The Kimberly Crest House

Posted on March 5 2010 by Stacey Irawan - Indonesia Media

Hidden in the Redlands is a picturesque French styled house that sits in the middle of a lush garden. The Kimberly Crest House, originally built by Mrs.

Stacey Irawan with brother Bryant Irawan

Cornelia A. Hill 1897, was home to the Kimberly family, the founders of Kleenex. The house itself is 7,000 square feet with three stories and located on a 6.25 acre estate.

As we pulled up to 1325 Prospect drive and eyed the long staircase up, I began to picture what would be in store for me on the top of that hill. Welcomed with a breathtaking sight of greenery and a beautiful house at the top, I stopped to wonder, “Why did I only come here now?” The garden landscape filled every corner and embellished the lush greenery with koi

The Kimberly House

ponds displaying colorful fish and statues that seemed to tell stories frozen in time.

Many exotic plants sprouted from that garden and filled the place with an array of colors and shapes. As I walked around to admire the infinite beauty of the garden, it didn’t take long before I started to scrutinize every being of the house that in the middle of all this. Usually a garden such as this one would have overshadowed any house, but the house certainly made a statement of its own.

The towering French chateau displayed such detail from the French style that was brought over here to the Redlands. Towers that rose up to form a cone made it seem as if I was staring at a castle. The windows and color of the house made it seem as cozy as a cottage yet as elaborate as a castle. I ended up focusing my attention the mansion, scrutinizing every aspect and niche made into it. It would be an understatement to simply call it a house, for it stood in the spotlight. While a docent led as through the mansion, we gasped at the unique features the house held.

These include a French parlor lined with gilt furniture and silk wall coverings, rugs dating back to that time lay across the hardwood floor, and an intricately carved banister ran across the stairwell. The state of the art luxuries from that time could be seen throughout the house. After the tour, the docent led us to the carriage house in the back. The carriage is home to the gift shop/museum where we could see Kleenex products dating back from the early 1900’s. The boxes took us through a time lapse as we saw the various boxes that held the tissues.

At last it was the end of our trip to the Kimberly Crest House and not only did we see a beautiful landmark, but also a history that has dated back to the 1900’s. Our adventure to the Redlands was done, but there is much more in store. The Kimberly Crest House turned out to be an amazing experience shrouded by a forest of trees, and a trip worth taking.