Editing Monticello (section)

==Decoration and furnishings==
Much of Monticello's interior decoration reflects the personal ideas and ideals of Jefferson.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.monticello.org/jefferson/dayinlife/sunrise/design.html |title=A Day in the Life of Thomas Jefferson: Sunrise Design and Decor |publisher=Monticello.org |access-date=July 9, 2010 |archive-date=May 10, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100510151902/http://www.monticello.org/jefferson/dayinlife/sunrise/design.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
[[File:Jefferson fish pond at Monticello.jpg|thumb|left|In a time before refrigeration, Jefferson had the pond stocked with fish, to be available on demand.]]

The original main entrance is through the [[portico]] on the east front. The ceiling of this portico incorporates a wind plate connected to a [[weather vane]], showing the direction of the wind. A large [[clock]] face on the external east-facing wall has only an hour hand since Jefferson thought this was accurate enough for those he enslaved.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.monticello.org/site/jefferson/design-and-decor-great-clock |title=A Day in the Life of Thomas Jefferson: Design and Decor - The Great Clock |publisher=Monticello.org |access-date=September 19, 2016 |archive-date=January 10, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190110183831/https://www.monticello.org/site/jefferson/design-and-decor-great-clock |url-status=live }}</ref> The clock reflects the time shown on the "Great Clock", designed by Jefferson, in the entrance hall. The entrance hall contains recreations of items collected by [[Lewis and Clark Expedition|Lewis and Clark]] on the cross-country expedition commissioned by Jefferson to explore the Louisiana Purchase. Jefferson had the floorcloth painted a "true grass green" upon the recommendation of artist [[Gilbert Stuart]], so that Jefferson's "essay in architecture" could invite the spirit of the outdoors into the house.{{Citation needed|date = November 2015}}

The south wing includes Jefferson's private suite of rooms. The library holds many books from his third [[library]] collection. His first library was burned in an accidental plantation fire, and he 'ceded' (or sold) his second library in 1815 to the [[United States Congress]] to replace the books lost in the 1814 [[burning of Washington]] during the [[War of 1812]].<ref name="loc.gov">{{cite web |url=https://www.loc.gov/about/history.html |title=History - About the Library (Library of Congress) |publisher=Loc.gov |date=September 14, 1987 |access-date=July 9, 2010 |archive-date=February 21, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140221101807/http://www.loc.gov/about/history.html |url-status=live }}</ref> This second library formed the nucleus of the [[Library of Congress]].<ref name="loc.gov"/>
[[File:INTERIOR, MASTER BEDROOM, LOOKING SOUTHWEST - Monticello, State Route 53 vicinity, Charlottesville, Charlottesville, VA HABS VA,2-CHAR.V,1-35.tif|thumb|Master Bedroom, looking southwest (1978)]]
As "larger than life" as Monticello seems, the house has approximately {{cvt|11000|sqft|m2}} of living space.<ref>{{Cite web |title=House FAQs |url=https://www.monticello.org/house-gardens/the-house/house-faqs/ |access-date=April 30, 2023 |website=Monticello |language=en}}</ref> Jefferson considered much furniture to be a waste of space, so the [[dining room]] table was erected only at mealtimes, and beds were built into [[alcove (architecture)|alcoves]] cut into thick walls that contain storage space. Jefferson's bed opens to two sides: to his cabinet (study) and to his bedroom (dressing room).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.monticello.org/site/research-and-collections/alcove-beds |title=Jefferson's Alcove Bed |publisher=Monticello.org |access-date=July 9, 2010 |archive-date=August 15, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210815061608/https://www.monticello.org/site/research-and-collections/alcove-beds |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2017, a room identified as [[Sally Hemings]]' quarters at Monticello, adjacent to Jefferson's bedroom, was discovered in an archeological excavation. It will be restored and refurbished. This is part of the Mountaintop Project, which includes restorations in order to give a fuller account of the lives of both enslaved and free families at Monticello.<ref name="nbc">{{Cite web |title=Historians uncover slave quarters of Sally Hemings at Thomas Jefferson's Monticello |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/thomas-jefferson-sally-hemings-living-quarters-found-n771261 |access-date=April 30, 2023 |website=NBC News |date=July 3, 2017 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="wapost">[https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/for-decades-they-hid-jeffersons-mistress-now-monticello-is-making-room-for-sally-hemings/2017/02/18/d410d660-f222-11e6-8d72-263470bf0401_story.html Krissah Thompson, "For decades they hid Jefferson's relationship with her. Now Monticello is making room for Sally Hemings."], ''Washington Post'', February 18, 2017; accessed July 13, 2024</ref>

The west front gives the impression of a villa of modest proportions, with a lower floor disguised in the hillside.{{Citation needed|date=November 2015}}

The north wing includes two guest bedrooms and the dining room. It has a [[Dumbwaiter (elevator)|dumbwaiter]] incorporated into the fireplace, as well as dumbwaiters (shelved tables on casters) and a pivoting serving door with shelves.<ref>[[Marcus Whiffen|Whiffen, Marcus]] & Koeper, Frederick (1981). ''American Architecture, 1607–1976''. MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass P.105</ref><ref>Self, R. L., & Stein, S. R. (1998). The Collaboration of Thomas Jefferson and John Hemings: Furniture Attributed to the Monticello Joinery. Winterthur Portfolio, 33(4), 231-248.</ref>