The House of M, Romania

The House of M was a historical academic institution in Romania. It was built in the 1800’s and was designed by a famous Romanian architect. We visited this location in 2017, as we travelled across Romania.

This exquisite building features an eclectic mix of Baroque and Art-Nouveau styles. Consequently, upkeep on this grand building comes at a great cost. Mounting costs forced the owners to sell the property. The state now owns the building and surrounding grounds. It is presently undergoing renovation to become a functioning museum. In the meantime, parts of the impressive building have already been brought back into use.

The ground floor of The House of M has polished parquet flooring. The bookshelves feature various history books, in addition to academic journals. Many academics worked and studied here over the decades, some of international reputation. In addition, glass display cabinets in the middle of the entrance hall display the most prestigious of the books and papers.

Stone columns support the upper floor, where it meets the grand curved stone staircase. Stone statues decorate the bottom of the stairs. Between these stone statues in another glass display cabinet.

The large glass skylight illuminates the ground floor and upper floor. The light reveals the subtle floral patterns painted on the ceiling. In the rooms off the entrance hall are the exhibition and study rooms. The study rooms are storage or temporary office space at this time. The ceiling surrounding the skylight is beautifully painted. Likewise, the door surrounds feature decorative plaster moldings.

The House of M in 2017

The upper floor of the building features a landing with wrought iron balustrades. There were rudimentary wooden boards fixed are fixed above the railings and to the walls. At the time of our visits these displayed architecture plans and drawings of the planned renovation of this beautiful building.