Downton Abbey

The saloon is the center of the house. The hallway upstairs, where the bedrooms are located, looks down on the saloon. The walls are in leather, purchased from Cordoba in Spain.
The wedding of Lady Mary Crawley (played by Michelle Dockery) to her cousin Mathew Crawley (played by Dan Stevens) takes place in the saloon in season 3.
The 150-year-old grand staircase leading from the bedrooms to the saloon is very much a feature of “Downton Abbey.” lifestyle.inquirer

betweennapsontheporch

 

 

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The stairs leading down to the quarters of the household and kitchen staff will give you mental images of Mrs. Patmore, the head cook (Lesley Nicol), or Mrs. Hughes, the head housekeeper (Phyllis Logan) sending maids and footmen scurrying about once the morning bell is rung.

I was so interested to see the vintage kitchen but, to my disappointment, a modern version sits in its place, along with a tearoom and a restaurant for visitors. The kitchen we see in “Downton Abbey” is also a creation in the studio at Ealing.

A hundred years ago, as played out in “Downton Abbey,” an aristocrat had a staff of 60 in an organized hierarchy of positions: butler, underbutler, housekeeper, head valet, valet, senior lady’s maid, lady’s maid, first footman, second footman, head housemaid, housemaid, head cook and her kitchen staff, and the gardeners, chauffeurs and nanny. lifestyle.inquirer

THE LIBRARY

DINING ROOM

THE DRAWING ROOM

DRAWING ROOM

Scene of confidential fireside chats, it is the room to which all the family retire after meals to sip brandy or continue conversations from the dining table. Servants could not go to  bed until the family retired, often around midnight. The room was usually left in disarray — a maid’s first job at 5am, before she could have breakfast, was to clear the glasses, tidy the cushions and rake out the fire. dailymail

http://www.highclerecastle.co.uk/state-rooms

The drawing room image @Boston Globe. The drawing room was designed by Almina, the 5th Countess of Carnarvon, in the “rococo revival” style.  janeaustensworld

  

betweennapsontheporch 

The room is a communal one and entertains the ladies and gentlemen before and after dinner. The room plays host to many games of Bridge and other games, the room is more formal than the Library and presided over by Carson. On occasions the room may be used in the day by Lady Mary, Lady Edith or Lady Grantham who may sit and sew, perhaps read the latest Vouge catalogue or to write a letter. The room as explained by Mrs Crawly on her visit to Canvenham Park has that of a femanine personality, so too the the music rooms and tea rooms, where as the Libraries and Dining Rooms of a country house, hence the ladies connection with this delightful and beautiful room. During the first world war the room doubled as a ward when the house was converted into a convalescent home. The room was cleared of much of it's contents and white cast iron hospital beds were brought in. The room once transformed back to it's former glory continued to be one of the main impressive features at Downton Abbey. wiki/Drawing_Room

In 1895, Alfred de Rothschild gave his daughter Almina bolts of green French silk from which to decorate this lovely south facing Drawing Room. Narrow cupboards between the double doors from the Drawing Room to the Smoking Room hid the 5th Earl of Carnarvon's collection of Egyptian antiquities. highclerecastle

dailymail

LADY MARY' S SLEEPING ROOM

 dashingdays