Pinewood Estate Garden & Mansion

Carol Come To The Garden, Home, Travel

Previously I shared spring at Bok Tower Garden at Lake Wales, Florida. Today we’ll tour Pinewood Estate garden and mansion which is nestled in the Bok Gardens.  A separate fee gains you entrance to Pinewood Estates, an enchanting 20-room Mediterranean-style mansion. Originally named “El Retiro,” meaning “retreat” in Spanish, the Estate was built in the early 1930s for Charles Austin Buck, a Bethlehem Steel vice president.  Now this historic Estate is open for tours throughout the year to visitors of Bok Tower Gardens.

Grounds of Pinewood Estate
Pinewood Estates View of Mansion from Garden

Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. had designed Edward Bok’s Gardens and several private gardens inside Mountain Lake Estates, a neighboring private community. Charles Austin Buck engaged Olmsted’s firm to design the landscape of his winter estate. In 1929, landscape architect William Lyman Phillips of the Olmsted Brothers firm began to design the gardens and the placement of the house. In 1930, architect Charles Wait was hired to design the house that has become one of the finest examples of Mediterranean-style architecture in the state of Florida. The Estate was the result of the collaborative inspiration of Buck, Wait and Phillips.

Pinewood Estates Garden
snapdragons by Moon Gate Pinewood Estates garden
Courtyard Pinewood Estate2

Because Buck was an amateur horticulturist, the gardens were designed first and the house was positioned later to provide a natural flow from garden to house. The estate gardens include  an Oriental moon gate fountain off the dining room porch;

Stairs to Pinewood Estate
Garden Pinewood Estates
Garden pansies, Pinewood Estates


and an English-style country garden with a rolling lawn and a pond that reflects the afternoon sunsets.

Pinewood Estate
Formal garden walk Pinewood Estate
Formal garden, Pinewood Estate

Buck was a great admirer of the Latin lifestyle and architecture, and he wanted “El Retiro” to be reminiscent of it. Wait designed the 12,900 square foot Mediterranean-style home with many characteristics of an antique villa, complete with a barrel-tile roof, thick walls, substantial carved doors and woodwork, and intricately detailed wrought iron.

Garden Pinewood Estates2
Pinewood Estates Mansion door
Mansion tile on each stair is different

Tiles from Tunisia decorate the steps. Each step has a different tile.

8 aces or 32,000 m of gardens included Pinewood Estate a 20-room Mediterranean Revival Mansion

The owner and designers worked to situate the entire house so that fantastic views from the house were framed by the surrounding tall pine and live oak trees.

Grounds Pinewood Estate
Close-up garden statue Pinewood Estate
View from a bedroom window Pinewood Estate

The home’s vintage furnishings reflect the winter lifestyle of this well-to-do family.

Walkin closet with vintage fashions Pinewood Estate Mansion


Ribbons Bedroom Pinewood Estate Mansion
Bedroom Pinewood Estate
Bed and Bathrooms at Pinewood Mansion
Bedroom Pinewood Estates Mansion
Drawing Room Pinewood Estate Mansion
Dining Room Pinewood Estates Mansion
Music Room Pinewood Estates Mansion
Pinewood Estates Garden2
Pinewood Estates Garden Courtyard Fountain
Courtyard Pinewood Estate

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Carol

I was raised in Tennessee but have lived in Florida for many years. Love my small home in the Tampa Bay area and its developing garden. My decorating style is eclectic - some vintage, some cottage, all with a modern flair. Pursuing a healthier lifestyle. Spent many years in social services but am happily retired.

19 thoughts to “Pinewood Estate Garden & Mansion”

  1. I am always amazed at the beautiful places you take us to in my own home town. It’s lovely to see places of interest. I’ve been to Bok Tower and Spook Hill many years ago but never knew about the mansion. Thanks for the tour.

    Reply

  5. Magnificent! I love gardens like this — in fact, I’m probably more interested in the gardens than the house….! Thanks for the tour.

    Reply

  8. What a beautiful place Carol. I love the gardens and the moon gate fountain.
    Thanks so much for showing us around!

    And thanks for sharing with #MMBC. Have a lovely weekend 🙂

    Reply

  10. I really enjoy the tours you take us on. Those tiles on the steps are gorgeous…I can just picture my basement steps looking that gorgeous…in my mind only, though! LOL Thanks so much for sharing your fotos and linking up each Friday with FFF. I really do appreciate it. HOPE you have a great weekend.

    Reply

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