The Mansions of Newport, Rhode Island | HGTV Dream Home 2021

entrance into the opulet mansions of newport rhode island was once reserved only for the ultra rich today visitors to this seaside town can get their own glimpse at what life might have been like during the gilded age now anyone can tour these historic one-of-a-kind homes newport was a vacation destination going back to the 1830s and then along come the vanderbilts and other very rich families who decide that they are going to make a statement they build big houses [Music] the crown jewel of these gilded era structures is the breakers designed by famed architect richard morris hunt for cornelius vanderbilt ii in 1895 this 70 room italian style palazzo is the largest of newport's mansions spanning over 140 000 square feet on 13 acres of premium oceanfront property [Music] mr vanderbilt and the architect had a vision and that was to make an impression and then of course they made that impression with this great hall for all intents and purposes this is really a reception room a very large one of course looks like an italian palazzo which if we were in italy that would be open air so that ceiling is designed to look like an open-air space i think the aim was to absolutely create an italian palace and he did that the dining room is spectacular first of all it's a gigantic dining room and the table itself can hold 32-38 people the baccarat chandeliers are spectacular this house was finished in 1895 so there's still a question about whether electricity or gas would be the way that we would go and so they outfitted the chandeliers with both gas and with electricity very experimental what i love about the music room is if you look very carefully on the ceiling you can see the names of many different composers really little details that you could easily miss if you weren't looking the library is glorious whether you like books or not the walls are leather looking the ceiling itself is coffered and really gorgeous that fireplace from france the library was again another place where it has just a wonderful feel to it everything was designed to really leave people with a strong impression about how well they were doing and i think they achieved that goal [Music] a few blocks away on the famous bellevue avenue is another vanderbilt home designed by richard morris hunt a birthday gift for william vanderbilt's wife alva the marble house cost 11 million dollars in 18.92 seven million of which was spent on the 500 000 cubic feet of marble used throughout the house marble house is a house that you walk in and you can't help but go wow it has an absolutely fascinating history because alva vanderbilt knew what she wanted she gave instructions about what she wanted she wanted a room that would show off her interest in gothic art and she created the gothic room it was the only room of its kind anywhere in the country a really phenomenal room right next to the gothic room is what's called the gold room that's the room where you would have had a dance it's the ballroom so it's really known colloquially as the gold room it is a beautiful room and one can only imagine the sorts of parties that were held in that room just north on bellevue avenue is the elms completed in 1901 for coal baron edward julius berwind this french-inspired mansion is known for its grand entrance and exquisite collection of venetian art inside and its meticulous garden outside the elms is a little different than the breakers and marble house it is a little less overstated it is very elegant many people who come to visit newport and see all of our houses say i could live here it's very simple but of course it's not simple at all the ballroom has a very elegant view to it and a lot of very famous people were entertained in that the dining room is spectacular because it looks like wood but it's all beautifully carved plaster the over door paintings are very special we were able to buy back the venetian over door paintings that you can see in the dining room gone from the house for more than 60 years and finally back home in the elms that was one of the most exciting acquisitions that we were ever able to make it now completes the room [Music] i love history and i love architecture and i know that what we have here is very special if you are interested in american history these are the statues to that history

Channel: Bryant Coffey

Views: 11,870

Rating: 4.9272728 out of 5

Keywords: Ventura, Santa Barbara, Santa Maria, Central Coast, California, Bryant Coffey, Marble House, Mansion, Breakers, Luxury, Opulent, Mansions, Rhode Island, Newport, 2021, Home, Dream, HGTV

Id: ZTlESRq17f4

Length: 6min 0sec (360 seconds)

Published: Tue Jan 26 2021

Reddit Comments

[u/Bud401]

Very nicely done! For a lot of us locals the charm of these places can get lost over time, but I think you did an excellent job highlighting it for HGTV. Nice work!

[u/monkysandtools]

Have to say to photography is stellar (in a past job even did some support documentation for Beechwood, i.e. cut sheets for the stone).

Silly question, do you do commissions? Currently floating the idea with my boss regarding a photo shoot for a livery service and trying to do some research

[u/degggendorf]

Who did the narration?