This Really, Really, Really Old House
I surprised Sherry on Sunday with a day away from the 50-year history of house for the almost 300-year history of another. We spent the afternoon at Shirley Plantation, established in 1613 on the banks of the James River, just 30 minutes east of Richmond. Not only is it Virginia’s first plantation, but it’s the oldest family-owned business in North America. It’s also a pretty cool place to poke around on a sunny, fall afternoon.
They don’t allow photos inside the main mansion (where the 11th generation of the family still lives), so we can’t show you the crazy “flying staircase” or ornate moldings and windows. But we did catch plenty of moments around the rest of the grounds. Like Sherry checking out the 18th-century kitchen for design inspiration – but getting none – and me letting loose in a big, grapevine-covered arbor.
The arbor also gave us a few more contenders for new art around the house, like the detail shot below. We’ve yet to decide if and where it might make an appearance on one of our walls. So stay tuned…
Leave a comment
If you enjoyed this post, please leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
That shot of John in the arbor is cracking me up!
I’ve got some photos I want to print & frame as well, like the Eiffel tower at sunset. Unfortunately, of the two I took, I somehow deleted the clear one & kept the fuzzy one. I’m hoping it’ll look “I’m artsy and I meant to do that” rather than “I can’t takea decent picture.” And I have no clue if it’s fixable in Photoshop.
I love reading your blog from the beginning, especially since I already know how the rooms will turn out, lol!