Christmas at Filoli

A few years ago, a dear friend and colleague of mine introduced me to Filoli.  She had told me about the old mansion located on an inlet off of the Bay with beautiful gardens.  I was hooked; after all what more could a design girl want?

  When I went to Filoli for the first time, it was Christmas time.  Every room inside the old mansion had a different themed tree. At Christmas, they decorate the home with items for sale to help raise money for the upkeep of the estate.  They have a darling gift shop with lots of goodies, a lovely cafe where you can grab a bit of lunch, and of course the gorgeous gardens.  It is a beautiful way to spend the day. Here are some of the photos I took back then.  I hope you'll have the opportunity to go for a visit soon.  If you do, be sure to try their honey, the chocolates by Charles and kitchen dip mixes, they are all delicious!

The clock with its Doric column dome.

The main entrance complete with Santa's sleigh and reindeer.

A pic of the front landscape on your way to the front door.  Beautiful Christmas colors in red and green.

Here is one of the many trees.

A close up of one of the decorated trees.

One of the antique marble fireplace surrounds with birds, branches and Christmas gardland.

Look at the beautiful French doors, hardware and the fall garden beckoning outside.

Antique China cabinet with very ornate escutcheon plates. Love the gold and white china, it looks like a Haviland pattern.  

The Christmas table all set for dinner.

Here's a close up of the China.

Look at this beautiful stemware!  I love all the intricate details.

The Orangerie is so pretty.

Here is the close up.  Love love love those doors!

The entrance to the gardens.  

 A visit to Filoli never disappoints!  No matter what time of year you visit, there is always something beautiful to see.

Take care,

Christina

The Architectural Details of San Antonio

Recently, I took a trip to San Antonio with my family, and we stayed downtown at the Hyatt Recency by the river walk.  We were so glad we stayed there because the location was close to a lot of the attractions and great food.  One of the things I enjoyed most was our river boat cruise.  Around every bend of the river, it seemed like there was another interesting architectural detail on the bridges, and buildings.  In San Antonio, they have worked very hard to preserve as much of the old architecture as possible.  Here are a few of the details that caught my eye.

I loved the brick building with its arches and the reflection of the building on the water.

An old dovecote and the bells.  I wonder how they might have sounded back in the day.

There was a lot of the old stone everywhere.

 Each bridge was different.  This one has the dental molding on the bottom.

 I love the circular pattern of this walkway edging.

 A lot of interesting Gothic style patterning on the base of this building.

Here is another bridge with two different styles.  The upper pattern almost feels disconnected from the lower portion.

 Beautiful Corinthian capital.

 Another view this time of the fancy keystone with rosettes and acanthus leaf details.

Last, the Alamo, look at the details of the old stone pillars, keystone, and transom.  The shape of the top of the building is really interesting as well.

Take Care,

Christina