4 Big Spirits, Falling in Love, Finding a Dream - Magic Mystery Roadtrip Revelations Part 7 Continued 3

Now let's go see where they played!

Are you still with me on the magical tour of the Biltmore? The best is yet to come! We're down on the basement level, where the grownups went to play.

Whimsy and love decorate what's called "The Halloween Room."
The master and his lady painted it themselves, with such joy and sweetness.
You can feel the happy vibes down here.

Pineapples represent hospitality, and those look like some very happy fish!

A nod to Napoleon, whose chess set sits in the library upstairs.

You just know that painting this section of the basement had to be a darn good time!

Enchanting. They loved their kitties at Biltmore, cause they took care of the mice.

She must be dreaming of wonderful things to write down, it looks like she has
a writing instrument in her hand and maybe some rolled up parchment paper.
Maybe she's going to draw instead....

Beautiful windows, gorgeous views, even from the basement.

Yes, they even had a bowling alley! The niches in the walls at the far end of the lanes are
where staff people would stand, ready to run out and set up the pins after they'd been knocked down.

A huge bench where peeps could sit awaiting their turn to bowl, or just to watch the game!

These are the doorways to the changing rooms down in the basement,
where peeps would put on their sports clothing or swimsuits.

Inside one of the changing rooms.

The indoor swimming pool was magnificent.
I think it holds some 60,000 gallons, which is very, very large!

The other end of the workout room.

Let's play!

Walking through some of the basement corridors you could see where the fireplace ashes
could be cleaned out from downstairs so as not to get the rooms dirty upstairs.

The floors are gleaming, and beautiful even in the basement.

Walk in cold storage area.

Canned goods storage area. Note the desk where the staff could makes lists and organize details. I love it.

Yes! They did a lot of canning : )

Male staff had their rooms in the basement. Females were on the highest floors.
No hanky panky here!

Really nice rooms, well appointed.

I think this was the pastry kitchen, but I might be wrong on that.

This kitchen had a huge place with a spit where they could cook
a whole pig or deer or whatever beastie was for dinner.

I LOVED the sinks! There were many in the multiple kitchens down in the basement. Well-used.
With wonderful, long marble cutting/washing board areas where I'm sure meat was prepared.

Very nicely functional, especially for this era, with hot and cold water available right where the work was done!

Even in the basement there were lovely windows letting in light and breezes.

And these windows had spectacular views!

I could stand here all day and do whatever they wanted me to do! What a spectacular place to work.
Dishes? No problem! Let me....

All kinds of state of the art equipment in these kitchens!

This is the view over the big sink. Yeah, I could work there. I bet it's different every day.

Beautiful floors in those kitchens.

Beautiful views in those kitchens. Warm in winter, breezes in summer, and cold water to work with.

The other side of the main kitchen. Look at those gleaming copper pots, mmmmm.

More state of the art equipment for something, maybe a coffee grinder? Very pretty....

Small cold storage for cheeses and things in the kitchen area.

Dumbwaiter for sending food upstairs.
There was another one right across from it.

I didn't count the sinks, but there were many of them throughout the multiple kitchens.
I could happily work at this one too. How beautiful!

Lots and lots of little coffee cups!

And THIS is the staff dining room. Very nice, eh?

Storage area for plant things, yum.

Isn't this a lovely space to do plant things?

Storage for vases and more plant things. They were exquisite. 

See that rabbit up there? Yeah, I want him....

Storage for display equipment used upstairs. Those little wooden stands that
you can pop a bowl on and make it look like a million.
Those glass dust protectors for statuary and what nots. All just beautiful!

Oh my gosh, I'm trying to wind this up but I have to show you the laundry rooms.
Get a load of those irons!

Lots of side-by-side sinks with washboards. Imagine being a staff person and
the sense of community you'd have while you  worked. Could be fun.

Yep, lots and lots of sinks. Wonder if they fought over water pressure.
We can clearly see which was the favorite : )

Part of the main laundry room with clothes press. And/or linen press.

I think this was a clothes dryer. Very innovative for the time.
Am sure they used it for linens, but definitely not clothing.

Get a load of this linen hanger for drying things like tablecloths and sheets. Wowzers!

A little fountain even in the basement area!

Looking up!

Well shoot. I've taken you through the kitchens, but realize I haven't taken you through the bachelor's quarters yet or the gun room and they really are worth a peek. All right, just one more post 'til I wind this up with our big dream revelation. Stay with me, li'l old me wasn't even tired walking this tour over 5 and 1/2 hours, so you can't be suffering too much in your armchair though I know it's long, just enjoy it.... : ) I had a heck of a time whittling down my 586 photos!

Magic Mystery Roadtrip Revelations Number 10: It's so beautiful at the Biltmore that I find it hard to choose whether I'd rather be a staff worker or a member of the aristocracy, back in the day! Biltmore is a great example of how different levels of society can coexist and get work done, but everyone is made to feel appreciated. The employees today say it's still a happy place to work, and it had a great reputation back in the day.

3 Big Spirits, Falling in Love, Finding a Dream - Magic Mystery Roadtrip Revelations Part 7 Continued 2

Need a little help getting dressed? Hungry?
Just press this button and help will come your way.

The master of the house's bedroom.

I had to capture the beautiful carving on this chair, located in the master's bedroom.

And the fireplace mantle in this bedroom. It's a little bit randy, but very elegant too.

Where the gentleman brushed his hair and checked out his duds in the morning.

The clocks throughout the home are gorgeous. Note that candles are set near this clock in the master's bedroom.
What I love about that is that it illustrates how the house is still set up for functionality.
In those days, you'd need some light to be able to see what time it is.

Clocks in those days were important, where today they're practically obsolete, since we have the time at our fingertips on our electronic devices. I still have special, beautiful clocks in my home, but I haven't worn a watch for years.

The private area in the sitting room between the two main bedrooms
where George and his wife would have an intimate breakfast together. 

They wrote letters in this room.

They played cards in this room.

There were mirrors in this room over the fireplace mantels. If you look at this photo carefully,
you'll see the carving of a little guy standing there. I just wanted to bring him home.

The lady of the house's bedroom is located across the sitting room from her husband's room.
It's very "girlie."

Her bed.

Her chaise longue. Wouldn't you just love to take a nap or read by the fire, here?

Her bedside still looks like she could go curl up there tonight.

Something amazing about her bedroom is that the walls AND doors are curved.
No small feat for the architects and carpenters who made that happen!

We're getting to one of my very favorite places of the house, the reading hallway.
Here sits a bust of Moliere, which I also wanted to take home with me. Gorgeous!

Look at those windows! Yes, they all open. Can you imagine how it might have felt
to have breezes flowing through the house?

The Reading Hallway. I could spend a century here too.

Oh look! They have Andrew Lang's Fairy Book Series! I was very excited about this.
Because the reading material in the house isn't just business. It's not just "for show." It's for true entertainment.
Clearly, these people had a very well-rounded sense of what's valuable and I really enjoyed that!

A welcoming place for guests to gather and socialize. 

And in the guests' socializing room there were plenty of places
to sit and read or play music, yum!

In each of the guest rooms there are places to get ready for the day, or for bed, and they're marvelously functional.
Marble tabletops don't mind a little water splashing on them. Notice they have tiled backsplashes too. We don't see this kind of furniture these days, it's been obsolete for a while!

Many of the guest rooms, and definitely the master and lady of the house's rooms have
private bathrooms complete with hot and cold running water. Not so common in those times.
The views of the mountains out all the windows are spectacular too. Look how deep that tub is!

And in those bathrooms they had fully plumbed potties with the tank up above and a pull-chain handle.
You can't see the pull-chain cause it's behind the door. When we lived in London we had a potty like this.

Accommodations in the guest rooms on the third floor of the house are beautiful,
and each includes a writing desk.

Another beautiful desk. I'm a desk person myself, can't remember when I didn't have one.

Many of the desks in the house are set up for "business," in that their purpose was for
the ladies to organize operations with their staff or lady's maids.

There's a room called The Madonna Room, which made me tear up.
All of the prints and ink drawings in this room are of the Madonna. Just beautiful.
People who know me know that I have "a Madonna thing," lol.

I had to take a photo of this doorway. Look how wide the frame is, and so beautiful!

Magic Mystery Roadtrip Revelation Number 9: Stepping back in time into this environment that is, nevertheless rooted solidly in the present, is an adventure not to be missed. Put it on your bucket list for sure! It is transporting, and we found it a magical, wonderful experience.

Just one more post about this beautiful place, the Biltmore, and then I'll tell you the dream Rob and I discovered....