Chatstworh (day thirteen)

chandelier 

trim on curtains

dinning hall

Mr. Darcy

stone garden

pre-maze flower garden

Chatsworth

Today I visited the home of Duke and Duchess of Devonshire.  They live in Chatsworth.  They own one of the largest estates in England.  Chatsworth is beautiful inside an out.  This house is where they filmed the outside of Mr. Darcy's house in the movie Pride and Prejudice.  To our disappointment the end of the house that is the best part in the movie is currently covered with scaffolding.  Apparently they think it’s a good idea to reinforce the stone work that hasn't been worked on for over three hundred years.  This is supposed to be a five year project.  Silly them, couldn't they have waited until after we came?  

In the house it was the small details that caught my eye.  The wallpaper in the hallway was not your typical flat wallpaper, but instead velvet.  The door knobs throughout the house don't all match but are equally beautiful.  There was a bed tucked away in an alcove.  How wonderful.  Wood floor with octagon shapes.  That, I have never seen before.  My favorite detail I kept seeing over and over again was the amazing trims and tassels on the drapery.  I have never been inclined to include such elaborate or traditional elements in my own design before, but today I gained a new appreciation for the beauty of the details in drapery.  My favorite room in the house was more of a stair well, closely followed by the dining room.  The stairwell was two stories.  A light yellow covered the walls beneath contrasting, large portraits.  The carpet was a medium blue with touches of yellow, green, and red.  I loved the simple elegance.

  
The gardens were just as amazing as the house.  I ate lunch in the most picturesque place I have been yet.  It was called the stone garden.  The natural looking large stones guide the water through levels under a bridge where they conclude in a pond with ducks.  Large trees, lawns, and plants add greenery to the scene.  Ahhh.... It was absolutely phenomenal!  I, with the assistance of others in our group, guided our way through the maze created from hedges in the rain.  Our brollies, aka umbrellas, didn't exactly fit between the hedges so it made things a little more interesting.  We also ventured into a coal mine tunnel which was fun to walk through.  Sheep covered the lawns in front of the house just for that extra touch.  The two hour train ride and thirty minute bus ride was definitely worth it.