Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Tour of Newport Flower Show - Part 2

As we continue on with the tour of the Newport Flower Show at Rosecliff let's peak inside the mansion to see the displays in the formal rooms of the first floor.

All of the furniture had been moved out of the publicly viewed lower rooms for the flower show. These rooms had impressive architectural details that stood out against the empty backdrop. Each room showcased stunning floral arrangements. One room boosted a feminine theme with pink wallpaper and brightly-colored framed portraits. Another was masculine with dark wood paneling and hunting scenes of the day.

The Salon along the south side of the house just beyond the grand staircase and foyer has a large tapestry and coffered ceiling. An over-scaled Gothic fireplace dominates the room.

Below are some pictures of the floral arrangements in the salon.

(Remember, you can click on each picture to enlarge it and get a closer look.)





From the salon you walk into the most impressive room of the house, which is the centrally located ballroom. You can get a glimpse of the ballroom from the outside front through the palladium windows. The room stretches from front to back of the house and is an impressive 40 by 80 feet. It is the largest ballroom in all of Newport. Towards the front the ballroom overlooks the formal hedge garden and in the back there are majestic views of the Atlantic ocean. Mrs. Oelrich, the lady of the house, was one of the grand hostesses of Newport and thus the most important room in the house was this centrally located ballroom. For the flower show it was set up with stations showing floral arrangements. Each one with a theme and each one seemed to be more dazzling then the next as the sun sparkled through the large windows with the impressive tromp l’oeil cloud ceiling overhead.















Towards the north side of the ballroom a display of tablescapes was setup. Look at how unique these all are.







If you keep heading north towards the northern most rooms you'll find a dining room and a billiard room separated by a marble anteroom backed, on the service side, by a butler's pantry, which service the subterranean kitchens below. The billiard room housed the photography competition display, which I didn't take pictures of - maybe I should have since the pictures were so amazing!

The dinning room pictures you can see below.








Going back towards the center of house through the ballroom you exit through a set of glass doors to the covered veranda. What's out here on the veranda and the yard facing the ocean will be highlighted on the next installment of the tour.

11 comments:

Darla said...

Beautiful arrangements, the tablescape reminded me of the Adams Family!

tina said...

What a spectacular place to hold a flower show. I know those folks must be very very proud of all their work. You did a great job showcasing it.

Catherine@AGardenerinProgress said...

This seems like the perfect place for a flower show. I'd be just as interested in the house as the flowers. Some very unique floral arrangements, I wish I was that creative.

Dirt Princess said...

Those table scapes are unreal!!!! Very creative!!! I love the "leaves" used as a table cloth! Do they have weddings here? Seems like it would be a wonderful to have a wedding and reception

Ellie Mae's Cottage said...

They do have weddings there. It's a great setting for one. -Jackie

Anonymous said...

What unique and fascinating arrangements and wow, what a backdrop! Thanks for sharing these photos.

Anonymous said...

Hi Jackie~~ Thank you for visiting my blog and for the nice compliments.

I love the mansion, the grand stairway is breathtaking. Well, all of it is actually. The painted, themed bicycles were unique. What a great idea! I'm looking forward to Part 3.

Northern Beauty Seeker said...

What a perfect setting for this creative show.

I am in love with the table settings with the birds nests bowls. Oh, and the giraffes. My little guy calls them 'Bafs' and he would have been thrilled to see these versions :)

Cathy S. said...

Beautiful table scapes, since I am a floral designer I have seen many different styles of arrangements but my favorite is the victorian and gardeny look. You must be having a great time.

-Cathy

RURAL said...

Stunning....simply stunning.

And I adore the birds nests on the table, oh how I love birds nests.

Jen

Dee/reddirtramblings said...

Oh, that is just beautiful. I really loved those naturalistic arrangements. That seems like an oxymoron doesn't it? Thanks for your nice words about my blog.~~Dee