Thomas Jefferson's Home

Visiting the home of Thomas Jefferson, Monticello in Charlottesville, Va and some of the interior details that caught my eye.

Recently we had the opportunity to visit Charlottesville, Va as a day trip while visiting my daughter at college. It's such a pretty town with a great mountain backdrop, apple orchards, wineries, a cool shopping and dining scene, AND Thomas Jefferson's home. I do have to admit that I'm a bit of a historical building lover. I love architecture, how things were created long ago (hello - cool pulley system!!) and just the level of detail that used to be put into things. Despite the very rainy and cold day, touring his home was great. There were so many details that fascinated me and I spent a good deal of time wondering, "why do we not do that anymore??" Let's dive into Monticello.

Before getting a glimpse of what was thought of as a grand home at the time, you first get to visit the gift shop and a small museum discussing the intricacies of creating the dome of the home and some of the architecture and design that went into building it. After (or you could skip the museum and shop and just head straight to the house), you head to the waiting area for a bus that takes you out to the home. Due to the cold and rain, we opted not to tour the grounds and gardens, but I'm sure they were lovely.

You enter through the front portico and are greeted a large foyer type room with several historical artifacts. If you get a chance to wait on the porch, don't forget to look up at the molding detail. There are faces carved in and some beautiful egg and dart and dentil molding. Really, just all the molding. In the center of the foyer ceiling is an eagle with 18 stars around it, said to be for the states at the time. This large foyer would be where people would wait for Jefferson and was adorned with things he loved and felt were educational. Jefferson loved to travel and brought many of the details and ingenuity of the home back from his trips to France. It's honestly such beautiful detailing as you look around. One thing you will notice though is the lack of a grand staircase. The staircase is further into the home and not grand at all, but tucked in and discreet. If you turn around and look back towards the doors you came in through, you will see a large clock that is connected to some chords. The chords go both directions and go down along the walls past the days of the week!! As the clock ticks it works with gravity and the weighted balls then are able to tell you what day of the week it is. But as we are standing there, I realized it only went to Friday! Where was Saturday? Later on during the tour (when touring the cellars) Saturday was found! Seriously such a cool invention. This was one of my favorite things from the tour. If you want to learn more about the clock, here is a link to how it works. Jefferson's Entrance Clock

Next you travel through his writing room, library, and bedroom. Again, there were lots of interesting items to look at, but one of the one's I really enjoyed was his closet! There was a lower closet, that had a turnstile system with clothing hanging from it. Why do we not use this design anymore??? It seems so functional. His other closet was above his bed, to save space. In the pictures you will see holes above his bed, this was to keep the clothing ventilated and to allow some light to come into the closet. You can also see the skylight above the room allowing natural light into the home. Notice his bed tucked into an alcove to save space in the room and allow for additional furnishings. What a level of privacy that creates!!

Next you tour the parlor and dining room. Here is where I found another tucked away find! On the sides of the fireplace hidden are dumbwaiters! This is where he would have his bottles of beer or wine sent up from the cellar below. Next to the dining room is a revolving door, where foods would be set up and then turned around to be served. He really was quite a man of using all space and invention. If you look at the photos you can see the door open to the side of the fireplace (this actually was on both sides), next a close up of the mechanism inside and the bottle. Then you can see a photo of the cellar where the bottle comes up from. The last photo is the turning door. It pivots from the center of the door.

Jefferson was one of the very first to have "indoor" bathrooms; called a privy. This was not upstairs in the home, but below in the cellar area. Bathrooms sure have come a long way from this primitive one!! Yikes. Glad I'm not designing homes with this bathroom design.

One of the last things we saw was the kitchen where the meals were prepared. Unlike the very bare bathroom design, the kitchen was quite a surprise. Honestly I could see this kitchen gracing the covers of magazines today! This style of rustic beams, exposed brick, hanging pots, are all still popular and sought after today.

We enjoyed our tour of Jefferson's home, Monticello very much and if you are ever in the area; it's a nice way to take a peek into the past.