Hillwood Estate

We were there five years ago mainly to see the Pret a Papier exhibit. I heard about the Marjorie Merriweather Post jewelry collection that was on display now at the Hillwood Estate, so we decided to take a ride and visit there again on a beautiful fall day. My husband doesn't remember anything about the place. The last time we visited we did self guided tours after we watched the intro movie. But the paper gowns were extraordinary and were front and center - so it would be easy to forget everything else. The Estate is made up of three unique sections - the house, the gardens, and the special collection. This blog is about the house. This time we took a guided tour and it lasted about an hour. The docent was very technical and date and year specific, which can be overly boring - or interesting - depending on your level of interest in detail. All I know is by the end of it, the group of ten had dwindled to four. There was a lot of emphasis on the Russian collections of paintings, icons, porcelain, and collectibles that Mrs. Post obviously loved. Neither my husband nor I could stand living in such a home meant to be a future museum. I suppose if you have that much money you need to do something with it - and this was one of three or four places she owned. The house was dark for preservation sake, but the wood paneling and tapestries didn't help. I always find the clothes most interesting, and the second floor was more tolerable, but still quite packed with stuff. I used to find these sorts of adventures more interesting. But now they make me kinda sad. It seems anything in excess is odd. This could be considered over the top.