Not a fan of the ceiling shots because the lights are so distracting. The panning and in and out give me motion sickness. Too much time looking at Brent. Maybe these photographers make a lot of music videos. The home is nice. Oh and shoot from the hip. These are my preferences and I'm not trying to degrade the work. My tips would make a tour like this more impactful for me. Your pal, G. p.s. I'm binging on all your episodes. 😎
I love you energy and passion for period building design, quality, workmanship and knowledge about American mouldings and carpentry & joinery excellence!
I adore Georgian buildings and interiors. None here in S. CA, but I loved visiting Old Alexandria (particularly the Carlisle house) and Mt. Vernon on a trip to Virginia. I've been fascinated with Winterthur for ages, so thank you for this informative and detailed tour. The blue-green color of the wood mouldings in the Chinoiserie hallway is fantastic. And that staircase!! Amazing what they can do with wood! Just discovered your channel the other day, and I'm enjoying your videos so much. Cheers!
Brent Hull is the stylish emperor of China, a true hero of humanity. Always jacked, tan, and dressed dapper to the hilt; Brent Hull delivers absolute perfection.
It would be so awesome to go back in time to work with the masters that built that with the tools of today. That was a time you earned a chance to be a craftsman.
The balusters and newel post are amazing. What a great video. I had the pleasure of touring Winterthur with my dad, Mark Roberson, many years ago. As then, it is wonderful to see a beautiful building through the eyes of a craftsman.
I am in awe of the lighting at all of these structures. It highlights the moldings, the features, the art, the space. The lighting at Winterthur was nothing like it is now when I was there in the 1980's(?)
You know I live just 1 hour and change by train from Philly. I’ve been meaning to go to Winterthur because Georgian is my favourite period. Leave it to you Mr Hull to light that fire. Really enjoy your visits to the East coast in your videos.
I am enthralled with Georgian architecture...I have incorporated many parts of my home to reflect that...as an aerospace engineer, I appreciate and am blown away by the applied geometry skills used in the making of these different components "by hand"...
Georgian and Federal are my favorite types of architecture, furniture and decor. I like the clean, simple lines compared to the heaviness and fussiness of Jacobean and Victorian architecture and decor.
Next time youre in Delaware you should take a ride through Westover Hills, Wawaset Park, and the Highlands. Some incredibly built old Dupont homes w all different styles of architecture. Feel like youd appreciate it
The Georgian style is noted for it's use of LED can lights. 😉 (Although as Abraham Lincoln famously said, you can't believe half of what you read on the internet.)
I’m always amazed at the craftsmanship of these relatively old buildings I say relatively old as I’ve just been looking at a house with parts back to 1350). Somethings were in abundance such as good timber and cheap labour but so many things that i rely upon in my workshop just weren’t available then - routers, thicknesses, great steel in blades, lasers for measuring distance - it must have been so much harder to get that pinpoint accuracy. As much as the craftsmanship inspires me, I have to say that the over elaboration of Georgian going into Victorian are not my style. It seems that the aim was to cram every idea, every feature into every room. The notion of less is more clearly was not in the Georgian vocabulary. Go to Osborn House (Queen Victoria’s summer and favourite building on the Isle of Wight) to see the final explosion of this. Society was much more stratified than it is today - although even today is a far cry from what one of my heroes, William Morris, aspired to. The labourers would have lived pretty miserable short lives; the craftsmen had better lives but only the cream of those achieved reasonable wealth - certainly in England. A few architects, developers did achieve fame and fortune and their legacy remains for us all to see and take from it what each of us wants to. And, of course, the wealth that was required to be able to build these houses came from the exploitation of the masses; be it plantations, tea companies, spice trading etc. so my admiration for the level of work is balanced with some disdain for the morals of the original owners. Enough of the Morris derived socialism; I’ve started to invest some hard earned pension (from when I was one of the very minor exploiters) in the National Lottery in the firm expectation that I will win enough to be able to fly over to the USA and be one of those looking at these houses in person. I can’t imagine that I won’t win but I haven’t, as yet, stared packing my bag.
Thanks as always. I disagree with your assessment of the Georgian. Very different from Victorian. Victorian in America is mass produced cheapness. Georgian is all hand-made. These rooms may be cluttered to your eye. They are not in person. Also, not all merchants and wealthy people exploited people. From my reading, most took great risks in shipping and trade and were rewarded. Many built these but never lived in them as death and taxes were certain. Thanks.
@@BrentHull life would be very boring if everyone always agreed and couldn’t have a sensible conversation about differences. Perhaps some of it is a result of my understanding/interpretation of Georgian and Victorian. There was obviously no full stop at the end of the William period; the Georgian period; the Victorian period but rather it’s a progression of styles with the pace varying. I would agree that the architecture for the wealthy in the earlier Georgian (as I would, rightly or wrongly describe it) was all hand made and it’s balance of taste much more to my taste. The Empire fashion from France, the rococo style with its increasing extravagance was one influence, I think, on architecture as the Georgian period went on. So, for me, early Georgian in England was restrained and stylish; late Georgian was evolving into the excesses of Victorian - who knew not the maxim that less can be more. Excepting the style of some Victorian architecture, the quality of the work for those who could pay stands the test of time - certainly in London. The early Georgian was the very start of the Industrial Revolution in the UK. A time of incredible social change where millions rocked to the new cities for work and ended up working and living in appalling conditions - but perhaps no worse off than the country folk they had left behind. It was also a time when the non-aristocracy, the nouvelle riche, could look to make fortunes that were previously the sole ability of the Dukes and Lords. With a few very notable exceptions, certainly the Quaker families of Cadburys, Rowntree etc, the masses seem to have been just regarded as the grist for the mill. It was this situation as it evolved that forged the views of William Morris et al - to provide beauty and function in items but also decent working conditions for their workers. A pity that the items that these joiners or silversmiths made were too expensive for them to buy themselves.
Hi Brent. Can you do a video of light switches, power outlets, radiant heaters, fire detectors, etc in historic homes? There are 100 percent necessary in modern living, but they can be very disturbing and sometimes downright ugly in a historic house.
@@BrentHull Thanks! I am considering buying a colonial/Georgian home and running a bed and breakfast. However, in modern accomodations, guests expect air conditioning. Is it possible to satisfy this need without ugly window units destroying the geometry of the front facade or running ductwork through otherwise perfectly symmetrical Georgian interior rooms. I think the answer will be "no it can't be done", but if anyone can do it, you can. :)
Super impressive and just incredibly inspiring!!! I am so fascinated by all your videos and just to learn more! I live in a new home in Maine with standard trim. It's nice, but typical. I really want to break the mold and add character and charm. I have absolutely no eye for this, but am very motivated to learn. The biggest area that I struggle with, so far, is size and scale. How do I know what is too big for mouldings? Are there general rules on proper proportion size? Thank you again for sharing your passion and being so inspiring!
Love the craftsmanship its so amazing. Can you recommend a book that can help me build that kind of beautiful trim? I would appreciate it very much. Thank you.
I don't know of a book that helps create that, but my book on Traditional American Rooms highlights about 40 of those rooms. If you want to see and understand them better, that is a good start. I also plan to shoot some videos on building some of these elements this fall. Thanks.
Haha, well that was a big project they did 10 years ago. A big improvement on the previous ceiling. How do you sensitively light and manage light in a museum space like this with so much to see. Thanks for watching.
This stuff gets complicated. For instance, how often did rooms with more modest ceiling heights receive a high style trim ? I wonder if wealthy people, back then, ever chose more modest dimensions deliberately, or would that have been regarded as an affront to genteel manners? I assume snobbery was no less an issue back then, or could it have been worse? Did Dupont vary the ceiling heights? The exterior windows seem so regimented, or am I mistaken?
Du Pont struck a balance. He installed rooms as they were, ceiling height varied, but exterior windows stayed the same. I think it is the right balance.
