Hope yours was a Happy and yummy Thanksgiving…and now, like a snap of the finger, the first week of the most festive month of the year is here! What better way to pick up on these merry vibes than to visit my neighbor down the street, Marble House. A magnificent creation of 500,000 cubic feet of marble interiors, gilded wood, and crystal galore, it was considered the most lavish home in America when it was built by William K. Vanderbilt in 1892. It was his daughter, Consuelo, who became the 9th Duchess of Marlborough and upon whom the Gilded Age TV series is based. The residence is now one of the celebrated holdings of the Preservation Society of Newport County.

Though certainly lavish, the appeal for me is the intimacy of the rooms in contrast to its cousin, The Breakers. Magnificent at any time of the year, Marble House becomes even more magical with its Christmas decor around the welcoming stairwell that still impresses me after all these years. Don’t you love the way the tree snuggles into the curve of the staircase with a skirt of pale cream poinsettia flouncing underneath?

At the holidays, this Christmas tree so elegantly enhances its space… as seen from two other angles.

In the west-facing dining room, the last rays of sun were dancing off each ornament of the tree, making the luscious smoky-pink marble room even more sumptuous!

While it boasts a massive marble fireplace, the petit ballroom at Marble House is seriously about gold and gilt, from the ceiling to the bas relief panels on the walls.

One of the most magnificent I’ve ever seen in any museum, here or abroad, the Gothic Room is even more awe-inspiring as it is such a surprisingly small space but bounteous in its detail…the elaborate plaster tracery ceiling, four stained glass windows worthy of any cathedral, the intricately carved, full height Caen limestone chimney piece…all set off against the richest red silk damask walls (as also seen in the featured image above).

The stunning experience of visiting Marble House continues as you take the marble staircase to the second floor, providing an intimate look at the gilded iron railing with gilded statuary accentuating the corners of the ceiling. But it is the elaborate chandelier that steals the show (one of the docents reminded me that, due to its weight, the chandelier is attached to a steel plate in the roof. When it was taken down last year for repairs, they determined that each angel on the corners weighed forty pounds)!

Once on the second floor, the bedrooms (and bathrooms) do not disappoint either…beginning with Mrs. Vanderbilt’s with its nod to the Belle Epoque era…the walls covered in silk brocade of the yummiest jewel- tone amethyst.

Mr. Vanderbilt’s sitting room is quite a contrast to his wife’s bedroom, though it, too, has silk brocade walls. But its marble mantle in sang de boeuf is tempered with just enough ribbon and a few ornaments to convey the spirit of the season.

The last bedroom, and smallest, is my favorite…with its use of that timeless design statement on the walls, mattress ticking, as a backdrop to a corner mantle vignette. It rather calms down the tongue-in-cheek striking blue leaves and flourishes that finish at the base of the blue taffeta draperies, themselves a study in the art of “puddling” (for which taffeta is best suited).

Newport (whom many consider just a summer “colony”) is so exceptionally beautiful in December that I’m providing images throughout this month on my Instagram account, @privatenewport, as a series titled “Gorgeous at Christmas.” Do take a moment to visit us!