The grand entrance to The Breakers, in Newport, Rhode Island.

A lovely few days with our family in Boston, who were agreeable to enjoying some art and architecture. So that’s what we did.

Come on up the stairs! Welcome to the Breakers, in Newport, Rhode Island, where the first question that came to mind was “Could I live like this?” Let’s answer it as we tour, shall we?

The ceiling in the grand hall.

Look up! Yes, that’s a painting of clouds. Why didn’t I think of that for my own home? We all need to see blue sky and white clouds when we look up. Even in our homes.

A small corner of the dining room.

Let’s have a few people for dinner. In this corner. Because we could seat a whole bunch more in the rest of the room. Hey, do you think those light fixtures are too much?

The library.

Sure would like to read a book. With my book group. And yours. And about a dozen other book groups. So let’s do that in the…library, a place any book club would just LOVE to sit and talk reading. Actually, I’d much rather settle into one of those chairs with a book and a glass of wine, maybe a few canapes. By myself. So…could you live like this?

The music room.

Wouldn’t it be nice to have a comfortable place to listen to the gramophone? Invented in 1887. Could that be why this music room was designed?

But then…maybe you want to practice the piano, instead?

The other side of the music room.

And there’s space to fill, so why not design an area for the grand piano? I love this room.

Carol…! Telephone!

The world’s been connected for such a long time. The Breakers in Rhode Island was built in 1893. Alexander Graham Bell made the first telephone call in 1876, Yes, we have all been connected that long! So of course there’s a phone like this one in every bedroom.

Call bells and intercom for the servants.

Every home needs an intercom and call bells. How else would the servants know we need them?

Servants’ staircase.

And the servents have to scurry up and down these stairs. Yes, far less grand than the other staircases. By far.

Very cool hangers.

Have you ever had a closet rod that was just too high to comfortably reach? The valets at the Breakers solved that problem with these ingenious hangers.

Let’s set a spell on the back porch.

Here’s the “back porch.” So to speak. Nice view, no? I could definitely sit a spell there. If the breeze wasn’t too brisk. In fact, let me invite a couple hundred of our nearest and dearest to join me. Because yes, it’s that big.

View from the back yard of the Breakers / Newport, Rhode Island / April 2023

Good thing there’s no water shortage–that is one huge back yard! And you’ve just toured only a few of the spectacular rooms at the Vanderbilt’s summer home in Rhode Island.

Every place our eyes landed was a visual treat. The wealth it took to build in so many incredible details: marble mosaics, platinum in the walls, sconces by Louis Comfort Tiffany…it’s unimaginable.

So back to our original question:

Could you live like this?

I could.

For sure I could.

How about you? Could you? And why or why not?