One of the highlights of travelling down south to Bella Rustica was visiting The Milky Way Farms.
The property, originally owned by the Mars Bar creator Frank Mars, resides on 1100 acres of gorgeous rolling Tennessee hills and ancient trees.
The main home was open to touring during Bella Rustica, so my blogger gal pals Rhoda and Sandra joined me for a tour.
The residents are mighty friendly in these parts, including the 4 legged variety. 🙂
Let’s go inside!
The manor is 25,000 square feet with 20 bedrooms and 14 baths!
The main room was an astonishing two stories high. Wooden beams and amazing rock work all authentic to the home were everywhere you looked.
The kitchen wasn’t out of the norm large, but he island certainly was! The manor is geared to host functions throughout the year these days.
Each window opened to this type of vista. Those trademark Tennessee rolling hills appeared everywhere you looked. Very natural, very serene.
We were standing off a kitchen patio at this point taking in the gorgeous exterior rock work.
Aren’t the doorways magnificent?
Back inside the kitchen, this was the way individual rooms were buzzed back in the day for room service, etc.
Ready to enter the dining room? It was iron gated.
You can see the full iron gate in Rhoda’s post HERE.
The dining room sat 40 people in the comforts of leather chairs.
Each bedroom held it’s very own charm , being all different from one another.
I just loved the original bathroom fixtures. This sink was gorgeous. Very tastefully decorated.
Mr and Mrs had separate bedrooms and this was his.
Complete with it’s own sitting area and fireplace.
I loved the rough plaster in this one.
Here’s Rhoda heading upstairs. Check out the rounded steps.
So what does lighting look like from 1930 anyway?
Original.
And remarkable.
Here’s where they served coffee…
with, you guessed it. Milky Way Bars!
It was also suggested we take in the ‘chandelier barn’. So we drove the property which houses it’s own roads, and after passing barn after barn, we found it.
The property use to hold 30 bars but today, just a handful are fully restored, utilized for ongoing functions. And this one’s a beauty.
Ethel Mars oversaw operations that produced prize winning cattle and thoroughbred horses that were winners on the racetrack. One of their horses even won the Kentucky Derby in 1940!
This was such a magical tour and worth taking in if you are ever near Pulaski, Tennessee.
So much to see yet… coming soon!
Bella Rustica is a vintage barn marketplace fundraiser, located near Pulaski, Tennessee that’s held once a year in an effort to raise funds for Agape. HomeTalk sponsored my travel expenses so I could play a part in representing the show. Show coordinater is Linda Lindley. More info can be found HERE.
All Bella Rustica posts can be found HERE.
The Bella Pinterest board is HERE.
Hi Donna,
First the only thing I can say is WOW. If not intimidated or impressed with the street view of this home, that huge dining room table will.
This brings back the memory of the times of Camelot and large feasts with peers. I also love the ‘warmth’ of the room, the large beams, the rock walls, and of course the stain on that table.
I love the natural light, and the veranda type thing at the top of the stairs. I can envision a stunning debutante at her coming out party standing there overlooking her community before her grand entrance to the event.
That kitchen is a dream come true isn’t it? Love the size of the island with all that storage room. I love how things are set up as well. I think it would be easy navigation in there when cooking.
The views of Tennessee of breath taking for sure. Would love to sit there and watch the sun rise as well as the sun set. I probably would forever be taking photos to immortalize the peace the surrounding nature evokes.
Thank you so much for sharing this with us. What a day that must have been. So beautiful and definitely a step back in rustic charm.
Can you imagine having to clean this home???
Hi, Donna, so fun to see your pics too, you captured it well. That was such a memorable weekend, so glad I got to experience it with you. That house was something else!
So beautiful. I’m so glad you took a lot of photos. How magnificent it all looks. One probably feels very minute in its presence. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for posting Donna. Unfortunately I never got the chance to tour it because I was working! This was a treat!
Wow! Simply gorgeous. We didn’t get a chance to tour the home. I’m so glad to see it through your lens! 🙂
Oh my, your pics turned out so beautiful! Such an awesome house (and touring it with you and Rhoda was the cherry on top!)
Thank you for a stroll around a beautiful property,I am always amazed at the craftmanship of by gone days…the rock work is astonding, and I love rock work. I grew up where my Uncle had a massive fire place, and rock work all around the property. I loved all the shots of this house and the barn,,,I could live here..the patina.
again thank you
Wow, I’d kill for a kitchen that big! Nice pictures
What a huge and lovely rustic space.
What an amazing place! Thanks for taking us there. 🙂
Simply beautiful and thanks for sharing Donna. I love the marble kitchen island and the hardwood floors throughout the house.
I know carpet’s the way to go for many houses, but old hardwood flooring still looks good IMHO.
Absolutely the correct point mate, I am pretty amazes and impressed with the old hardwood flooring. Hope it would have been a superior lifetime experience. Spot on mate!