Friday 20 May 2016

On our travels again....

This time we went to Oxfordshire, stayed near Wallingford but more about that part of our stay another time, first I want to share our visit to....


NATIONAL TRUST

Apparently it was also used as a location for a DOWNTON ABBEY episode.  (This is where I have to admit I have never seen the program, but it seems to be popular) ;)

Anyway, on with some photos I took looking around the house...








An exhibition of Graham Sutherland paintings






We wouldn't dream of putting so much detail on our ceilings,
but I guess if you have such a magnificent house you can indulge yourself a little....





The pillars aren't real marble,
it's a trompe l'oeil illusion....






No, I hadn't fallen over....I just wanted to get the chairs and the ceiling in the same pic




Even the gardens and grounds were stunning



Another National Property that is on our

 ~ Revisit List ~


16 comments:

Marie Smith said...

Such gorgeous detail in the ceilings! Would one ever tire of looking up?

ann @ studiohyde said...

I don't think you would tire of them Marie, each NT house we visit I tend to look up a lot of the time :-)

CJ Kennedy said...

Breath taking! But I'm glad I don't have to dust those ceilings.

ann @ studiohyde said...

Me too...it must take hours!

alarmcat said...

Beautiful pics! I was a huge fan of Downton Abbey...I'm going to miss that show...sigh.

Dartford Warbler said...

Very ornate and magnificent.
I rather like the "lived in" sofa and chairs in the library, which gives the room a homely feel. A good place to retreat into if all that grandeur gets a bit tiring!

Christine said...

just wow, and love the idea of trompe l'oeil marble, very effective.

ann @ studiohyde said...

I guess you can watch the repeats though Sue :-)

ann @ studiohyde said...

I agree, there were rooms that looked 'lived in' as opposed to 'staged' (although perhaps staged is the wrong word for it, but hope you get what I mean).

ann @ studiohyde said...

Yes, I had to do a double take, but realised it wasn't 'real marble'. I couldn't touch the column to check, but was able to peer closely enough to see how it had been done. (Probably with a feather, that gives a better random yet soft line for fake marble painting).

Joan Tavolott said...

Looks like a wonderful place...great photos!

robin cox walsh said...

It's good to be rich! LOL ;)

ann @ studiohyde said...

Thanks Joan, the atmosphere of the place was good, some can be very stark.

ann @ studiohyde said...

Yes, this is just my country house, lol ;)

Sadami said...

Dear Ann, really a stunning house! Mortgage is getting so high in Sydney, btw. Cheers, Sadami

ann @ studiohyde said...

The same here Sadami, mortgages are getting out of peoples reach sadly. Seems to be a worldwide situation doesn't it.