Monday, April 9, 2012

Iside Filoli

Two weeks ago I showed you the gardens of Filoli, an estate south of San Francisco built in the early 1900's.  Today I'll give you a peak inside the mansion.
Reception Room
Most of the first floor is open to visitors.  You can take a guided tour or wander through on your own.  Volunteers are stationed throughout to answer questions and protect the furnishings.
Library
The house is furnished much as as it would have been during the period it was a home.  Some furnishings were donated by the grandson of the first owners, Mr. & Mrs. William Bourn, some by the second owner, Mrs. William Roth.  Much of the furniture was the gift of a collector, Melville Martin, who wanted his collection showcased in a realistic setting rather than a museum.











With his involvement in gold mining it is not surprising that William Bourn would feel the need of a vault in his home.  In fact, he had several.  One was off the kitchen for storing the family silver and two were in his study.
The second owners, Mr. and Mrs. William Roth had no need for three vaults.  One of the two in the study was turned into a wine cellar and the other into a wet bar.



Ballroom Mural
The Bourns gave their daughter Maud and her husband Muckross House and Abbey as a wedding gift.  It included eleven-thousand acres around Ireland's Lake Killarney.  He hired a San Francisco artist to paint murals of the estate on canvas which were applied to the ballroom wall.  A rather nice wedding present.











The second owners of the estate were Mr. & Mrs. William Roth.  This room, originally a breakfast room now houses ship models and other maritime collectables.  One model is the Matson flagship the Lurline.  Mrs. Roth was the daughter William Matson, founder of the Matson Navigation Company.





The large commercial Oven in the kitchen had originally been intended for use on of the Matson ships.  When the household oven broke during the second world war and couldn't be repaired this was diverted for use at Filoli.  It's interesting to see it juxtaposed with the modern oven.  The walls are decorated with covers from Matson Liner menus.
 Through out the house are lovely flower arrangements, made each week by volunteers with flowers from the cutting garden.
Screen and detail
The frame for this screen had belonged to the Bourns and Roths.  The panels, scenes of Filoli, were stiched by the San Mateo Tuesday Stitchers. 

The gardens of Filoli are spectacular and the house displays fine workmanship we don't often see.  We greatly enjoyed our visit and hope to go back.  There was far to much to see in one visit.  You can learn more about Filoli here.

Find more views of our amazing world at Our World, Tuesday, hosted for us by Arija, Gattina, Lady Fi, Sylvia and Sandy.

21 comments:

Sylvia K said...

Terrific post for the day, Martha, as always! And what a fascinating and beautiful house Filoli is!! I would love to visit there! Hope your week is off to a great start and that you have lovely weather -- surprise, surprise! WE DO!!!

Sylvia

Gaelyn said...

Wow, what an amazing house. Nice to be able to tour it. Love the hand stitched screen.

Unknown said...

Great tour!! Glad to see its been maintained in the style of a real home rather than a museum. Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

Unknown said...

Great tour!! Glad to see its been maintained in the style of a real home rather than a museum. Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

Diane AZ said...

Interesting tour! I like the sculptures, flower arrangements and needlepoint screen.

Randi said...

Beautiful shots! I would love to visit this house.

mick said...

That is a beautiful home and it is so good that it is open to the public to view.

Anonymous said...

oh how very wonderful a home. spending days, probably weeks reading ... thank you for this journey. please have a good tuesday you all.


daily athens photo

Linda Reeder said...

Thanks for the tour. I do love the garden at Filoli, but haven't been inside the house.

Yogi♪♪♪ said...

That looks like a great place to visit. I like it that the collections are on display. People who collect should have a game plan for the end game when they are not around.

My father has a bunch of Japanese art he collected when he was with the Army of Occupation of Japan after WWII. After assuring him that me and my siblings didn't want it he is giving it away to various musuems. They have put much of it on display and it is nice to see some of the items from my childhood on display for everyone else to see.

Otherwise who knows what would have become of it.

Barb said...

You've been a good tour guide, Martha. What a nicely restored piece of history.

Penelope Notes said...

What a wonderful home so exquisitely furnished yet very livable and with a homey opulence. Imagine being gifted eleven thousand acres by a lake … what a lucky daughter AND son-in-law!

Unknown said...

the flower arrangements were the first that got my attention. amazing pieces of furniture and collection. thanks for the tour.

biebkriebels said...

I love to visit those old houses with furniture and have a sight in the lives of the residents.

Carver said...

I enjoyed the tour of this beautiful mansion and very interesting information.

Ebie said...

I love the collection of books.And the Chinese artistry is beautiful!

LindyLouMac said...

How fortuitous that you were able to take interior photos to share, a lovely place.

EG CameraGirl said...

It's fascinating to see how the wealthy lived in the early 1900s!

Beautiful Day said...

I'm swooning over the library- beautiful!xx

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

Oh gosh -- just as beautiful and awe-inspiring inside as out. Wow! Love the way the second owners repurposed those extra vaults!

Latane Barton said...

I love the library. What a peaceful place to while away the hours. Great shots.