INSPIRATION IN WISCONSIN

INSPIRATION IN WISCONSIN.   
By CHANTAL COOKE.   

Alex Jordan – you’ve inspired me. I am fed up with modern decor and the magnolia fad. Fed up with sensible and fed up with the need to explain why.

Alex Jordan ignored all these modern mores. His house is a tribute to the beauty of just doing what you want for no other reason than you fancy doing it.

The House on the Rock in Wisconsin, USA is an elaborate labyrinth of rooms and extensions housing an eclectic mix of items, chosen for no other reason than Alex liked them.

There are music machines, Chinese ivory carvings, reproduction Tiffany lamps, doors carved from Indian Rosewood, china dolls, model aeroplanes, an entire early 1900’s street, and an infinity room; all carefully built around an outcropping of rock towering over the Wisconsin plains.

The infinity room juts around 160 feet out from the side of the house over the gorge below, and with a large glass panel in the floor you can look down at the tree tops and deer below you.

Alex modeled his house on his fantasies and dreams. Everything from a marine world with a giant sea monster munching a ship to the world’s largest indoor carousel with mythical creatures constantly spinning round under the sparkling fairy lights.

Alex’s house is a house full of oddities that shouts his name from every wall. A house that others may not like but nevertheless a house that you can’t help but be inspired by, and a house that deserves to be on the “visit list” for any trip to Wisconsin.

To see more of the House on the Rock visit their website. 

The video for 10,000 Maniac’s cover of “More Than This” was shot at the House on the Rock – view it here.

About the Author
Chantal Cooke is an award winning journalist and broadcaster.