Körner's Folly

Located in Kernersville, this whimsical and romantic, one-of-a kind house built by Jule Körner, expresses his love for detail, architecture and family. 

He had an early career of designing furniture that he showcased in his home.  The house was originally built on ground level, with a carriageway running through the middle with two doors on either end.  

After his marriage, the house was raised and a hallway was put in after his wife Polly wanted no more horses in her house!  Now one end of the hall is the entrance and the Breakfast Room is at the other end.

 

 

Körner's Folly, with only three stories, but many more levels, will take you on twists and turns that keep you guessing as to where you will end up!

Jule and Polly had two children, a son and daughter.  The early years children's rooms have very low ceilings, which is hard to tell in this picture.  I am 5'3" and had a few inches to spare before hitting my head; I feel for tall people in this room!

 Later the children moved into other rooms; the daughter in the Rose Room and the son into the Blue Room, which used to be the father's when he was still a bachelor.

The detail and molding!

The Reception Room - 

 

These Courting Couches amuse me.  This room has two of them, a two-seater and a three (you can't leave out the chaperone!)

Courting Couch

Mrs. Körner turned the attic into a Children's Theater.

 

The Stage

This is such a fun house to tour!  

For more information: http://www.kornersfolly.org/

Spring Break Vacation - Charleston, SC March 27-29 Part 3

    Finally, a post for our last day in Charleston!  Thursday, March 29 began with a tour of the Nathaniel Russell House.  I loved this house - The architecture, the gardens, the staircase and the inside shutters!

   The structure of this house is divided in three shapes:  a rectangle front entrance, oval center, and a square back section.

 

Gold detail was added to the windows in place of curtains or drapes.

 

I am in love with these shutters!!

Here is the closed shutter demonstration

  After the house tour, we had lunch at Jestine's Kitchen.  I had fried shrimp and okra with a side of pickled cole slaw.

That ended our time in Charleston.  Before going home we took a detour to Beaufort, SC.  The NPS is in the process of opening a new Reconstruction Era National Monument.  Although the building is not yet opened to the public, they have a stamp available at the Beaufort Chamber of Commerce, which is across the street.

Beaufort also has some pretty houses!

Spring Break Vacation - Charleston, SC March 27-29 Part 2

   Wednesday morning found us at the Charleston Visitor Center for maps and general inquiry.  I had brought a AAA SC travel book that has a fantastic downtown Charleston map, so between it and the others we got, we had pretty good navigation.

   The Historic Charleston Foundation has several House Museums to tour.  For $18 you can get a combination ticket to see the Aiken-Rhett House and the Nathaniel Russell House.  From past experiences, more than one historic house in a day is almost too much.  After a while they all start to look alike.  We decided to split up the tours over two days.  Wednesday, we went to the Aiken-Rhett House.
 
    This is a self-guided tour.  Each person is given an MP3 player with headphones to listen to the guided tour.  The Aiken-Rhett House is a preserved house rather than restored.

Near the beginning of the tour, you were taken into the courtyard that has the outhouses, stable and carriage house.

The two corners of this wall have the lovely outhouses!

The stable and carriage house are in this building.

Those shutters!!!

Back inside the house for more...

One thing I love about historic homes is their appreciation of separate rooms.  Also the installation of a pocket door in the event that an "open floor plan" is needed.

I love pocket doors. 

The piazza.  I need one of these.

The dining room

The very small ball room

The art gallery

After the house tour, we went to the Maritime Center to buy tickets for the Charleston Harbor Cruise that we scheduled to take at 3:30 that afternoon. Thanks to AAA, we got a discount on tickets. We also stopped at the Ft Sumter NPS Center so I could get a NPS Liberty Square stamp.

 We had quiche for lunch at Bakehouse Bakery and then walked around until it was time for the Harbor Cruise.

We made our way to the Pineapple Fountain where we sat and watched tourists get pictures.

   

Pineapple Fountain

 

St. Michael's Episcopal Church

We heard an organ being played when we passed the French Huguenot Church.  Since the church was open, we went in to listen.  It was so nice to hear organ music in church!!  I have missed it.
 

French Huguenot Church

St. Philip's Church

Cemetery Walk at St. Philip's Church

Our leisurely walk lasted longer than it should have so we hurried back to the Maritime Center for our 3:30 habor cruise.

Carolina Belle

We go there late enough to be at the end of the line, so we had to sit in the lower part of the boat instead of the top.  This turned to be okay because it was very cold and windy.

An interesting fact I learned is why Charleston has no skyscrapers.  A city ordinance was passed that there were to be no buildings taller than the highest steeple on a church.

Ft Sumter

The domed building is the Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon.  If you are ever in Charleston, make sure to tour that.  Very, very interesting.

 

Beautiful houses

After our cruise, we walked around some more to find something for an early supper.  And passed more lovely scenery. 

The wisteria!!!

We ended up at East Bay Deli and wrapped up our day in downtown Charleston.  Our evening was spent at Tanger Outlet near our hotel.