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.

The Gardens of Filoli

We finally had a chance to visit Filoli, a country estate built south of San Francisco in 1914.

I first became aware of Filoli when we visited the Empire Mine, the subject of an earlier post.

The house was commisioned by William Bourn who had made his fortune from the Empire mine.

After the death of the Bourns the property was sold to Mr. & Mrs. William Roth who continued to lavish loving care on the gardens.

The house and gardens were given to the National Trust for Historic Preservation in 1975.

Professional staff, interns and an army of volunteers work to keep the garden a showplace for all to enjoy.

I wished we had been there a few weeks later when the wisteria that drapes the portico will be in bloom.

But then this beautiful magnolia might not have been in bloom if we had come later.

The entrance was graced by pots of fragrant blooms.  I'll leave the interior of the house for a later post.

The formal gardens are divided into many garden rooms.  I think this Sunken Garden was my favorite.

Looking across the Sunken Garden, one sees the Garden House, beyond it is the Walled Garden.

Along the wall of the Walled Garden is a row of  London Plane trees, pruned back to knobs (pollarded).

Inside the Garden House were more fragrant flowers.  I wonder what flowers will be there later, when the bulbs are done

In the Walled Garden.

Another view of the Walled Garden, this spot is called the Wedding Place.  I do not recall if it was the Bourn daughter or the Roth daughter that was married here.

There is a lot of work to keep up these gardens.  All of the trees and shrubs require care and pruning.

Now I'm wondering, what will it look like next month, the month after.  I guess we will just have to return and see.

This is one view of our wonderful world, to see others visit That's Our World, Tuesday, hosted for us by 

Arija, Gattina, Lady Fi, Sylvia and Sandy.