The drawing (or WITHdrawing) room at Filoli is, after the reception room, the most grand room in the house. Meant for entertaining guests (ladies) after dinner, this is a formal space. The overdoors of broken pediments, seen above, hark this formality.
The drawing room lies between the reception room and the dining room with the library, seen above in the distance) at the end of an enfilade created by this suite of rooms. Formal architecture like this makes my heart sing! I love the matching overdoors through the rooms.
The carrara marble fireplace is unusually underscaled for the large room. It creates a feeling of intimacy in this seating group but the room lacks a strong focus. This may have been purposeful as it forces one to look at the view of the gardens through french doors. I love the texture of the linen covered walls. To one side of the seating group is a card table while the other side holds a piano. Mrs. Bourn originally used this space as her music room. The stunning Parquet de Versailles floor is of quarter sawn white oak. Each room has a different floor which generally would feel discordant but because of the scale and varied nature of each space, works at Filoli. One last room with some hidden surprises to share tomorrow before we explore the gardens. I can't wait to share them with you!