Hillwood Estate: A Local Gem!

Just a few minutes off Connecticut Avenue in Northwest DC lies a hidden, beautiful treat for the locally savvy.  Hillwood estate was owned by Marjorie Merriweather Post ("Marjorie"), daughter of the Post cereal mogul.  During her lifetime, Post became part of General Foods, and under her advise, General Foods bought Birds Eye (the company that now makes the frozen vegetables). 
Features of the House

The Hillwood estate is decorated with French and English furniture and fine Russian goods.  I was not permitted to take photos inside the house, but I could take notes to relay the information to you!  Marjorie began saving Russian pieces when she lived there in the 1930s.  The Russian government was selling Russian aristocratic and royal goods, and Marjorie developed the "nucleus" of her collection at that time.  As part of her collection she has the Icon Room, which holds 400 Russian Orthodox liturgical pieces including a Faberge 1914 Easter egg with gold and pink enameling and the Russian porcelain room.  In her Russian porcelain room, she has various salt & pepper shakers, signs of welcome, and on the floor a double eagle in her wood floor -- another sign of welcome to Russians.  In her hallway, Marjorie has Russian portraits hanging all over the walls and an enormous Russian Imperial chandelier.
Marjorie became a collector of French 18th century furniture and began buying it to use for her home.  The biggest display of it is in her private spaces, upstairs for her bedroom and dressing area.  Her bedroom has a beautiful French desk which is featured in the video at the Visitors Center.  She also has French porcelain that she used for formal occasions, French commodes in the front hallway, and a great deal of French decoration in the dining  hall, although it is combined with an Italian dining table to seat 30 and 2 large Dutch paintings. 
The English influence appears in her first and second floor libraries, which are decorated like a British country house.
There is one mystery in her house -- there is a guest bedroom named after the most frequent visitors -- "the Adam brothers".  The recorded guide does not say anything more than these brothers belonged to the Adam firm, and so the unguided visitor is left to wonder who these men were.  As if to amplify the mystery, you can't help notice that their room was decorated in light blue and gold with very small twin-sized beds.  Were they boys or men?
There is one room that was made to entertain rather than to display her collection.  She called it the Pavilion, but today we would call it the media room.  In this room, Marjorie had speakers installed into the ceiling and a projector showing films from the balcony!  There are also sofas with small built in trays for guests to put snacks and drinks on during the show.  If she was not showing films in this room, she would move the furniture and have a square dance!  And, to protect the floors, she would give the ladies plastic covers for their heels.  This wonderful hostess thought of everything!

The Extensive Garden
After being in the dark and slightly cramped indoor space, the gardens are quite literally a breath of fresh air.  The gardens spread out behind her house and the museum staff has provided seating for a visitor to read, eat, or chat with friends.  Of note in the garden, Marjorie had a Japanese garden and a rose garden.  She also had a small golf field and a green house which housed 2000 orchids! 
The Japanese garden was built in 1957, a much later addition to her grounds, and was landscaped at a time when Marjorie was already thinking about opening up her home as a museum.  The terrain of this garden was meant to mirror the mountainous terrain of Japan, and the plants within the garden were meant to  provide color contrast.  There are also stone lanterns, bridges, and statues to fully decorate the garden as a Japanese garden should look.  It is worth noting that a lot of Asian visitors took photos of each other in that part of the garden!

The rose garden had roses to give it a beautiful scent, and they were of all different colors.  Marjorie did not cut flowers for the house from this part of her grounds, however.  She had a cutting garden and greenhouse for that!
I noticed that Marjorie did not leave any good space unused, nor did she cram her outdoor space.  She simply provided cozy space and sprawled out space, sitting space and walking space.  Outside as well as inside, she tried to consider everything.

Nothing in writing can really do this estate justice -- the reader must visit to experience the splendor of this estate.  From the courteous guard who tells you where to park upon arriving, to the cafe that provides teas, lunch, and refreshment for the parched, this estate provides a rare experience.  By experiencing the house and grounds, with such fine European influence, you are temporarily removed from the Washington DC area, and are transported to a different time and place.  You find yourself strolling the gardens, sitting down to read or talk, and just enjoying the weather.  For a native, it is hard to believe that this restful place sits so close to the heart of Washington's hustle & bustle. 
I strongly recommend that all readers visit these grounds -- it is worth the $12 you pay for your ticket!