A Look Inside Biltmore

George Vanderbilt’s “little country home” is a sprawling French Renaissance chateau with 250 rooms. Spanning 175,000 square feet, America’s largest home has 35 bedrooms, 43 bathrooms and 65 fireplaces.

You get to see only a fraction of the home on your Biltmore tour but it’s still impressive.

The dining room is magnificent.

This Louis the XV bedroom is where George and Edith Biltmore’s only child was born.

There’s a swimming pool, bowling alley and full gym.

The kitchen is huge.

There are multiple rooms devoted to the laundry.

There are many nooks and crannies with gorgeous light that seem to call my name.

Of course, the library is my favorite room with this wood paneling, floor to ceiling bookcases and ambiance lighting. There’s even a secret passage that leads to the bedrooms for the convenience of anyone wishing to find some bedtime reading.

I would spend all my time in this room if I lived here.

Touring the Biltmore is hard work if you have difficulty walking or climbing stairs. They do have an elevator to make it handicap accessible and shuttles from the parking lot if you wish to ride.

Want to read more? Check out this post about the estate gardens! We packed a lot into our North Carolina adventure so keep checking back for more stories!

Biltmore Estate

In 1889, George Vanderbilt began construction on his summer house at Asheville, North Carolina. He called the 175,000 square foot home his “little mountain escape.”

By the time it was completed in 1895, over 1,000 workers plus about 60 stonemasons had labored on the Gilded Age mansion.

Look at that detail.

It remains today the largest private residence in America. Most private residences don’t have a front door flanked by life sized stone lions. I’m obsessed with these lions.

Tomorrow I will show you some inside photos. Did you catch yesterday’s story about the grounds? Click here to read it.

Christmas At Biltmore

I have been thinking a lot lately about an after Christmas trip a few years ago. I went to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina to see the mansion decorated for Christmas.

In case you don’t know, the Biltmore is known as America’s Largest Home with 175,000 square feet of living space. The 250 room home has 35 bedrooms, 43 bathrooms and 65 fireplaces. Built by George Vanderbilt (grandson of industrialist and philanthropist Cornelius Vanderbilt), construction required over a thousand men and about ten million pounds of limestone.

Modest, right?

The home was opened to family and friends for the first time on Christmas Eve 1895 despite the fact it wasn’t complete even after six years of construction. So it seems fitting that they celebrate Christmas in a big way each year.

This is an amazing place to visit any day – I was once there in the summer and it was fabulous.  However, it is truly special during the holidays.

You can’t take pictures inside the house and I regret that I have no photos of my own to show you. The house is decorated to the nines with dozens of gorgeous trees, wreaths, displays of poinsettias, garlands and other amazing pieces of holiday decor.

It is breathtaking.

Here are a few images from the outside.

 

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If you go, keep in mind that the day after Christmas is typically their busiest day of the year. My advice is to either not go that day or get an early start in the morning. They have a gorgeous hotel on the estate but staying there will cost you. Consider choosing from one of the many hotels in nearby Asheville. That town also has a nice downtown with some neat shops and there’s a good bit to do in the area.

If you’re from Ohio, it is an easy trip straight down U.S. Rt. 23. Just watch your speed through Virginia. They’re pretty serious about their speed limits down there.

I wish I could remember the name of the sidewalk cafe where I had the most amazing blueberry pancakes ever. The ingredients were locally sourced and the atmosphere was a lot of fun.

Click here to look at other things to do in the Asheville area. 

Have you been to the Biltmore? Comment and tell me your favorite part. I’m a bit obsessed with the lion statues out front and have several pictures (including the one above) to prove it!