Visiting Mansions to See What Most People Miss
Good morning, Live Better than a Billionaire-a-Holics!
Are you feeling motivated this morning? I certainly hope so. I know that I am!
When I saw my first mansion, I was simply in awe of its size and grandeur. In real estate parlance, you might say that I was taken with its curb appeal.
I had an instant desire to look inside. Many years passed before I had that opportunity.
Once inside, my first and most lasting impression was of overwhelming size. I found myself getting lost. Just to get back to the front door again required directions.
Later, I made it a point to first study a diagram of a mansion before entering so I would be able to navigate the many rooms in comfort.
After every visit to any mansion after that, I was soon sure that I'd seen all there was to see. But then, someone would stop by on a later visit and point out dozens of details that had escaped my notice . . . all of which were more interesting than any detail I had spotted.
How can we observe and appreciate more while visiting an impressive mansion?
Observations
Much mansion design involves misdirection. Like a good magician, the architect draws your eye to what you are supposed to see . . . rather than what's really there.
Frank Lloyd Wright's mansions are a good example. From the outside, they can seem like soaring castles floating in the air. But go into an entryway, and you feel cramped . . . eager to escape. The escape leads you down a narrow passageway until you invariably emerge into a stunning room that combines large size and lovely details with delightful sight lines into the lush surrounding landscape. You stop in awe.
It's like a magician has pulled a rabbit out of a hat. But how did he do that?
Recommendations
1. Read about the mansion's history before you arrive.
Even mansions that offer guided tours don't usually tell you the whole story. Over 40 years, I've visited the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, California . . . one of the world's most unusual mansions. During those visits I've heard at least eight different explanations for the house's unusual attributes, which include staircases that end in ceilings and cupboards that open to walls behind with no shelves.
2. Learn about the owners ahead of your visit.
A lot of mansion quirks and special features come from the personalities of owners. Obviously, the first owner probably had the most influence on the architect, but older mansions have probably been remodeled many times. Those remodelings were designed to reflect what the subsequent owners wanted to use the mansion for.
Tour guides are often trained not to share "juicy" stories about past owners, but authors are usually not so reticent.
3. Read about the architect prior to viewing.
For example, I was quite surprised to learn that Edith Wharton had been her own architect at The Mount in Lenox, Massachusetts. That led me to learn about her early interest in architecture before she turned to being a novelist.
4. Find out about the aspects of the mansion that are both usual and unusual in the architect's style.
Mention Frank Lloyd Wright and most of us think of Prairie-style homes and the Guggenheim Museum in New York. But even within the Prairie style, Mr. Wright displayed many different approaches. Did you know that he also produced mansions that were not in the Prairie style?
5. Find out about the mansion's history.
For example, until I learned that Elmwood in Cambridge, Massachusetts had been a Revolutionary War hospital, I didn't think to look for nicks in the bannisters from bayonets.
6. Older mansions usually didn't have indoor plumbing and certainly didn't have electricity. The story behind adding modern conveniences is often a good one.
An 18th century architect could hardly be faulted for not making it easy to add water and electricity to a home. Yet when you visit such homes today, many have both attributes. The solutions required to add these features are often intriguing and worthy of study.
7. Don't neglect the relationship to the grounds.
The best architects often used the grounds as part of their art. For example, Frank Lloyd Wright placed Taliesin below the summit of its hill in keeping with the meaning of the home's name ("shining brow" in Welsh). In this way, the mansion fit into the landscape while still enjoying a commanding view from the home.
Frank Lloyd Wright's most famous home, Fallingwater, is perched above and around a waterfall. The two are integral to one another.
8. Arrange for a descendent to take you on a tour.
Mansions are more than impressive homes. They are the site of family, social and historic events. People who descended from the original or subsequent owners can tell you unrecorded tales of those moments.
9. Look for and ask about secret features.
In olden times, mansions often were repositories for secrets . . . including hidden wealth, places to hide runaway slaves for the Underground Railroad, ways that family members could spy on servants and routes to escape danger. Tour guides will often not share that information unless you inquire.
10. Use the design to intuit the personality of the owners.
Many mansions are huge . . . but have to room to entertain more than a few guests. That certainly tells you something. In other mansions, the husband and wife had sleeping rooms on different floors . . . raising lots of interesting possibilities.
11. Ask about designs and features that differ from what you would do.
Such questions will often elicit unexpected stories. In one mansion, a casual question about the small size of the food storage area produced the surprising information that the home was rarely occupied for more than a few days at a time.
12. Ask about odd contraptions that seem to serve no purpose.
Many tools that were once staples of kitchen and hearth are no longer in use. A good tour guide can often enlighten you on their use. If not, make a sketch of what you saw and look around on the Internet when you can.
13. Find out about the furnishings and art.
These items may have a meaning beyond what you expect. For instance, Salem, Massachusetts China traders after the Revolutionary War often adorned their homes with items they wanted to sell to others. It was like visiting a factory show room.
In other cases, items may have been hand made to tell a certain story about the owner. Many portraits have this quality.
14. Ask what's original and what isn't.
You eyes will deceive you. Curators are brilliant at making things seem natural which don't even attempt to reflect the original living conditions.
15. Meet the curator and ask about what few know.
Curators are usually the greatest experts alive on a given mansion. They usually don't give tours . . . but they often are involved in discussions about rentals for functions.
Any curator will be able to regale you with more amazing stories in a half hour than you would learn on your own in days.
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N.B. As you can tell, I'm experimenting with color. Let me know what you like and what I should change about my use of color. Many thanks to Linda Grace for her suggestions which I am following!
Please let me know what else you would like to learn, and I'll do my best to help in future blog entries.
Here are some upcoming subjects:
Wednesday, we'll look at new places to enjoy grand historic buildings.
Thursday, let's take a close look at the beauties and ironies of nature with Ansel Adams.
On Friday, we will look at better ways to enjoy outdoor living before the weather turns cold.
Saturday, join me to look at how you can create a collection better than a billionaire.
On Sunday, we will examine how you can enjoy your Bible reading more.
Monday, let's take a look at inexpensive ways to enjoy great cruises.
August 31 was the most frequently read blog entry to date. Be sure to check it out!
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Enjoy Mansions Better than a Billionaire at http://enjoymansionsbetterthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/,
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Be a World Hero Better than a Billionaire at http://beaworldherobetterthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/.
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May God bless you.
Donald W. Mitchell, Your Dream Concierge
Copyright 2005 Donald W. Mitchell
posted by Donald Mitchell @ 1:57 AM
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