Tag Archives: decor

photo of The Infinity Room at the House on the Rock

The House on the Rock

The House on the Rock defies description. Imagine the love child of the Smithsonian Institution and P.T. Barnum. Begun in 1945 by Alex Jordan as a lofty home perched on a tall chimney rock, it evolved as “one thing led to another” into an attraction with ever-increasing collections — as eclectic as it is enormous.

I was interested in the pipe organ and other musical instruments we had heard about, and based on the Web site, thought that an afternoon would be enough to explore the attraction. We inquired about the pipe organ as we bought tickets and were advised to not linger too long in any one place. We had no idea just how big this place was.

photo of Jim rubbing Budda's Belly

Rub Budda’s Belly …

We set out through the courtyard, rubbed the Budda for good luck and were quickly in the House. First opened to the public in 1960, the House is a series of rooms surrounding The Rock, no two the same size, shape or style.

photo of The Bauer-Coble Mushroom Lamp

The Bauer-Coble Mushroom Lamp

It is vaguely oriental, but also includes furnishings from other eras. The Infinity Room is an engineering marvel that hangs out over the valley floor several hundred feet below.

photo of Main Street exhibit at House on the Rock

Main Street

The collections that follow are too numerous and varied to describe here, but include a mock-up of a late 19th century main street — complete with fully furnished shops, homes and village services like a sheriff’s office and fire department. With the provided tokens, one can play the dozens of mechanical musical instruments that are scattered throughout the attraction. They vary from small music boxes and pianos to a complete 80-piece orchestra.

photo of Faberge' Eggs at House on the Rock

Faberge´ Eggs

Along the way, there are collections of dolls and doll houses, firearms, circus models, Fabrege Eggs, agricultural equipment, steam power, stained glass, classic cars, pipe organs, carousel horses and a giant carousel and replicas of the Crown Jewels.

photo of a 200-foot sea creature

200-foot sea creature

One building contains a multi-level exhibit of several dozen scale models of maritime ships from hundreds of years old to present. Any one of these collections stand on their own, but to have so many in the same place is overwhelming. Suffice it to say, we wished we had allowed more than an afternoon and could easily have spent a couple of days there. Simply Amazing.

photo of a Beautiful Stained Glass

Beautiful Stained Glass

 

Photo of Marilyn and Jim standing on the new rug

Redecorating

Marilyn, August 1:

Before leaving in June, we visited the Central Texas Gathering of the Southwest Teardrops & Vintage Trailers in Krause Springs. As we met new friends and toured their unique trailers, Jim and I started thinking about how we could spruce up the inside of the Ambassador. We’d been more functionally oriented so we started discussing decor on the way home from the gathering that evening.

photo of The new pillows

The new pillows

First item on the list was a new mattress. Our mattress topper just wasn’t helping create sweet dreams. After asking around, an Internet search for futon mattresses ensued. Based on the searches, we created a list of stores showing inventory. This was followed by what turned out to be several disappointing, unsuccessful visits to the brick and mortar universe. Next stop – Ikea for a futon mattress. While at Ikea, we also discovered a really cool rug and runner to add color to our campsite.

Next, we toured our house to see if we could find anything to fancy-up and add a bit more comfort to the Ambassador’s interior. I had two European square pillows with hand-made designer fabric covers that were in an upstairs closet. They fit perfectly in the Ambassador! Jim was happy because the new pillows added a new dimension to lounging inside. Plans call for adding more decor as we make discoveries on the Teardrop Trail.