The falls are connected to the living room directly with a set of stairs which take you down to the stream right before the waterfall. The windows telescope back allowing access.
One of the nicest features is that the house is set up as if the Kaufmann's might walk in at any moment with many personal items and fresh flowers in every room.
As air conditioning was rare in 1934, cross ventilation was extremely important, even in the mountains of Pennsylvania. In the guest room on the 2nd floor, these small windows are located above the bed along with a large wall of glass facing south.
Even Mrs. Kaufmann's bathroom is set up as if in use: much of this beautiful glass is from lalique. Extraordinary! Love the planters screening the bathroom from the master bedroom's terrace.
More Tiffany pieces on Mrs. Kaufmann's dressing table.
The lamp seen here on Mr. Kaufmann's nightstand is located throughout the house and was designed by FLW for the house. They're available for
purchase in the giftshop: I was so tempted!!
Mr. Kaufmann's desk in his bedroom (yes, seperate his and her bedrooms) had fresh flowers and a Tiffany inkwell: the most important thing to note is the notch in the desk to allow the window to open bringing in the sound of the falls.
One of the most noted features of the home are the linen shelves with reeding to allow air to circulate: I wish I had this at home!
Mrs. Kaufmann sadly committed suicide here at the house but her memory lives on. Besides being buried here with her husband, this photo of her with fresh flowers lies in her son's 3rd floor bedroom.
My favorite part of the house is probably the ascent to the guest house, built a few years after the house which contains additional guest & servant quarters along with a carport.
The path of stairs is covered with this cantilevered roof which is really breathtaking: A true structural feat!
The guest sitting room is really comfortable and as beautiful as the main house. One bonus feature is the taller ceiling! Additional guests could sleep on the built in sofa along the window wall as well as in the guest bedroom next door which housed many famous luminaries of the day, including Einstein.
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Since opening in 1916, the William Penn Hotel has been the cultural hub for many of Pittsburgh's more elegant social events (my parents were married here as well as having their high school proms on the upper level ballrooms).
While the hotel might be a tad bit shabby these days, I never miss a chance of having a drink in the Terrace Room off the lobby seen here, and last weekend was no exception. Elegant crystal chandeliers, great old details and wood paneling, not to mention the sense of history here, all draw me in (as did the bartender's heavy pour!).
Do you have a favorite local hotel that you haunt?
Label:
hotels,
Interiors,
pittsburgh
At first glance, the cemetery appears to be more of a park than a resting place for loved ones. In fact, even on the gloomy, rainy day I was there (I call it Pittsburgh weather) the grounds were filled with joggers, dog walkers and people enjoying the warm spring weather.
This Egyptian Revival mausoleum was interesting: I suspect the family buried there was very very stylish.
What do Athens, Pittsburgh and Sydney all have in common? No, this is not a trick question! Each has a Choragic Monument of Lysicrates.
The original monument was built near the Acropolis around 334 BC to commemorate the benefactor Lysicrate's sponsorship of dance. It was one of the first recorded uses of the correct Corinthian order for a monument; a style which would be copied for centuries to follow. Above is the original.
I first became aware of the monument while back in college at drawing classes which were occasionally held at the 
The design has been copied and modified over the years after being restored following the Greek war of Independence when it was badly damaged. Often it appears as a folly in a garden, at other times atop a dome and has even been stretched into a lighthouse in Portland, Maine. 
Last weekend I toured Fallingwater, the famous Frank Lloyd Wright designed country house for Edgar J. Kaufmann, Sr while in Western Pennsylvania. 
Edgar Kaufmann Jr. was studying with Frank LLoyd Wright (a low point of FLW's career where he taught to make ends meet) and convinced his parents to hire him to build a country house on their land in Bear Run, PA. The highlight of the land was a beautiful waterfall and Wright ingeniously recommended building ON the falls rather than facing them (the common approach). 
The Kaufmann's would escape here with friends or alone for years: lots of parties and drama, trust me! The commission revived Frank Lloyd Wright's career, even making the cover of Time magazine shortly after it was completed. Not bad for a private country house!
Unfortunately, an overly zealous maid had attacked them with a brillo pad, scrubbing the gilding off!
