Red House Ceilings

One of the really spectacular aspects of Red House are the ceilings, many of which were hand-painted by Morris and his friends.  Some have since been repainted by subsequent owners but the main stairwell ceiling is still original (and smoke stained).

On many of the ceilings you can see the patterns punched with small holes on the ceiling board.  The docent said that Morris did this to guide the later painting (after the ceiling boards were installed).  In some rooms the ceilings were never painted but the pattern was punched.

Up the stairs and through this archway you find the hall with the ceiling below....

To the left is this bedroom.....

In the main living room the small window seat alcove sports the ceiling pattern below.....if the historians hadn't confirmed it was a pattern and color original to the house, I would have guessed this was painted in the sixties!

Love the castle turrets on the stair posts!

A beautiful three-quarter arch...

In the Morris bedroom is this reproduction of the famous blue serge bed-curtain embroidered by Janey.  I have always loved this pattern (daisy)----if I was ever stranded for a year on a desert island with nothing but yarn, fabric and a needle, this would be a great project!

I hope everybody was inspired by these pictures of Red House!  I want to go home and paint white rooms with fabulous ceilings and doors.   Next, the Ducal Palace in Urbino, Italy....

Red House...the main rooms

 Part 2 of the awesome tour through Red House.....The architect Philip Webb designed much of the furniture for Red House -- above is the hutch in the dining room painted in "Dragon's Blood" red.  (In yesterday's post you can see the floor plan of the house. )

Dining room fireplace with miter arch characteristic of much of the interior and exterior brickwork.  I love its 3-dimensionality.

The custom designed dining table with legs that carry out the house's castle turret theme.

As I am away from my library I can't look up the wallpaper pattern but I think it is sunflower?  Does anyone know?

View into dining room from hallway stairs.  I think the wallpaper in the hall is "Apple".

At some point a subsequent owner painted front and side panel paintings over in brown.  Too bad but I love the color of the rest of the piece....turquoise? verdigris?

Down the hall with Webb-designed lighting is a small sitting room with a fireplace that says "Our content is our best having".....obscure??

On the way up the stairs one passes another really simple sweet storage nook.

At the top of the stairs is the main living room with another large custom furniture piece by Webb.  Look at the minstrel gallery with the ladder on the left.  Morris's daughters Jenny and May must have loved this!  You can see the wall paintings by Burne-Jones on either side.

The living room fireplace....motto:  "Ars Longa, Vita Brevis":  Art is long, Life is short.

Below the Burne-Jones murals (unfortunately behind glass) is wainscoting that covers up paintings done by Morris.  Apparently much of the room was covered by his murals before later occupants painted the walls white---heathens!

This is a detail from a bedroom with "Dragon's blood" wooden beams and Marigold (?) wallpaper.  All the wallpaper was added subsequently as Morris did not use any in the house originally.

Tomorrow, the final Red House post....ceilings (incredible) and staircase (a masterpiece).  Ciao!

Red House Hallways....Welcome

Given that I have always wanted to see much more detail about Red House than I've been able to find in books or on-line, I am going to post lots of pictures of the interior.  Hopefully you won't find them all too boring!  Here are a set focusing on the incredible hallways of this house....Above is the front hallway with the fabulously painted door (detail below and also here) and bench.

This door makes me want to rush home and pick up a paintbrush....

To the right of the door is this easily constructed "boot closet".  The detail below shows the castle turret motif that is central to the stairwell (next post).  This would be so easy to do!

Standing facing the front door one would have this side hallway on your right.  The glass doors are inscribed with the signatures of William Morris's visitors to Red House.  What a great idea!

The back door is also painted.....

And to the right of this door are beautiful hand-painted stained glass windows which I believe were done by Edward Burne-Jones.

Wheel of Fortune modeled by Jane Morris....

another window modeled by Lizzie Siddal....

The third hallway is the kitchen wing....
 And here is another beautiful window painted with Morris's motto, Si je puis, or If I can.

 A plan of house I found on the web.....

Pilgrimage to Red House

Oh hallowed ground!

From the National Trust website:  "The only house commissioned, created and lived in by William Morris, founder of the Arts & Crafts movement, Red House is a building of extraordinary architectural and social significance. When it was completed in 1860, it was described by Edward Burne-Jones as 'the beautifullest place on earth'. Only recently acquired by the Trust, the house is not fully furnished, but the original features and furniture by Morris and Philip Webb, stained glass and paintings by Burne-Jones, the bold architecture and a garden designed to 'clothe the house', add up to a fascinating and rewarding place to visit."

a counter-clockwise walk around house......

 northside

 the kitchen garden

The British are such masters of the beautiful garden.  Here the most basic raised beds are bordered by simple sticks---nothing fancy but quite easy and beautiful (although I'm left with the nagging thought that if I lined my garden beds with sticks it would just look like I hadn't done my fall clean-up yet.....need that magic British touch!)

Also in the garden, attached to the back of the house, is the site of the old greenhouse that was torn down and replaced by bomb shelters (above) during WW2.  These themselves are now quite rare and being preserved for posterity by the National Trust.

This bench alcove is through the archway you see two pics above.  Again, it is such a simple design you could easily and inexpensively do something similar anywhere you had an alcove.  A plank bench rests on bricks and the tile back and sides are bordered by a piece of molding that was probably added last.  Morris made the tile and they are quite faded, apparently because he used improper glazing.

Tomorrow the interior....even more fabulous!