P.S. Nest Pick: Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens, Don’t miss the Cafe

What happens when collecting becomes a way of life?

Hillwood isn't simply a historic house filled with beautiful things.

It's the remarkably intact world of Marjorie Merriweather Post—businesswoman, collector, hostess, traveler, and creator of an estate designed around the things she loved.

Post rebuilt Hillwood in the 1950s with the intention that it would eventually become a museum. Today the estate includes her mansion, extensive collections of Russian imperial art and French decorative arts, and thirteen acres of formal gardens.

Why I'm recommending it

As someone who has spent a lot of time thinking about museums and historic houses, I find Hillwood endlessly interesting because the collection and the collector are inseparable.

You're not just looking at a beautiful Sèvres object or a piece of Russian decorative art.

You're looking at evidence of what one extraordinarily wealthy, curious, and determined woman thought was beautiful and worth having around her.

That's a very different way to look at a collection.

Look for

The moments when Post's personality shows through.

Notice how objects are arranged. Look at the relationship between the rooms and the things in them.

Then ask yourself a slightly mischievous question:

Would you actually want to live here?

While you're there

Go outside.

Hillwood's thirteen acres were designed as a series of connected “outdoor rooms,” and they're an essential part of the experience—not an optional stroll after you've finished the museum.

If you have time, let yourself wander rather than trying to see every garden in the most efficient order.

The P.S. Nest question

What would your home look like if you designed it entirely around the things you love?

Good to know

Plan on spending several hours. Hillwood is currently open Tuesday through Sunday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m., with mansion tours offered at set times and gardens available to explore at your own pace. There is parking which is a bonus.

Go explore → Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens

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