The Gilded Age (Part I)

I have always been interested in vintage, furniture, glassware, design, etc.  However, my trip with the Art Institute Study Group was overwhelming! 

The Nickerson Mansion (Driehaus Museum) at 40 E. Erie in Chicago, Illinois

A contrast of time with the columns of the nineteenth century with the skyscrapers surrounding this step back in time.

In 1883 Samuel Nickerson (who founded the First National Bank of Chicago) moved into a magnificent fireproof house build out of brick, iron and concrete.  It contains no plaster but seventeen different types of marble, alabaster, onyx, limestone, magnificent woods and brass.

Entrance to the "Marble Palace"

The living room furniture is original to the home.  The beveled mirrors that are inset in the moldings around the room were placed so that when sitting one could see the whole room.

It has had only two family owners, a business owner and some rental years.  The home is in wonderful condition but mostly due to the renovation that began in 2003 under the direction of Richard Driehaus a Chicago Entrepreneur and Philanthropist.  Completed in 2008 it opened as a museum to the gilded age with Mr. Driehaus' collections of Tiffany glass, artwork and furniture.

This is Mr. Driehaus' office right across the street from the museum, built in 1886 as the Ramsom Cable House.  It was his first renovation project and is a beautiful preserved building.

The wood floors are magnificent, each room in a different wood and a unique design.

The floors, the wainscoting, wallpapers and fabrics (Scalamandre) transport the visitor back to the gilded age.  The floors are all original but the wall coverings had to be replaced in the appropriate patterns of the time.

These lights are original to the home, one grouping had to be replaced and you could not tell the difference.  The home was electrified and was a combination of electric and gas lights.

The jeweled and leaded glass is everywhere!

Jeweled windows in the dining room

This is the only room where the wallpaper is original.  It is Lincrusta by Frederick Walton the inventor of Linoleum.

There are multiple fireplaces in the home all trimmed in beautiful tiles, mosaics and marquetry.

Many of the fireplaces have Tiffany fireplace screens in front of them.

It was common at this time to have tables in front of the fireplace flanked on either side with chairs and a settee.

This is the fireplace in the library and is thought to be the only one in the home that was ever used.  The fireplaces were in such great condition because the home was centrally heated, state of the art for 1883.

The dome was original to the home, but the second owner added the above fireplace and changed out plain glass for stained glass.  The whole dome had to be dismantled during the recent renovation to repair it and put it back together piece by piece.

The collection of Tiffany lamps and glass is extensive.

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Tiffany floor lamp in the living room reflecting in the mirrors surrounding the room.

This floor lamp is a more subtle Tiffany in green glass.

This is a Tulip Tiffany hanging from a gold leaf ceiling.  Many times several hanging lights were made in the same design to put in long hallways or more than one room in a home.

Tiffany's Peacock Light

Tiffany Tulip

One of the first to be electrified and face downward, gas lights had to face up.

Tiffany "One of a Kind"

Executed in glass, brass and mother of pearl

Behind The Scenes

I was invited again this year to the Proven Winners Choice Luncheon at the Mid-America Horticultural Show in Chicago.  It was a bitter cold day and I thought to myself this better be worth it!

Lake Michigan looks foreboding but it is still a beautiful sight even on a cold winter day.

I loved this Golden Spruce, grows only fifteen feet tall and has yellow needles on the surface.

The smaller conifers were very interesting to me especially with the small garden that I have.

Heuchera Green Spice

Hakonechloa All Gold and Fubuki

Solomon's Seal Prince Charming

A low growing variety 12"

Meadowbrite Fireworks Coneflower

Developed at the Chicago Botanic Gardens 18" tall

Darcey Bussell Rose

Considered one of David Austin's best red roses, named after Darcey Bussell an English ballerina.

Endless Summer is still a big display item even though many of us have issues with this hydrangea.

After touring the show we met for a working lunch with the renowned breeder Dr. Roderick Woods of Cambridge, England.  He began his career as a renowned physiologist, scholar and researcher at Cambridge University. 

Dr. Woods had a fascinating career before he became a well known plant breeder, a charming man and totally obsessed with the hibiscus plant.  If you would like to know more about Dr. Woods check him out on the internet.  There was a great article written by Tim Wood of Spring Meadow Nursery on his blog Plant Quest, in 2008, but the link would not transfer over.

Dr. Roderick Woods

The Chiffon series is the hibiscus that has been bred in a few colors with many more to come in the future.  His most loved Pink Chiffon is now being grown by Spring Meadow Nursery in small pots for release to the public in 2013.

Lavender Chiffon

White Chiffon

Hibiscus Blue Chiffon

I think you can see by the form that they are not like other Hibiscus plants from the past.  They are full, can be cut to the ground, can be controlled to be under the maximum twelve foot height, like to be fertilized, enjoy full sun and are one of the last shrubs to bloom in late summer and fall.

 Hibiscus Pink Chiffon

I have to say the day was worth it, the train ride, the walking and the bus rides to and from the train station, the walking through the icy sidewalks to and fro (I did use my trex attachments to my boots - they are great).

A Family Affair

I kind of went back in time, to my childhood and then to my young adulthood.  After attending my Garden Study Group luncheon we were transported over to the ultimate in the neighborhood flower shop, the Phillip Flower Shop Warehouse.

Cooling lockers for all of the arrangements that are ready to be delivered.

Buckets of fresh flowers just waiting for the designer.

Flowers come into the warehouse from all over the world.

When I was a little girl I used to watch the Lee Phillip show on Chicago television, but what I didn't know is that her family owned a flower shop.  She began this show because of flowers in 1952, won sixteen Emmy Awards and moved to California in the late 1980's and into a home that was once owned by Cary Grant.  She and her husband William Bell began writing Emmy Award winning soap operas like the Guiding Light, As The World Turns, Another World, The Young And The Restless and The Bold And The Beautiful.

Glitter and crystals are really in this year in the florist business!

This little arrangement is going to one of the retail stores, price $75.00.

Boxes of Christmas decor to add to arrangements.

Orchids are another popular plant for inclusion in arrangements

The little flower shop remained run by her brother and now run by her very extended family of children and grandchildren.  It is no longer the little shop around the corner but a huge  conglomerate of suburban shops and designer warehouses located in Chicago and the suburbs.

Weddings are a big part of the business with samples made for the wedding parties to preview before ordering.

I think it is wonderful that the bride and groom can actually see what the bouquets are going to look like.  I picked my flowers out of a book of photos!

Most of the wedding bouquets are held like posies but there are still some old-fashioned cascading bouquets.

The fun part of the day was getting to choose flowers and greenery to make our own arrangements.

We all got to make our own arrangements.

This is my arrangement, looking at all kinds of things I could have done differently, but it is lovely sitting on my coffee table!