Fallingwater

Fallingwater, also known as the Kaufmann House, is one of the most famous houses in America, built by Frank Lloyd Wright. Used as the family weekend home from 1937 to 1963, it was then donated by Kaufmann Jr. to the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy. In 1964, it was opened to the public as a museum. It is listed among Smithsonian's Life List of 28 places "to visit before you die".

Fallingwater

Bear Run, Pennsylvania

The house doesn't appear to stand on solid ground, but instead stretches out over a 30' waterfall. Wright's idea was for the family to live with the waterfalls, to make them part of their everyday life, and not just to look at them now and then.

While Fallingwater is considered one of Wright’s greatest masterpieces, the site has had numerous structural and engineering problems since it was built. In the 1990s, the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, along with Robert Silman Associates, endeavored to restore and stabilize the home. The terraces and cantilevers were reinforced without altering the exterior appearance of the house. The house was also re-waterproofed and repainted, and several structures were rebuilt. By the end of the project, the house, which originally cost $155,000, was restored for 11.5 million dollars. Aside from the chimneys and the small terrace that were rebuilt, the rest of the house is original, including the furnishings.

Little gossip about Fallingwater: Angelina Jolie brought Brad Pitt to the home for a two-hour private tour for his birthday in 2006. Apparently, Pitt wanted to experience Fallingwater ever since he took an architectural history course in college.

Le Sirenuse

Last week we wrote about a summer home which became a national historic landmark. This week we are traveling to Italy where, a long time ago, a summer house was turned into an exquisite hotel.

Le Sirenuse

Positano, Italy

Le Sirenuse was originally built in the 18th century for the Marchese Sersale as a family palazzo. Upon opening its doors to the public in 1951, it quickly became one the most glamorous hotels on the Amalfi Coast. Today Le Sirenuse is furnished with all the comforts of a luxury hotel, while maintaining the atmosphere of a private home. The Sersale clan is in fact still in charge of the business.

The spa

The superb view onto the town and the mountains or onto the sea and the islands of the Sirens immediately stand out, either from the terrace by the pool, the restaurant or the rooms. Inside, the furniture and the antique paintings collected by the family, as well as the plants and flowers are all worthy of mention. Conceived by the famous Italian architect, Gae Aulenti - who is well known for several large-scale museum projects, including Musee d'Orsay in Paris and the Palazzo Grassi in Venice - the hotel’s SPA and fitness centre, designed in a modern style which contrasts with the building’s 18th century Baroque style, offer the perfect scenario and treatments for rejuvenating mind and body.

The swimming pool

This is a very special hotel in a very special little town in the South of Italy. Positano was actually a poor fishing village during the first half of the 20th century. It began to attract tourists in the 1950s, especially after John Steinbeck published his essay about Positano in Harper's Bazaar in May, 1953: "Positano bites deep", Steinbeck wrote. "It is a dream place that isn't quite real when you are there and becomes beckoningly real after you have gone."

Definitely a place to be in 2012!!

Le Sirenuse's view

The Marble House

Last April, while visiting our family in Paris, we decided to spend a couple of days in Versailles. It was our first weekend away from our children so we didn't want to go too far from where we were, and we mostly wanted to be in a beautiful and relaxing environment. We stayed at the Trianon Palace, a modern hotel, yet true to its past, a few minutes away from the magnificent Chateau de Versailles. We spent the first day visiting the Chateau, the gardens and Marie Antoinette's retreat. We had no words to describe the Palace and felt quite out of place with our shorts and t-shirts. We felt we were not respecting the beauty of the surroundings: "They should only allow people with long dresses and suits", we joked. Anyways, when back in the U.S., we were curious to know if anyone has ever built a house or a building inspired by the Chateau de Versailles. And we found it:

The Marble House

Newport, Rhode Island

Entrance

Marble House was built between 1888 and 1892 for Mr. and Mrs. William K. Vanderbilt. It is considered one of the finest and most extravagant summer "cottages" built in Newport.

Mr. Vanderbilt was the grandson of Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt, who established the family's fortune in steamships and the New York Central Railroad. His older brother was Cornelius II, who built The Breakers, which also has parts of it modeled after Palace Versailles. Alva Vanderbilt was a leading hostess in Newport society, and envisioned Marble House as her "temple to the arts" in America.

Dining Room

The house was designed by the architect Richard Morris Hunt, inspired by the Petit Trianon at Versailles, Marie Antoinette's retreat. The cost of the house was reported in contemporary press accounts to be $11 million, of which $7 million was spent on 500,000 cubic feet of marble. Upon its completion, Mr. Vanderbilt gave the house to his wife as a 39th birthday present.

The Vanderbilts divorced in 1895 and Alva married Oliver H.P. Belmont, moving down the street to Belcourt. After his death, she reopened Marble House, and had a Chinese Tea House built on the seaside cliffs, where she hosted rallies for women's right to vote. 

She sold the house to Frederick H. Prince in 1932. The Preservation Society acquired the house in 1963 from the Prince estate.   In 2006, Marble House was designated a National Historic Landmark.

The ballroom