6 Iconic East Coast Homes Where You Can Actually Snoop Around
Tour a Frank Lloyd Wright classic and a historic home built by Cornelius Vanderbilt II.
While hotels and restaurants lend some of our greatest inspirations for design, nothing quite beats the intimacy of a personal space. And though you probably know we’re already enamoured with the classic home tour, there’s something exceedingly thrilling about stepping foot inside a historic property that once belonged to an iconic figure. From the landscaping and architecture to the interiors, getting to wander the halls of old painters, entrepreneurs, and authors alike is a uniquely magical experience.
Though some homes haven’t been preserved and only live on through vintage photographs, others – like the six highlighted ahead – have been immortalised through landmark programs that protect their heritage.
Continue below to find out which east coast homes you should plan a visit to see this year (and perhaps even model your own home after, should inspiration strike).
Any opportunity to step inside a space designed by Frank Lloyd Wright is one you should take, particularly when it’s a house as iconic as Fallingwater. He dreamt it up in 1935 and the Pennsylvania landmark is famous for its organic architecture and for having been built partly over a gushing waterfall. Fallingwater was originally designed for Liliane and Edgar J. Kaufmann as a weekend getaway property, and is now a National Historic Landmark (and a World Heritage Site!) that you can visit.
Live out your Gilded Age fantasy with a visit to The Breakers in Newport, Rhode Island. The historic home was built by Cornelius Vanderbilt II (yes, that Vanderbilt) and used as a decadent summer getaway. The Italian palazzo design by architect Richard Morris Hunt is downright striking and the property features a 50-foot high ceiling with everything from tile mosaics in the Billiard Room to Baccarat crystal chandeliers in the Dining Room. With over 125 years of history entertaining presidents, royalty, and guests, it’s well worth a visit.
Tucked away in New York’s Hudson Valley sits Olana State Historic Site, the former home of Frederic Edwin Church; a prolific painter renowned for his landscapes. The villa has expansive views – you can see the Hudson River Valley, the Catskill Mountains, and the Taconic Range. On the property, visitors can discover the artist’s home, studio, and estate (also a National Historic Landmark), which is a unique mixture of Victorian architectural elements and Middle-Eastern decorative motifs. Even better: the furnishings that Frederick and his wife Isabel acquired remain in the home.
A lavish estate perched on the Miami water’s edge, Vizcaya is the former villa of businessman James Deering. It’s located on Biscayne Bay in Miami, and the villa and gardens were designed in the flamboyant style of the Veneto and Tuscan Italian Renaissance. Here, visitors can delight in the property’s fanciful details from the tea house’s marble floors to the over 2,500 antique art objects and furnishings (not to mention the 10 acres of landscaped gardens and 34 decorated rooms). If you can’t make it to Italy this summer, Vizcaya is a fine alternative.
American literary icon Edith Wharton and her husband Teddy built The Mount in 1902 on 113 acres in the bucolic The Berkshires region, Massachusetts With French, Italian, and English references, the property is one of only five percent of National Historic Landmarks dedicated to women. The main house is inspired by classical Italian and French references and the gatehouse and stable speak to Georgian Revival design styles. Come for a tour and see where the “Age of Innocence” author lived and wrote for a decade of her life.
In the heart of New York City’s historic Greenwich Village neighbourhood is The Renee & Chaim Gross Foundation, the site of the former home and studio space of American sculptor Chaim Gross who was known for working with wood, stone, and bronze. Visitors can explore Gross’s storied living and dining space as well as over 12,000 objects including his sculptures, drawings, prints, and photographic archive.
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