The LeBold Mansion

Just look at this beauty. Out in the middle of Kansas in a small town named Abeline we stumbled upon the LeBold Mansion. Abeline is the home of President Dwight Eisenhower and is everything you could hope a small Midwest town to be.

These are the grand doors that enter into this amazing mansion. It was built in the 1800's and had a series of owners. It once was an orphanage and also housed young ladies who were training to become telephone operators.

When we walked inside and I could think was HOLY SMOKES! So opulent of an entry...Rich colors, beautiful carved wood, and something to take in visually at every corner!

This was in Mr. LeBold's library. He was a prominent banker in town . Back in the day, the average price of homes for $300 to $500. The LeBold mansion cost $18,000 to build

They had a few Halloween decorations up as you can see. This fireplace was also in Mr. LeBolds

library. Usually, the library was the smaller room in Victorian mansions, but Mr. LeBold wanted to make an impression upon his guest and had a large room to receive businessmen.

The antiques were just beautiful. I don't know why things like this aren't made anymore...or maybe they are and I'm just out of the loop!

The current owners are partners who travel the USA finding homes to restore and then move on for another conquest. One of their "specialties" is doing a jigsaw of wallpaper on the ceilings. You can get a glimpse in this photo.

Here is another ceiling shot...just amazing. The time and effort and measuring....unbelievable!

The window treatments were a site to behold. Each room was paid careful attention to detail.

I asked about the ceiling medallion, and although not authentic to the home, there is an artisan they contracted to make this plaster medallion from an antique version.

Our guide was extremely knowledgeable about the time period and explained that back in the Victorian era, the home was were all the entertaining took place. There weren't movie theaters yet, so when people came to visit, there were special rooms in the house for different activities, and rooms that only the immediate family would use.

This is the dining room...so spacious.

Don't you feel like we live decorate very plainly after seeing these rooms? My goodness, everything was over the top.

This was in Mrs. LeBolds private study. Can you imagine having a room all to yourself just to dress or have a friend over for tea?

This bedroom was in a Asian theme...should have taken more pictures, but I was too busy standing with my mouth hanging open, listening to the stories about the house, saying "WOW" a thousand times over in my mind.

This was the Moroccan room a family room of sorts. That is a tusk with the most intricate carving and I loved the puppets as I call them.

This was the girls nursery. Sorry I didn't get a picture of the bed. It has a lovely patchwork quilt on it. Reminded me of the Shirley Temple movie The Little Princess.

The home is up for sale for $899,000 and is currently in escrow. The new owners are planning on using it as a private residence, so I'm very happy I got to tippy toe inside before it will no longer be open to the public!