shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileWashington

on East Sound, Orcas Island, in the San Juans

Rosario Resort on Orcas

Name: Rosario Resort on Orcas — on ceramic tile, by WenderVista
Brand: WenderVista

— a shipbuilder's mansion turning quiet on the water.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.

— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand

— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines

— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall

— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround

— a note from the studio

“Robert Moran built this house above Cascade Bay in 1909, after the doctors gave him a year to live. He outlived the prognosis by thirty-four. The mansion still stands at the head of the cove on Orcas Island, the Aeolian pipe organ still plays on Saturdays, and the long lawn runs down to the dock where the Bellingham boat used to come in.

from the studio

— bring it home

Rosario Resort on Orcas, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?

One tile — square or rectangle.

How big?

the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand

6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb

Surface finish

A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.

How it sits

A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.

$58

Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.

— size

6 × 6 in

15 cm

— weighs

1.6 lb

solid in the hand

— surface

ceramic, hand-finished

art rests beneath a thin glossy finish

— from

Knoxville, TN

our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies

— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Rosario Resort on Orcas

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.

— the place

Rosario sits on East Sound, the long fjord that nearly splits Orcas Island in two, in the San Juan Islands of northwest Washington. The mansion was completed in 1909 by Robert Moran, a former mayor of Seattle and the shipbuilder behind the Moran Brothers yard that launched the USS Nebraska. He retired to Orcas after a heart diagnosis and spent the next decade building the estate from local timber and Honduran mahogany. The property became a resort in 1960 and is a National Historic District today.

— informed by Wikipedia — Rosario Resort, NPS — National Register

— the stone

The mansion is timber and concrete rather than stone, framed with old-growth Douglas fir cut from the Moran estate and clad in mahogany. The slate roof was shipped from Vermont. The centerpiece is a 1,972-pipe Aeolian organ installed in the music room, one of the largest residential organs ever built. Christopher Peacock, the resort's longtime music director, plays the organ on weekends and tells the history between numbers. The grounds include Moran's original boathouse, machine shop, and the lawn running down to the bay.

— informed by Rosario Resort — Music Room

— the visit

Orcas Island is reached by Washington State Ferry from Anacortes, about an hour and twenty minutes across the channel. From the ferry landing, the drive to Rosario is roughly thirteen miles by car. The mansion museum is open to the public free of charge during resort hours, and the Saturday organ concerts run seasonally. Moran State Park, with the Mount Constitution lookout at 2,409 feet, sits a short drive east and is worth pairing with a visit.

— informed by WSDOT — Anacortes to San Juans

— where

United States · San Juan County, Washington

— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.

6 km N

Eastsound

village

3 km E

Moran State Park

state park

8 km E

Mount Constitution

summit lookout

Rosario Resort on Orcas

Eastsound

Moran State Park

Mount Constitution

— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Rosario Resort on Orcas — and about bringing the piece home.

— about the place

The mansion was built by Robert Moran, a Seattle shipbuilder and former mayor, between 1906 and 1909. He retired to Orcas Island after a heart diagnosis and lived there until 1943.

Rosario is on the east shore of East Sound on Orcas Island, in San Juan County, Washington. Orcas is reached by Washington State Ferry from Anacortes.

It is a 1,972-pipe Aeolian organ installed in the mansion's music room, one of the largest residential pipe organs ever built. Saturday concerts are open to the public in season.

Yes, the mansion museum is open to the public free of charge during resort operating hours. The music room and several historic rooms can be visited without booking a stay.

Yes. The Moran estate was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979 and remains a designated historic district within the San Juan Islands.

Washington State Ferries runs daily service from Anacortes to the Orcas Island terminal at the south end of the island. The crossing takes about an hour and twenty minutes.

— about the piece in your home

It has been a meaningful gift for islanders and longtime visitors. A Small with a handwritten note from the studio carries well, or a Medium for a guest room or office wall.

The piece sits well in coastal-modern, Craftsman, and Pacific Northwest interiors. The mansion's mahogany-and-slate palette holds against warm woods, leather, and brass.

Yes. Early-twentieth-century estate references are running strong in the heritage-modern direction, where new builds borrow Craftsman bones without going strictly period.

Above a standard sofa, a single Large or a four-tile Mural reads at the right scale. Above a console table, a Medium sits cleanly without crowding lamps.

Yes, in the Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both are scratch-resistant and handle shower humidity or a kitchen backsplash without trouble.

A dry microfibre cloth lifts dust. For anything more, a damp microfibre with water is enough. No abrasives and no ammonia-based cleaners on the surface.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is original to the studio, hand-finished in Knoxville, and not licensed from any third party. One studio, one eye.

— if this one stayed with you