The dome for The Foyer, (which Peter wants to call 'The Great Hall', as he thinks 'Foyer' sounds too French) has arrived from Perth and has been installed by the builders. It is 2.5 metres in diametre measured from the outer cornice, and 1.8m at the dome aperture, which is required as that is the same diametre as the chandelier.
There is LED strip lighting going around the lip of the inside cornicing which can be lit separately to the chandelier, which may prove useful as a night light for guests, or for more subdued lighting if one does not want 64 bulbs glowing all the time.
At one time we did toy with the idea of having the dome glassed and open to the sky above, but that would have required a dramatic reconfiguration of the roof design...
I was very keen to have a coffered dome like the pantheon ceiling...
But alas could not find one the right size pret a porter, and the builders estimated it would take about three of them seven days to make one, which was not in the budget, so we had to stick to a more elegant design (the word 'simple' is banned in our household).
Painted domes are OK if you can commission a Michaelangelo or Antonio Verrio to paint them for you, otherwise you risk them looking iffy. These designs are quite well executed...
Hotel George V, Paris.
Capital Building, Washington DC.
Castle Howard, Yorkshire.
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The dome is centered over a circular design in the marble floor, similar to these examples...
Below: The foyer marble plan...
The statue of the Rape of the Sabines, unfortunately, has been put on hold. So, until then, we are thinking of putting a lovely urn on a plinth in the inner curvature of the staircase, which is a very Georgian idea. Below are two photos of the hall at Osterley Park, with urns inside...
We could use this urn:
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