Copper Sculpture and Phalaenopsis...

After the arrival of a new sculpture, which was a belated wedding present from dear friends in the UK, we decided to rearrange the furniture to make a place for it in the foyer....

As you can see, it is a female torso fashioned out of British Pennies, and stands about 3 feet tall. We decided to use a table which matched the main foyer table, and place it in the curve of the staircase...

We also decided to update the centrepiece on the main table, which was a huge bouffant of fresh cut flowers to something a little more modern and pared-back, hence the ever popular Phalaenopsis orchards...

Fiat Lux!

Welcome back to Day 2 of the tour. Today we reveal the foyer chandelier in its full glory.

The chandelier is 6' x 6' and comprises several hundred pounds of Austrian crystal. It has 64 candle lights, which have been fitted with warm LED lighting. We spent a lot of time ensuring the finished effect is as close to incandescent light as possible, not wanting to use tungsten bulbs due to their poor energy efficiency and increased rate of blowing (as you will see from the photos below, it would not be an easy task to change blown bulbs. Luckily thanks to long feather dusters, it shouldn't be too difficult to keep it sparkling).

Above: The electrician putting together the frame of the chandelier and wiring up the candles.

Below: They built a scaffold in the foyer and then hoisted it up bit by bit to the right height. It is fixed by a large chain which is connected directly to the framing of the roof. One of the electricians put their full weight on it to make sure it would hold tight - not that we plan to swing from it.

They then completed the wiring and bulb fitting and crystal hanging. Not a job for those scared of heights...

They left some of the scaffolding in situ until I got back from Dubbo, just in case I wasn't happy with the height.

The finished fitting, with subtle up-lighting in the recesses of the dome - which makes a nice night light for the atrium.

The web of crystals viewed from below...

Please join us tomorrow when the tour will continue with a viewing of the bridal suite.

The 'Big Reveal'...

Above: The courtyard with the pond, awaiting placement of the fountain in the centre and some goldfish.

Well, the first Wedding was a huge success with a very happy bride and groom and family. Everyone seemed to have a great night, and it was Peter's and my pleasure to host such a wonderful event. So, with our first event behind us we can now start to share all the progress over the past few months. Because I'm a bit of a tease I'm going to reveal a little bit more everyday until you have seen everything, so for the next fortnight please stop by for your daily dose of dazzling beauty as we unveil Willowbrook Park.

 Day One: The Foyer

Welcome inside the front doors to the foyer. Trevor is busy arranging flowers ahead of the wedding...

What a wonderful job. The flowers were from the gardens at Willowbrook, as well as from my Grandmother's garden. In the background you can see the 2 framed etchings I bought in Dubbo of classical urns. They are paired with a display case flanking either side of the front door, and a bronze and ormolu winged urn continuing the classical motifs. I am going to use the cases to display our intaglio collection, which is too large to frame, and will look quite dramatic on the backdrop of the red felt which is lining the bottom of the display cases.

Above: View towards The China Room and the hallway towards The Dining Room. You can just catch a glimpse of the chandelier above.

Below: Another arrangement on a little gilt wood table in the spiral nook of the staircase. In time this is where our replica of the rape of the Sabines will stand.

 Below: A view of the foyer from the entrance to the Salon.

Below: A view down into the foyer from the staircase.

Time for lights out. Sleep well. Come back tomorrow to see more of the chandelier and how they raised the 6 foot crystal colossus up into the dome.

Construction Progress...

Here are a few pictures of the progress as of last week. The cornicing should arrive next week and then they can crack on completing the walls and move on to the flooring.

Below: a view of the foyer from the front door.

Below: A view of the staircase from the ballroom hallway.

Below: The jungle of flues and various fireplaces. This was one disappointing aspect of the build, that the fireplaces had to protrude into the rooms so much. They are 600mm deep, before the 300mm deep mantlepieces are fitted, meaning they will protrude into the rooms by 3 feet. At least the rooms are large enough to cope with this. 

It was also a pain that under law each fireplace must have its own flu (so back to back fireplaces on the lower floor with back to back fires above require 4 flues coursing up through the walls, and chimney pieces wide enough to hide the flues at 400mm wide each (1.6m plus 1.8m fireplaces = 3.4m blade walls!).

Below: The staircase from the top.

Below: The lift shaft from the top.

Below: The dentils waiting to be fixed to the eaves around the outside of the manor.

Below: Detail of the frieze band onto the top of which the dentils are fixed.

I've got it covered...

The marble has finally arrived from Greece and Italy for the flooring, so I am looking forward to seeing it laid when I next go back in September. Now we are choosing carpets to match the hard flooring.

We have found a nice tufted cut pile carpet from a NZ company called Irvines. It is from their premium solution dyed nylon (PSDN) range. Now, I was raised to believe that the only acceptable carpets One could countenance having in One's home were 100% wool. But it appears that that idea is now completely on its head, with technology far eclipsing the sad and tragic range of harsh and scratchy artificial fibres that were on offer in the 1980s. Modern PSDN carpets are soft, stain proof, fade proof, hard wearing, and look good. 

We also compared triexta/polyester carpets (such as Smartstrand made by Mohawk), which are incredibly popular, with PSDN and woolen carpets. When we went to one independent carpet company who sold all three we were shown a simulated 10 year wear test on woolen carpets vs polyester/triexta vs PSDN and there was no comparison, the PSDN was by far the best wearing.

Above: Willoughby 'helping' choose the floor coverings. Every time we put a carpet sample down on the floor he went and lay on it. I think he agreed in the end that the Westminster City Beige worked best for his fur tones (and was the one which worked best with the beige marble sample).

Above: Westminster City Beige PSDN carpet and the foyer marble sample. The photo below is the same carpet, but is more representative of the colour the carpet actually is. 

It has been paired with the Westminster City Black carpet (above) which will provide a border trim to the rooms in the same way that the black marquina marble will form a trim for the beige travertine. The carpets and marbles including the borders will segue into each other as you transition from the foyer to the salon.

We are looking for a vivid crimson red for the dining room, to match the silk damask walls. We are undecided on a plain red, such as this PSDN carpet called "Grenadier Guards"...

or whether to go for a patterned red such as the Irvines pattern called Delvaux...

or this one called trellis...

The above 2 examples are of a printed nylon carpet, the benefit being the patterns are crisp on the carpet. A more traditional approach would be a woven pattern, such as these by Brintons...

we want to capture a certain look in the dining room carpet, the look created by the carpet in these photos...

 Above: The dining room at Althorpe House

Below: The dining room at Broughton Hall

Above and Below: The dining room at Chatsworth House 

Above and Below: Rooms at Lancaster House 

 Above and Below: The Dining Room at Buckingham Palace

Below: A still from a scene in Downton Abbey. I am not sure of the set location.

For the Billiard room we will chose a green carpet, either plain or patterned. It would be a traditional pattern, such as this...

Above: Brintons

Below: Irvines

or a tartan, which I really like the idea of, as the rest of the room's interior is designed with a Scottish highland flavour...

This pattern by Irvines is from the same range as the first tartan, but is somewhat less traditional!

It would be lovely to own a beautiful Aubusson carpet, such as the one at Chatsworth - worth about as much as our entire manor!...

Above and Below: Beautiful examples of the work of Craigie Stockwell who still make bespoke carpets. The carpet above is a reproduction Savonnerie carpet made for this room at Chatsworth. Below is a photograph of how they are manufactured on a broadloom by hand. Amazing!

In a small homage to this wonderful piece we have bought a small (8' x 5') modern Savonnerie rug for our Chatsworth suite:

Aubusson carpets and tapestries were at their zenith in the 17^th and 18^th centuries. They were based in Aubusson in the upper valley of Creuse in central France. The carpets were essentially large scale hand knotted / loomed tapestries, which were up against the royally privileged houses of Gobelins and Beauvais. Savonnerie  were the most prestigious knotted pile carpets made at this time, following on from the legacy of Gobelins and Beauvais. The factory was founded out of a previous soap factory, hence the name Savonnerie. Aubusson and Savonnierie carpets were available to the nobility and wealthy, whereas the Gobelins and Beauvais houses were employed solely by the king.

Below: Example of the hand knotting of a Savonnerie carpet

Here are some more examples of Aubusson and Savonnerie carpets to covet...

Below: More modest modern attempts...  

Classic designs for carpets: