The most interesting parts of any house museum, in my opinion, are the service spaces.
Vizcaya was planned primarily around the public and entertaining rooms, which leaves only awkward leftover spaces for the numerous servants which were required in this time period. Oddly enough, the kitchen is on the 2nd floor, not in the basement (but we'll get to that later!).
The first of these service spaces is a cupboard off the dining room (marked passage on the plan above in blue). Functioning as a small butler's pantry, the space also worked as a hall between the
dining room and
tea room so had to be attractive.
The ceiling has a gorgeous painted wood ceiling with painted wood gates hiding the service cupboard which houses china storage and wash-up sink. The gilded English china seen here has an interesting story which I'll talk about at the end of this post. PS: don't you just love these painted wood cabinets?
Located on the opposite side of the Tea Room (seen on the plan above in green), the main butler's pantry is larger than most modern household kitchens. The room boasted the most modern of conveniences for the time period, including the electric annunciator panel above which showed where a servant was required when rung for.
Another modern contraption was the master clock, seen behind the cabinets above, which controlled the time on 10 clocks throughout the house (much like many schools have today).
Above you can see the painted door into the tea room. The open countertops have been converted into glassed-in display cases for the many sets of china Vizcaya posesses.
Above is the yacht china which was in Deering's yacht moored at Vizcaya. It bears the New York Yacht Club emblem as well as his own. The china is rimmed in silver to protect it from chipping on bumpy voyages.
The china seen here was ordered by Deering from England for his house in Chicago and was originally brought over, unfortunately, on the Titantic. The china obviously had to be remade and was shipped over a few years later (hand gilding isn't fast!)
By this point Vizcaya had been completed so it was brought here where it remains to this day. The originally ordered china, however, still lies at the bottom of the Atlantic. No word however on whether the White Star Line covered the replacements; does anyone know? Now THATS a story!
I have long been an admirer of the online retailer Paris Hotel Boutique. When Cote de Texas offered a giveaway of two of their items I jumped at the chance to register!
I was so excited when I actually won! I chose an antique silver dish marked from the Alexander Young hotel. It's so incredibly heavy, beautiful and pretty large too!
I'm happy to report that the item arrived well-packaged and extremely quick. I plan on adding the company to my list of retailers I check out on a regular basis. You never know who you are buying from in online auctions so it's nice to know this is a reputable online dealer.
For now I have the dish living on my coffee table where it really has become the star! Thanks to Joni and also to Paris Hotel Boutique!!
As blogger is being problematic with uploading photos, instead of a real post I'll share with you an adventure from my weekend. A friend from NYC who had never visited DC decided to come down for the weekend as my guest and see the sights.
Sirens blaring, an annoying electronic voice repeating *WARNING WARNING* every 30 SECONDS, elevators and doors disabled for 30 minutes, I then had to explain to not only about 30 of my neighbors that it was a false alarm but also to about 10 very kind (and annoyed) firemen! All said and done, after the excitement ceased, the meal was delicious. So much for a relaxing meal for two! How was your weekend?
Bacon and eggs (fried and runny), wheat toast, english breakfast tea with milk and OJ were on the menu. While the bacon fried (and then eggs done in the same pan afterwards), I took a few pictures. Daisies were snipped from a larger bunch ($4 at trader joes) elsewhere in my apartment and put into a bud vase to brighten up the winter gloom. Daisies are the most cheerful flower in my opinion and really last a long time (up to 2 weeks if you change the water frequently!).
NPR was on and featured the listener's favorite top 10 soprano solos which was a wonderful backdrop. Renee Fleming singing o mio babino caro by Puccini was #1. I hope you are all finding ways to brighten up your winter as well!
6 months later, days before becoming king upon his father's death, Edward's thoughts were only of Wallis as he wrote from his fathers deathbed:
The top photo is a 1930s piece of Minton I have on my coffee table with some Valentine's day themed red candies as my gift to you! It reminds me of something Syrie Maugham might have used when she decorated Wallis's flat (and her second husband, Ernest Aldrich Simpson). This is where Wallis would come to entertain and become close to Edward, Prince of Wales. 
I hope everyone has their own great romance come true: Happy Valentine's Day!
This past weekend I had a few friends over for dinner and they were nice enough to let me interrupt the party to photograph the table settings for the weekly 
Here is what we had (ignore the lamp cord!) - roast beef with carrots, potatoes and celery -a hearty winter meal on a snowy day. 
For dessert (lemon pound cake with fresh whipped cream) I used the bread plates for Wedgwood 'Cuckoo', the small coffee service is antique Austrian by Ernst Wahliss, the teacups are antique Minton and the sugarbowl is cobalt jasperware by Wedgwood.
The tea (violet from Laduree) was served on my sideboard from my wedgwood 'cuckoo' teapot. The sterling tea strainer was NOT fun to polish after a few years of not being used! Crystal candlesticks I brought back from my trip to Paris in the fall.
The evening had some ups and downs -the foil from the champagne gave me a nasty cut which would NOT stop bleeding! The rest of the rose was the best medicine......
I hope you enjoyed the meal as much as we did!