Inveraray Castle

I was lucky enough to visit one of the homes previously featured in my Country Homes collection this past weekend and it was so gorgeous I could not resist sharing.

Inveraray Castle is the current seat of the Duke and Duchess of Argyll but this fairy-tale castle was built in 1746 and rebuilt again in the Victorian era after a fire.  On the outside it looks like a gothic fortress but inside you will find it to be covered in gorgeous Neo-Classic splendor.  Inveraray was the home of one of the beautiful Gunnings sisters, Elizabeth who was so taken with her that he married her on the same day that he met her despite the fact that she was low-born.  One does not have to try hard to imagine the elegant duchess wafting from room to room in her newly-built castle in the Scottish countryside.

My favorite room was the tapestry room. In the center was a portrait by Hoppner of Elizabeth's daughter as Aurora

There was also what I like to call a "man room" which tend to entertain gentleman friends moreso than tapestries.

The dining room was all sorts of Neo-Classical

I was also surprised to find the portrait of Georgiana's granddaughter, Lady Sutherland, who followed in her grandmother's political footsteps was housed in Inveraray.  It literally took my breath away!

The residential quarters of the house where I managed to see Elizabeth's portrait through a window.  How could they hide such a thing from public view!

An entry-bridge fit for a duchess