taken from the rooms above which have a raised floor level. The red Verona marble door surround is original to the Villa Pisani as well.

Despite all of this ornamentation, what really steals the show for me at least is the ceiling.

Painted creams, pinks and blues, I think the plaster ceiling resembles a piece of delicate Wedgwood. The stained glass doors look out onto the garden and feature Chalfin's favored seahorse motif.

This painted leather door leads into a butler's pantry which seperates the space from the dining room.

The arched gates into the courtyard echo the stained glass nicely. I think this is my favorite room at Vizcaya so far, what do you think?