Word: jefferson
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...Jefferson's first design for Monticello was a reflection of the classical Italian architecture he had studied in books. When he began building the second, larger house, he incorporated contemporary ideas he had seen in France, such as skylights to illuminate interior spaces...
...features in particular-the dome and the tall east windows-are a nod to the Hôtel de Salm, a house Jefferson admired in Paris...
...Jefferson designed even the smallest details of Monticello "with a greater eye to convenience...
...first floor has grand rooms but no grand staircase. Jefferson saw such things as a waste of space, so he tucked very narrow, steep staircases at each end of the central hall. Fine for him: he lived on the first floor. But women wearing long dresses or carrying a baby or a tray faced a dangerous climb...
...octagonal room under the dome is perhaps the house's most striking space. But what was it for? Not much, apparently. It briefly served as a bedroom for Jefferson's grandson but most often was just storage space. One problem: those treacherous stairs make it hard to get large pieces of furniture up there...