Visiting Dumbarton Oaks, Georgetown

This past weekend offered beautiful fall weather, perfect for our Mid-Atlantic ICAA tour of Dumbarton Oaks arranged by landscape architect and boardmember Jennifer Horn.

Dumbarton Oaks has been owned by Harvard University since the early 1940s and hosts a number of their graduate programs on campus.  Sections of the famous gardens are open to the public and their renowned museum has a separate entrance on 32nd street NW.

Although much changed and constantly evolving, the gardens are the the work of famous landscape designer Beatrix Farrand, seen in the portrait above.

Unfortunately the house is undergoing some renovation work (roof and some structure being replaced) so scaffolding covered the neo-Georgian facade. You can see photos of the house at my earlier post from 2009 HERE.

The library is housed in the wing seen above designed by Thomas Waterman -a really spectacular period room in which one can study the antique landscape books in an elegant setting.

This grotto is only one of the many charming spots to be found throughout the gardens. The modern balustrade is very plain-jane compared to others found throughout the property but I suppose it meets code (most ugly railings do).

One of the best parts of attending the ICAA tours (everyone is welcome btw!) is that you get an opportunity to see many behind the scenes areas not open to the general public.

I had never seen most of the campus before and was thrilled with many of the original structures like the green house above, where plants are still grown for the gardens. The brick structure in the center was originally designed to be the library until someone came to their senses and realized antique books and water don't mix!

Washington is enjoying a spectacular fall this year which doesn't often happen. So often I feel we move directly from summer into winter.

 Many of the older structures such as the garage above have been wonderfully preserved on the exterior while the interiors have been unfortunately gutted and rebuilt in an institutional manner. Don't even ask about some of the modern buildings I'm not showing here and other work done on campus by architectural firm Robert Venturi - the less said there the better ( # inappropriate, # generic, # ugly ).

Many of us architects marveled at the lovely back door above - nicer than the front doors on many houses! Also notice the intricate brick paving patterns designed by Farrand.

The use of ornate brick and stone walls throughout the hilly, terraced gardens is one of my favorite aspects.

 While these are special details, they are to be found throughout the entire property.

Above is one of the many railing designs by Farrand - this may not meet modern day codes but is none-the-less pleasing to the eye.

Even the simple wooden garden bench above has lovely details; notice the scrolled bracket to the sides.

Inside the museum there are more wonderful treasures to check out. I particularly like the antique byzantine mosaics which are built into the flooring. The rather strange addition by Phillip Johnson, celebrating its 50th birthday, is growing on me and is a great example of marrying a modern addition to a classical structure (Robert Venturi take note!). Please join the ICAA on our next adventures and be sure to check out Dumbarton Oaks while in Washington, you won't be disappointed!

Couch vs. sofa - a dialogue

I was thrilled to have lunch recently with one of my favorite bloggers, The Blue Remembered Hills, while he was traveling through DC. As so often happens when bloggers meet for the first time we began chatting at once like old friends and eventually the topic naturally veered towards design.

Both of us have 'pet peeves' with wordage, his being the incorrect use of the word couch instead of sofa (mine is the incorrect use of home vs. house). Above you see the famous couch of Madame Recamier.

The term sofa is what we normally are talking about, the article of furniture found in everyone's living room. It's not a 'formal' term or interchangeable with couch -they are DIFFERENT things. A couch is a specific term reserved for pieces of furniture on which one lies. I immediately thought of Madame Recamier, so well known for having been painted in repose by numerous artists.

While in the Louvre on my last visit I loved Madame Recamier's furniture made for her by Georges Jacob as well as 2 very well known paintings of her, in which she is lying on a couch.

 The rest of her furniture is really beautiful and I just had to have an excuse to post!

In the future think of Madame Recamier on her couch and the sofa you have at home; unless you have a fainting couch or daybed, well then that's another story!

Turkish Pavilion at Schwetzingen

 Located in the gardens of the Schwetzingen Palace complex (along with the Bathing Pavilion and the Temple of Apollo of which I've blogged) is an unusual structure referred to as the Turkish Pavilion.

Designed by French architect Nicolas de Pigage in 1779, the Pavilion was completed two years later and has recently been totally restored and opened to the public.

Designed primarily as a backdrop to the gardens where concerts were held, the building was later sometimes used by the Islamic community as a Mosque.

A large walled loggia surrounds the concert lawn with interesting Turkish inspired detailing.

The building is strictly European with many sort of "Turkish" bits glued on and the end result is totally of its' time. Think of this as Turkish Chinoiserie; not quite a copy but a European version of the original.

 The details such as the arches look almost Gothic in parts.

 The gardens are in the beautiful English style.

 Notice the brick floor patterns of the loggia.

 The Pavilion does have a small interior and again no detail was over looked.

 Beautiful carved stone is classically European with nods to the Turkish style.

The centerpiece is a large room rising up through the room with a gorgeous domed ceiling allowing light to flood inside.

 The polychromed work is playful without being too over the top.

 Many thanks as always to Neil for providing these luscious photographs to inspire us!

Schwetzingen bathhouse -a private Italian Villa

The Schloss Schwetzingen which I mentioned last week (the Temple of Apollo) was essentially a very public space, even in the 18th century before becoming the even more public museum it is today. The elector, in order to get away from 'court life' and from the general public which were allowed into the grounds, built the Badehaus (bathhouse) as a private refuge from what was essentially his 'work'.  Imagine having to live at your office!

Built in the style of an Italian Villa the bathhouse featured not only a small sauna area but also a bedroom & sitting room - a sort of Petit Trianon at Schwetzingen!

While strictly classical I love the sense of playfulness found throughout the details. The round entrance hall is stunning.

Directly off the entry hall is the bath -thats what the building is for afterall!  You may recognize the spaces as they were featured in the May 2009 issue of World of Interiors Magazine (one of my favorites).

You also will catch a rare glimpse of my Australian Penpal in the mirrored door who is kind enough to always share his travel pictures with us here on ArchitectDesign!

Rather than a large palatial room the bedroom is quite residential, even featuring a now out-dated twin sized bed. Seriously - when was the last time you slept in a twin bed? Even kids seem to have bigger beds these days!

Don't miss the chamber pot pulled out of its' little closet with a porthole window for ventilation. Also the Wedgwood vases are unusual to spot in Germany rather than Meissen or another German porcelain.

The room above features a more typical German porcelain chandelier (Dresden or Meissen perhaps?) along with a number of very German looking figurines on the mantelpiece. I hope you enjoyed this very private look at the Schwetzingen Badehaus!

Temple of Apollo, Schwetzingen

The gardens of Schloss Schwetzingen, in Schwetzingen, Germany, are world renowned, even more so than the palace, as they are preserved from the mid 18th century and feature a number of unique areas. The first of these is the Temple of Apollo.

The gardens are a mixture of Italian and English styles, popular at the time, and the temple is set atop terraced walls. Set inside the garden folly is a statue of the Greek god Apollo, the god of the Arts and of light.

They look down to an Italianate fountain which ends at a rounded lawn, perfect as an outdoor amphitheater.

 The guardrails have a beautiful verdigris finish with gilded suns set at the posts. The details of even such a small corner of the gardens are astounding!

Next week I'll bring some special structures from the Garden at Schwetzingen. I hope this leaves you with a taste of whats to come!

Inside the Villa del Balbianello

Nestled into the hills surrounding Lake Como is the Villa del Balbianello which is open to the public. On his recent visit my penpal thankfully shared these photos with us!

Last inhabited by explorer Guido Monzino, the villa is left as if he had just packed up on one of his adventures. Decorated in classical mid-century splendor there is much inside to inspire today's decorators.

Before going inside lets first lets explore the grounds of the villa as the setting is really more spectacular than the architecture. Built in 1787 as a Franciscan Monastery, the villa shortly thereafter became a family home.

The Villa and gardens were restored in the early 20th century by an American businessman, Butler Ames, who used it as his vacation home.

The views of the lake and surrounding hillsides are stunning. The gardens are kept simple to allow the view to take precedence.

Above you can see the original chapel with clocktower.

The carved stonework is intricate and fanciful.

 How would you like to wake up to this view everyday? Sign me up!

Inside the elegantly muted interiors leave the spectacular views to become the focal point.

I love these soft boiseries in the main salon. Notice the chandelier is not electrified.

 Looking the other direction the views of the lake are probably amazing.

I wish I had one of these 2 story paneled libraries in my own house! The chandelier is more practically electrified.

 This paneled sitting room operates as a sort of treasury or collector's cabinet.

 The touches of green throughout the house connect the interiors of the villa to the gardens.

 I love the very elegant sitting room above.

The dining room looks as if it could hold quite the large dinner party, perfect for lots of weekend guests. The dreary red carpet 'runway' to protect the floor finishes really ruins the effect.

The velvet upholstered furniture throughout the house is all really beautiful and not dated at all. The chinoiserie secretary is probably coveted by many!

 Notice the very (now) trendy printed curtains in the breakfast room.

 The villa appears to be full of many dining room or perhaps this is a study off the library?

 The kitchen remains efficient and practically simple but notice the stylish lantern fixture.

The sumptuous bedrooms again feature elegant candle-lit chandeliers. I'm assuming these would never or rarely be lit!

 The marble bathrooms are again beautifully detailed.

I think something is really charming about guest bedrooms with pairs of twin beds; I'll file this away for inspiration.

Monzino loved the Villa del Balbianello so much that he is even buried on the property. I can see why; I've added the Villa of my (long) bucket list of places to visit!