BlackberryJam March 27 Share March 27 Let’s start it off right. Vaduz Castle, Liechtenstein. They are rolling in money and some of the snottier royals. So here with go with their dreary castle! 10 1 Link to comment
merylinkid March 27 Share March 27 Now I understand the boring interior. That's a Royal Hunting Lodge, not a castle or a palace. 7 Link to comment
BlackberryJam March 27 Share March 27 They have tried to brighten the interior with white paint. That chandy looks dirty. The window is small and I suspect there is zero natural light. The tapestry is faded. The ancestor in the portrait disapproves of that floral motif. That carpet and silk flowers look like they were stolen from a wedding planner's reception area. And that lamp needs to go to a garage sale. IT FELT SO GOOD TO LET ALL THAT OUT. This is where they normally have photos taken. The 1970s paneled basement of my parent's friends, Joe and Linda. They used to send us kids down there to play. That end table is hideous. Those throw pillows look cheap. The couch is too low and adults would struggle to get up from that, especially if they have bad knees. They artwork looks like it was stolen from the Small Town Heritage House One Room Museum in Bumfuck, Indiana. These people have enough dosh to paper the place in platinum leaf and they bring guests to that room. 10 Link to comment
Dani March 27 Share March 27 That’s a big step down from their former home, Valtice Castle. Which was annexed by Nazi Germany. They have been trying to get it back for decades. 6 Link to comment
MissLucas March 27 Share March 27 (edited) Castle Vaduz is not a neo-gothic creation of the 19th century. The keep and other parts date back to the 12th century. Reconstruction work in the 20th century was done according to principles of modern conservation (i.e. modern at the time it was performed - conservators keep adapting their field to new research and reconstruction methods). The small window is made of crown glass. The white paint and the scrollwork on the staircase is simply what the place would have looked like in the 16th or 17th century and original tapestries do fade. That wood panelling is gorgeous and pretty much what you would have seen in many other noble or patrician residences of the region during the middle ages and early modern times (pretty much until the late 18th century). I'm not going to defend the modern furnishings but I'm not dissing the Liechtensteins for trying to retain as much original substance of the building as possible - even if that means disappointing folks who expect castles to look like Neuschwanstein. If you like a more elegant residence there's the Liechtenstein City Palace and the Liechtenstein Garden Palace in Vienna. Edited March 27 by MissLucas 7 3 Link to comment
Bethany March 27 Share March 27 I covet the carpet in the first picture. Why do I know it is probably priced well beyond anything I could ever afford?? 5 Link to comment
BloomsburyRez March 27 Share March 27 3 hours ago, BlackberryJam said: Let’s start it off right. Vaduz Castle, Liechtenstein. They are rolling in money and some of the snottier royals. So here with go with their dreary castle! If I had booked a hotel room in the countryside and drove up to this I’d be rethinking my reservation. It looks like a haunted version of the hotel in Dirty Dancing. 2 hours ago, BlackberryJam said: This is where they normally have photos taken. The 1970s paneled basement of my parent's friends, Joe and Linda. They used to send us kids down there to play. That end table is hideous. Those throw pillows look cheap You know it’s bad when Anne would tell them to update every once in a while. 9 Link to comment
BlackberryJam March 28 Share March 28 Let's discuss this interior. I want to call that desk back there a roll, but it's not in the traditional sense of having the "roll" part slatted. I am not an expert on furniture bits, what do you call that? Point being, it's cool. I have a Bombay secretary and I love it. I am also loving the blue silk on the couch and chairs. Is that giant vase sitting on an elephant table? I realize those paintings are likely very expensive and very old, but they are also very dreary. The natural light makes the visiting dude's hand look like it's encased in a pink glove and Chaz look like he's just sipped a cup of fresh blood. 2 6 Link to comment
MissLucas March 28 Share March 28 They come by different names but I think cylinder desk is the one furniture aficionados prefer. I recently saw a documentary on the most famous example the Bureau du Roi made for Louis XV - it took almost 10 years to construct and it has its own Wikipedia entry. 3 4 1 Link to comment
gingerella March 28 Share March 28 (edited) 4 hours ago, BlackberryJam said: Let's discuss this interior. I want to call that desk back there a roll, but it's not in the traditional sense of having the "roll" part slatted. I am not an expert on furniture bits, what do you call that? Point being, it's cool. I have a Bombay secretary and I love it. I am also loving the blue silk on the couch and chairs. Is that giant vase sitting on an elephant table? I realize those paintings are likely very expensive and very old, but they are also very dreary. The natural light makes the visiting dude's hand look like it's encased in a pink glove and Chaz look like he's just sipped a cup of fresh blood. The desk can also be referred to as a roll top as it would indeed roll up into the top to reveal the interior compartments and desk writing area, but it can also be called as a secretaire, and I believe it is Regency style. The vase is on a stand of lions paws and floral garlands drap round the base that holds the vase. The lighting is bizarre and seems to be coming through stained glass. Someone should have known better and moved them into better light if for no other reason than to not make Chuckles look like Bela Lugosi playing Dracula... ETA: I think what we are seeing is English Regency style, which came about after the French Regency began. French Regency style has plentiful curves and frou frou all over - like a Baroque-Rococco nightmare IMO - whereas English Regency is more angular with straight lines, and the desk above looks more like straight lines to me. If it were French, I think it would be more...bulbous if you will? And the legs would arc and curve more. Either way, I loathe Regency period furniture but Mr. Gingeralla adores it. He especially loves the gigantic bronze sculptures of Nubian boys holding giant palm umbrellas, or humongous gilt strewn giraffes. Mercifully we cannot afford these things so I have no fear of him ever coming home with one, but god help us if we ever come into an inheritance... Edited March 28 by gingerella 2 2 3 Link to comment
Good Queen Jane March 28 Share March 28 34 minutes ago, gingerella said: The lighting is bizarre and seems to be coming through stained glass. Someone should have known better and moved them into better light if for no other reason than to not make Chuckles look like Bela Lugosi playing Dracula... Probably the same courtier that let him wear a sock with a hole in it when he was visiting a Muslim site. 1 5 Link to comment
BlackberryJam March 31 Share March 31 The Royal Greenhouses at Laeken in Belgium will be opening soon. I haven't gardened in years, but DAMN that's beautiful. My geraniums never looked that good. Is that fuschia hanging? Or a variation of fuschia? Gorgeous. 8 14 Link to comment
CountryGirl March 31 Share March 31 Those are gorgeous, @BlackberryJam. They literally brightened up my day. 7 Link to comment
Llywela April 1 Share April 1 They are hanging fuchsias, yes. I often buy hanging fuchsia varieties for my hanging baskets, but they never look that good! 5 1 Link to comment
CountryGirl April 11 Share April 11 Pictures from the swanky setup for W-A and Maxima's state banquet for French President Macron's state visit at the Royal Palace of Amsterdam tonight. What a gorgeous setting! I love their china, the color, the pattern, the intertwined W and M. 6 7 Link to comment
ancslove April 11 Share April 11 OMG I love the bread rolls arranged in a flower shape! That's the type of attention to detail that makes a royal banquet IMO. I'm also a little impressed that the royal cypher has the M on top. But more importantly the classical-style relief carvings are gorgeous and I want them. I want a room with marble pilasters and reliefs. 5 Link to comment
MissLucas April 12 Share April 12 That's some fine china. If I was invited I'd feel tempted to slip a plate into my purse. 1 7 Link to comment
CountryGirl April 12 Share April 12 38 minutes ago, MissLucas said: That's some fine china. If I was invited I'd feel tempted to slip a plate into my purse. Same. Along with some of the food. 5 Link to comment
gingerella April 12 Share April 12 16 hours ago, CountryGirl said: Same. Along with some of the food. I'd be more inclined to pinch some silver if there was a really great family crest on it! 🤪 3 3 Link to comment
Bethany April 12 Share April 12 18 minutes ago, Mittengirl said: I love that blue rug/carpet! I always notice the floor coverings in these pictures and am filled with envy! 7 Link to comment
MissLucas May 2 Share May 2 I suppose this belongs here: Man arrested outside Buckingham Palace Dude has never heard Bill Bailey's story about the goose at Buckingham Palace. 5 Link to comment
Bethany Sunday at 02:13 PM Share Sunday at 02:13 PM King to give up lease on Welsh country estate 1 Link to comment
Llywela Sunday at 02:23 PM Share Sunday at 02:23 PM (edited) 25 minutes ago, Bethany said: King to give up lease on Welsh country estate To expand on this, Charles purchased the estate outright when he was the Prince of Wales and it belongs, therefore, to the Cornwall estate, which now belongs to William. As such, Charles has been paying rent to the Cornwall estate for the property since he became king last year (because it was still his Wales base, but he no longer technically owned it), but now feels he is unlikely to spend as much time there as he used to, so he is giving up the lease and allowing the property to revert back to the Cornwall estate. It would be nice to think that William and Kate might start to spend time there with their family, in a bid to start to fully embrace their role as Prince and Princess of Wales as something more than just a title. I think it is more likely, however, that they will just rent it out either to a permanent tenant or as holiday accommodation, they've not shown any interest yet in maintaining any meaningful foothold in Wales - still less in an area as rural as this. I hope they prove me wrong. Edited Sunday at 02:39 PM by Llywela 4 2 8 1 Link to comment
Bethany Sunday at 02:48 PM Share Sunday at 02:48 PM 23 minutes ago, Llywela said: To expand on this, Charles purchased the estate outright when he was the Prince of Wales and it belongs, therefore, to the Cornwall estate, which now belongs to William. As such, Charles has been paying rent to the Cornwall estate for the property since he became king last year (because it was still his Wales base, but he no longer technically owned it), but now feels he is unlikely to spend as much time there as he used to, so he is giving up the lease and allowing the property to revert back to the Cornwall estate. Thank you for this. I was very confused by the idea that someone could both own and at the same time be paying the lease on the same property! 4 Link to comment
Llywela Sunday at 02:50 PM Share Sunday at 02:50 PM (edited) 37 minutes ago, Bethany said: Thank you for this. I was very confused by the idea that someone could both own and at the same time be paying the lease on the same property! Yes, I was confused too when I first saw the headline on the BBC, because I knew he owned the property! So I looked it up, and it does make sense that the property would belong to the Cornwall estate, which belongs to the Prince of Wales, rather than to Charles as an individual. But it makes for a confusing situation! ETA so, since someone had to think about and set up a lease for Charles on a property he had owned outright until his mother died, I'm now wondering how many other, similar pieces of administration had to be considered and resolved after the Queen's death last year! Edited Sunday at 03:27 PM by Llywela 10 Link to comment
Jane Tuesday Monday at 09:44 PM Share Monday at 09:44 PM What as gorgeous garden! If they're not going to use the place, I could keep an eye on it for them. 1 6 Link to comment
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