My camera batteries died while were at the Open House, but here's what few photos I did manage to take.
This pic is a little blurry, but the eagle supported tables in one of my favorite things in the Governor's Mansion.
The first tree you see upon entering.
And a close-up of the dogwood flowers that adorned it.
The stair case has always impressed me, even though it's heavily masculine-looking. I know such detailed work in wood was not easy to do during that time frame, so that makes all the ridges even more impressive. The finials at the end of the staircase have Raleigh's oak symbol craved into each side, and for some reason, that always makes me think the staircase resembles nutcrackers.
From the NC room...(again, sorry for the blurriness) a wreath made from dried tobacco leaves.
The mantel in this room is covered in dried flowers and cotton balls. Notice the North Carolina trees below instead of the poinsettias that graced the rest of the mansion?
And the table centerpiece...made from an Apex bakery, the gingerbread house is in the shape of a tobacco barn (and looks like wood!) and is placed on top of a burlap (tobacco) bag.
Not sure of the schedule, but various school groups were singing (and they sounded good!) A new group was coming in to look around before singing as we were leaving.
The poinsettias were HUGE...the largest I've ever seen. At first we thought there were several plantings in one pot, but it wasn't. This is ONE plant.
I hate I missed getting photos of the dining room and front room. The dining room was done in an apple/lime green color. They had those tall cylinder vases all along the table, filled with assorted green ornaments, then the next one would be a different type of green ornaments, followed by green apples. The mantle there was also decorated in the same shade of green. The front room also had a huge tree (matching the other tree in height) but was decorated in majestic colors of gold, silver, purple, and mauve...very ornate.
Oh! I forgot the sunroom....it's tree was covered in ornaments made by children of parents serving overseas (the ones stationed at Ft Bragg and Camp LeJuene). It was very patriotic, bright, and cheerful.
And outside? Next to the entrance/security gate was a winter-garbed tree (void of leaves) covered in red ornaments. I told Bobby that must be their Charlie Brown tree.
If you've never been to the Governor's Mansion, you can either schedule a tour or watch for Open Houses in the spring or at Christmas. I think it's something everyone would enjoy. Granted, you don't get to see the actual living corridors upstairs, but it's still quite impressive.
Comments