A Day at Hillwood House, Washington D.C.

Being a Northern Virginian, I swear I have seen everything every Smithsonian Museum has to offer. That's a little dramatic, but from field trips, to cousins coming for visits, I feel like I have experienced everything historical DC has to offer. Because of this, I was shocked when my knowledge of D.C. Museums fell short when talking to some touring Brits. They told me that they had just been to Hillwood House, the most gorgeous and breathtaking estate frozen in time- that isn't own by Smithsonian. So the last time I was home, I went on an adventure to see what Hillwood House was all about.  

A LITTLE HISTORY 

Hillwood House has been a museum open to the public since 1977.  The estate was left to D.C. after its owner, Ms. Marjorie Merriweather Post, passed away in hope of it becoming a museum. The home displays her very impressive Russian Imperial Art collection, French Décor, as well as the estate itself. Basically, Ms. Post had a whole lot of fabulous things that needed to be archived, knew what was up, and wanted to make herself infamous. 

Here she is, Design Reverence's Lady of the Week- Ms. Marjorie Merriweather Post! She was the only child of the man who founded the Post cereal empire. She also married and divorced four men of equally impressive status. After her purchase of Hillwood House, she took on the role of social ambassador and hosted hundreds of teas and parties for A-list Washingtonians and their guests. Fabbulllouuuss! 

Here she is giving a tour of her Japanese Garden. Hey, I have right stood there!

The Tour 

Hillwood House boasts 13 acres of manicured gardens. In addition to the Japanese Garden and waterfall, there is also an English garden, French garden, cutting garden, green house, pet cemetery (RIP!), and putting green. This is just so spectacular- especially because the greenery goes farther than the eye can see. I can not begin to explain how rare (and pricey) this is for Northwest DC. 

Here is the entrance and front of the house. The circle drive in its prime always had two Rolls Royce's at the ready. Am I starting to paint a picture here?

Here is the grand staircase, looking down towards the first floor. Everything was done on such a grand scale, but at the same time the home was warm and welcoming. The house still had a great flow and order, which is so important when working on a grand scale. 

Best room in the house! This here is the formal dining room. All the walls are oak paneling with French rococo motifs. The rug was a gift from the Napoleon III to the Emperor of Mexico- and holy cow, I got to step on it. I tend to push the limits in museums... Anyways, this room is the perfect example of what it looks like to design every square inch of a space. The dining room puts a lot The White House's rooms to shame. 

To show you how frozen in time Hillwood House really is, this the kitchen. All these things were the most high end elite appliances and finishes of the 1970s. With all of the large-scale dinner parties Ms. Post hosted, she had to have a top-shelf team working on modern amenities. Every wall and cabinet remains mustard green. There was a robins egg blue mixer still sitting on the counter! Too cute. It was like walking from 18th century grandeur in to The Wonder Years in one step. Eeek, I love design and the history it holds!