Throughout my art and architectural history education, I've always heard of the most beautiful room in the world. The pictures are famous, we've all surely seen them: the Roman Pool at San Simeon.
Hearst had the indoor pool created between 1927 and 1934 for guests who didn't want to use the now equally famous Neptune Pool which was outdoors. Sadly, most guests chose not to use the indoor pool as its' location was a bit out of the way, located far underneath the tennis courts which were already much lower than the rest of the hilltop estate.
The pool still went to good use though, the servants were granted permission to have the pool at their disposal. Some perk! Above is the diving platform. Light streams into the space from a skylight above.
The room and pool were styled on the
Baths of Caracalla in Rome while the blue and gold mosaics were based on the 5th Century
Mausoleum of Galla Placidia in Ravenna, Italy. Windows line the room on 3 sides with shaded views of the surrounding mountains while the 4th side (seen in most of these photos) leads to different exercise rooms.
Eight copies of ancient Greek and Roman statues were started in 1930 by Carlo Freter in Pietrasanta, Italy in white marble to match the white marble lamps that line the room and estate.
The pool itself has a deep flat bottom, perfect for diving, while the area underneath the diving platform becomes more shallow. Not a pool for beginners!
The Venetian glass tiles are arranged in a mosaic pattern of marine sea monsters, a popular theme for baths in Roman times. Yes, the gold tiles are actually lined with REAL gold!
I loved these white marble pool ladders -identical to the ones up at the Neptune pool. They're a bit more stylish than the stainless steel variety one finds now! Last but not least, the enormous tennis courts which fill the roof of the pool. I hope you enjoyed this opulent peak at the most beautiful pool I've ever seen!
Written permission was kindly granted to post my interior photos of San Simeon on this blog. Please respect that and do not copy without permission. Thanks!
The Venetian glass tiles are arranged in a mosaic pattern of marine sea monsters, a popular theme for baths in Roman times. Yes, the gold tiles are actually lined with REAL gold!
Written permission was kindly granted to post my interior photos of San Simeon on this blog. Please respect that and do not copy without permission. Thanks! 
The room is floored with 3 types of marble in a graphic grid pattern and paneled with ornate boiseries. Designed by Arthur Brown Jr., this is the same formality seen at his well known SF City Hall (which I'll post about next week) but on a MUCH smaller scale. He made elegant grandeur cozy; Just who wouldn't want to have tea here?
These lovely sconces were originally intended for the stair well in the house, but fit in nicely here too adding to the formality of the space.
This column above is a copy of the Satyr plant stand found in Pompeii and was originally in the Bourn's SF house, as was the marble table in the center of the room.
Some closeups of the very elegant woodwork. Someone worked very hard getting everything to meet JUST SO.
You can't miss the summer house in the gardens and before our guide took us in, I think every person in the group managed to ask if we would see inside! Tomorrow -more of the gardens.
The ballroom at Filoli was one which I instantly recognized, do you? It's the home gym of Warren Beatty in Heaven Can Wait! The space was restored for the movie along with other parts of the house and impresses everyone who enters it, as it should!
The flowers, seen best in the picture at top, were probably the most beautiful in the house. Not an easy feat as each room has a gorgeous bouquet fresh from the garden. The mixture of bright colors in the pale green room with gilded accents was really striking. Forget the Bagues chandeliers modeled on the ones from the 
The murals are the core of the room. They were completed in 1921 by 
Filoli was built as a country estate 25 miles south of San Francisco between 1915 and 1917 for William Bowers Bourn II and his wife Agnes Moody. Designed by Willis Polk in a Neo-Georgian style, the house normally fades discretely into the background for most guests, shown up by its' spectacular gardens.
However, in a lot of ways, this is the perfect house in my mind: Elegant with a nice rational flow, generously sized rooms which are not too large, open to the beautiful outdoors and most important of all, comfortable to be in. It's a large mansion that feels like a home. The house doesn't bowl you over with showiness but rather impresses you with intelligence and simplicity.
You can see the floorplan of the first floor 
Only a few of the furnishings are original to the Bourns, such as the tapestry above the fireplace. Others were part of the Roths' collection (the 2nd and last private owners of the estate who gifted it in 1975 to the 
2 barrel vaulted hallways move off of the central reception room which are wide enough to be partially furnished. The tall ceilings throughout the house help to naturally cool the space, as do the 4 feet thick exterior walls.
The most disappointing part of the visit is that guests are not allowed to see the upstairs! Wouldn't you love to walk up this staircase? I couldn't get enough.
Here is Hugh Lygon, the 'real' Sebastian -quite dashing in his double breasted suit and slicked back hair- but not quite as handsome perhaps as Anthony Andrews who played the part in Brideshead revisited from 1981.
Above is Lord Beauchamp, the inspiration for Lord Marchmain, who was in exile from England like in the book, but for much more scandalous reasons! The real story behind this family was even more extraordinary than depicted by Waugh in Brideshead, hopefully this new book is a good read. I'll let you know! 
As promised yesterday, today we are having a house tour of Mark Coy's previous apartment on Lakeshore drive. Located in a grand old building, the apartment has great bones but needed a LOT of work when he first moved in. Lets see the results!
The dining room has beautiful moldings, a window bench and original sconces. I love the white painted trimwork throughout the apartment and dark stained floors! Another seagrass carpet is used here and recognize the fabric on the pillows on the window seat? Tying the rooms together through fabrics and color brings a modern flow to a traditional compartmentalized apartment.
I was crazy for this gorgeous chandelier and guess what....it's from the HOME DEPOT! Yes, such style for only $495 plus the added black shades which were used again on the sconces. The high and low real world decorating is used here to full affect: using what he had to work with (sconces), adding a 'low' touch from home depot (the candelier) and hanging it above a Milo Baughman dining table (the 'high' statement piece).
The master bedroom continues the same color palette but in a much more soft and subtle environment. It looks like it could be a room at a spa hotel, doesn't it? So relaxing.
The bathroom is probably my favorite room in the entire apartment. I instantly recognized the Ann Sacks Bellarita Travertine flooring in a herringbone pattern: I've used it in projects before and hope to use it someday in my own house! I'm all on board with white subway tiles, befitting the apartment's age and the glam sink and ebonized doors make me so happy. No seagrass blinds in here but the wallpaper (continued onto the ceiling I might add) tie in that aspect from the rest of the apartment.
The 2nd bedroom, used as a den, uses the same color palette in a darker tone: A perfect room to curl up with a good book and cup of tea. I love the blocky lamp in the background and again the seagrass shades.
