Meghan: Tudor Homes have a very distinct personality that becomes all too apparent when you walk inside. They can be with dark and warm all at the same time and Laurie Gilles Director of Collections here at Stan Hywet Hall is going to teach me what the interiors of Tudor Homes are really like.
I am hitting the road, searching for answers and finding great design. It is a quest of beauty, function and of course, inspiration.
Stan Hywet Hall is one of the finest examples of Tudor revivals style here in America. It is over 64,000 square feet and has 65 rooms. This gigantic home was built by the side railings who own Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. And let me tell you this home is grand. From Its woodef paneling to its huge heart, to its stone floors, Stan Hywet typifies Tudor style. Even when you look up you can see examples of Tudor style in the exposed beams and plaster ceilings. And while the use of large amounts wood and stone are obvious parts of Tudor interiors. One of the most notable features is one that is not so obvious.
Tudor Homes are typically associated with having dark in coat interiors. So, they use of top tapestries and rags is not the first thing you think of. What other common things were found inside Tudor Homes?
Laurie: Inside Tudor Homes, you are going to find a lot of tapestry, tapestries are like artwork, beautifully designed art work that is of thread and a needle and thread if you will rather than of a painted piece. And the tapestries were woven and then hang in the Tudor Style Homes primarily for their beauty and also for their warmth because you could warm the walls of a very cold structure with the tapestry. Another feature is the beautiful rags, the rags that would again warm the floor. You are going to find very simple designs of furniture perhaps just a basic table in your grate hall for instance.
Chests, chest that could accommodate seating, so you could sit on the chest, you could eat off of the chest if you needed too, you could also use the chest as a bed and some people did in the Tudor Time period.
Meghan: Well the furniture maybe simple and function when you look at in it is rather a name. Many pieces had decorative carvings. Specific patterns and symbols were used not just on the furniture but also on paneling, windows and fabrics found throughout Tudor Homes.
Laurie: I think what they were doing, they were using the skill of the craftsman, they were using the woods available and so often you would find the same repetitious, either the length of the pattern or in some instances you would find carvings of figures in history. And again you would find that in the windows as well. That those heraldic or visuals of people from the time period. And in our instances, things Hywet hall, you are finding a lot of features that remind us of old England for instance the Tudor Rose, the thistle, the Fleur-de-lis are three patterns that you will find repeated quite often.
Meghan: And was that in all Tudor revival sell homes? Those type of pattern paints?
Laurie: Pattern yes, patterns like that.
Meghan: I addition to pattern the Tudor art was used often inside Tudor Homes. I have also noticed that the doors are not always square.
Laurie: Correct.
Meghan: They have that arch to them.
Laurie: Arts to them, yes.
Meghan: Is that something that is in all Tudor Homes?
Laurie: You will find that often in Tudor Homes and you will find that you have the gothic shape to the door, the round or arch way to the door. But you will have that square threshold design, so it almost looks as if you are looking at—it appears as if you are looking at a square door but you have this rounded effect to the top of it.
Meghan: The combination of large fire places detailed carvings and beautiful tapestries gives Tudor Homes a story book charm. And while Tudor homes may seem dark and gloomy, I can tell you that after spending a while in them, you will start to appreciate their cozy comforting nature. And with the help of artificial light, Tudor Homes are not all that dark either.
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