Our visit to Leu Gardens

Last Sunday, we were given, by Andrew's parents, free tickets to the Orlando Opera, where we enjoyed La Cerenentola (Cinderella). The opera started at 2:00, so we visited Leu Gardens before the show.
Leu Gardens is a 49-acre public botanical garden, with an old Florida home that was formerly inhabited by the Leu family, as well as some of the previous property owners. The gardens are lovely, especially the camellias right now.

The Gardens have over 2,000 varieties of camellias. We photographed just a few:







After browsing through the beautiful camellias and the rose garden (which is mostly dormant at this time of year), we visited the Leu House and Museum.
The downstairs has oak flooring, but the upstairs has the original heart pine floors!
The kitchen, although modernized a bit through the years, has been decorated to reflect its history. A local woman donated the old gas/coal burning range



and they have added this old gas-powered refrigerator, too.



Unfortunately, the modern 3-compartment sink looks out of place. To bad it hasn't been changed to a more period-appropriate one. It just doesn't look right to me.
But, I do like the scalloped wood trim (not very visible in this photo, but it is there), above the window.



The house originally had no indoor plumbing, but it was added in the 1940s, and there are 2 truly vintage bathrooms that have been preserved as-is, with fabulous original fixtures and tile!

The Yellow and Green Bathroom:
The deep green and yellow tile is just gorgeous. The fixtures all all original, too. Notice the details of the toilet, pedestal sink, and the gently curved tub.


The trim around the tile edge is really cheerful. It's wonderful that none of this was ever "updated."


The Black and White Bathroom:
The classic white 4x4s with the trim inset is just beautiful. I like the single row of black along the floor, to draw the eye downward. It's such a simple design, which is why it still looks so fresh.


Love the square tub, and the classic spiral pattern floor tile. I have never seen a bi-color square accent tile like this one before...wow!


Check out the shower, which is also original to the house, circa 1940s!!
The black and white trim inset adds a lot of style to this otherwise plain bathroom.
As do the sturdy sink, and octagon-and-dot floor tile.