Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Let's Talk Vintage! #60: A Peek Inside a President's Home - Part 1

 
Welcome to Let's Talk Vintage!
 
This is the place to gather for
all things olde and unique.
 
If you'd like to link up a
post having to do with vintage
or if you have a vintage item for sale
somewhere on the web, we'd love 
to have you join in!
 
 
This week I am sharing our visit to a President's home.
 
The 15th President of the United States:

President James Buchanan.
A lawyer, very involved with politics
 who became the Secretary of State,
and then leader of the country for
one term.
 
Since it was in the vicinity of a one
tank trip for us, we decided to
take my Mother for a fun
"family day" out after we
had stuffed ourselves with turkey
and treats, the day before.
 
 
We started out from the visitors
center and made our way over.
 
 
The house is grand and charming
with its red brick and wooden
shutters. Before President Buchanan
bought it, it was a summer home.
 
 
Our tour guide started us
out on the front porch.
 
Note the 2nd floor
has green shutters while the
main floor has white.
 
 

This grand staircase

was very inviting.

It led to the second floor
which is where the bedrooms
were located.
 
We were able to see most of the

house for the tour. We did
not get up to the third level,
where the servants had stayed.
 
 
 
 
I chose this time of
year to visit because I knew
it would be decorated for
Christmas. And isn't our
guide dressed so dandy?
I blurred out his face because
I did not ask his permission
to use him on my blog.
 
 
 
Anyway, the hubs and I both
noticed the wonderful
arched window and woodwork.
 
 
The next room we went into
was the dining room.
Other than the room being very small,
I noticed the corner cupboards.
 
It was like the holy grail of
china. It was gorgeous!
And it was pink.
 
I couldn't take my eyes off
of it.
 
 
Not only was it pink,
it was Parisian.
 
Purchased by the first lady,
Harriet. Now Harriet was not the
President's wife, she was instead,
his niece! Buchanan was
the only bachelor President
we've ever had.
Anyway, supposedly it
had 96 place settings!
 
He said it was because you
received a clean plate every
time another course was served.
 
 
There was another cabinet
filled with it as well.
Also pink and Parisian.
 
 
Similar to this teacup I sold
last summer.
 
 
Here is a shot of some of the items you
would have seen in his home.
 
 
More items with some suggested
 prices of the era. Love the parasol.
 
 
Unfortunately I couldn't
stay in the dining area with
 the pink china, I was
escorted to the next room, 
which was the parlor.
 
There I saw this beautifully
decorated Christmas Tree.
Lovely! The ceilings were
high in this old home,
perfect for a towering tree.
 
 
And this beautiful fireplace and mantel.
Placed above is a painted portrait
of James himself.
 
 
 And here is the fair Harriet, shown as
a much older woman than she was as the
First Lady. She didn't have an easy life.
Her parents died when she was a child.
Which is how she and her brother
ended up with her Uncle James.
 
Then, her two sons died of rheumatic fever
and then her husband died as well.
Very traumatic.
 
This is where I will end the tour
for today's LTV. I can't wait
to show you more,
I decided to break this trip
up into a part 1 and a part 2
since it was photo heavy.

Stay tuned for next week's
second half!
_____________
 
Let's see who is featured this week:
 
 
We'll start out with Adirondack Girl at Heart's
"Junky Vintage Christmas Tree."
I think it is absolutely charming!
I love how she styled the photo using
vintage red plaid thermoses.
 
 
shared these beautiful antique
glass lamps. Her whole room
is stunning.
 
 
and Debby of Debby Goes Shabby
transformed this light fixture
with a $3.00 lace shower curtain!
This is just a shot of the first panel.
See the finished piece on her blog!  
 
 
and Sharon at Blue Willow House showed
us ways to decorate using vintage treasures
for Christmas. A girl after my own heart.
Love her displays! 
 
 
 
If you were featured today or during any
other LTV post, be sure to grab this
"My blog was featured!" button.
You earned it!
 
 
 
Now it's Your Turn:
 



 
Linking with:
 
Vintage Inspiration Party
What's It Wednesday
Vintage Charm
Pink Saturday

20 comments:

Tuula @ Thrifty Rebel Vintage said...

What a great tour. Such a charming house, and that pink china?!! Gorgeous!!!!

My thrift store addiction said...

Fun tour Jillian--LOVE all the pink! Thanks for hosting! Blessings, Cecilia

Rita C at Panoply said...

What a cool yule tour, Jill. I love American history, and always hit that museum when in DC. Of course, the china was like a magnet, not surprised! Can't wait to see the rest of the house. Thanks for sharing, and thank you for hosting us.
Rita

Curtains in My Tree said...


Happy December 1st

Thanks for hosting

Curtains in My Tree said...


I should have said I would have loved the tour through President Buchanan's home.
I would have liked to see those paintings and of course the pink china.
I always like to see the staircases in the old grand homes like this. Just beautiful and so educational for our younger generation and us old folks also LOL
Thanks for sharing

Debbie-Dabble Blog and A Debbie-Dabble Christmas said...

Beautiful!! Love this stunning house!!
Thanks so much for hosting!!

Hugs,
Deb

Bernideen said...

Jillian:
This is my first visit to your blog which I really enjoyed. I found the tour of this President's home very interesting as my step father was a Buchanan from New Hampshire. He passed away this summer. I don't know if he was related as his grandparents came over from Scotland.

Anne's Attic - Design said...

I love your features. Lots pf great ideas. Thanks for hosting. Jo

Joy@aVintageGreen said...

Thank you Jillian for sharing the tour of President Buchanan's home, so beautifully preserved. Thank you too for Lets Talk Vintage 60, a great start to December.

Diana said...

Thanks so much for the feature, Jill! Much appreciated :) Thanks for hosting, too!

Donna Wilkes said...

Loved the tour - especially the china! Thanks for having us all over to share our vintage stuff.

Sharon @ Blue Willow House said...

Jill, Thank you for the feature and hosting your always inspiring party. Can't wait until part two of your visit to President Buchanan's home.

Sharon @ Blue Willow House said...

Oh and I forgot to comment on that lovely pink china. It is so pretty!

Debby Goes Shabby said...

Jill

Thank you for the party and the feature! The pink China, for me to die for, would fit right in the Cline Cottage Cubbard, LOL!

Debby
Debby Goes Shabby!

Deanies Stash said...

Thank you for hosting. I enjoyed your tour of the president's house. That pink china is gorgeous!

xo Dianne

Denise @ secondtimearoundfinds said...

Thanks for the great tour I enjoyed it.
Thanks for the party.
Have a great week.
Denise

Margie said...

The pink china is definitely swoon-worthy!

Diana said...

Forgot to mention how much I liked the tour--we're not too far from Martin Van Buren's home and we thoroughly enjoyed our tour there (did a post on it, of course!). Thanks for sharing :)

Heidi | Mysweetcottage.com said...

Jillian, thanks for hosting and for taking us along on your tour!

Gina @ VictorianWannaBe said...

Oh my gosh Jillian, how did I miss this post last week?! What a great tour, loved it all! Especially the pink china, wowser! Is that a sausage link and chocolate I see in the photo with the parasol and such??
Thanks so much for sharing this tour with us. I'm off to read your post on part 2.
Ta Ta!
Gina