The interior decoration, and life in the lodge's heyday

Much of the wood used in the interior came from the surrounding forest, and the rooms were decorated with inlaid brass, beaten copper, and polished metal chandeliers and sconces.  The new lodge contained 134 rooms spread over two floors, making it only slightly smaller than the Alexander Palace at Tsarskoe Selo.  The Drawing Room, paneled in ash, was adorned with bearskin rugs and mounted animal heads.  The walls of the immense Dining Room were decorated in contrasting wainscoting and carved panels of maple and birch, set between slender columns supporting inlaid arches and arcades.  From the beams of the coffered wooden ceiling hung beaten copper and crystal chandeliers; below, the thirty foot long mahogany table could be extended to comfortably seat a hundred guests in the carved, leather-upholstered chairs.  Throughout the new building, rooms were paneled in mahogany, yew, birch, ash, oak, and maple; hung with bright English chintzes; and furnished with overstuffed sofas and chairs lurking behind banks of potted palms.

Alexander’s own study was in oak, with plain leather covering the desks and chairs: a dark, masculine, very Victorian room, typical of his taste. On one wall was a huge, tiled stove. 

Empress Marie, by contrast, had a bright and feminine room to work in, with friezes of flowers and light white furniture.

The Reception Room opened to a Billiard Room, its walls hung with hunting trophies and Russian landscapes, and lit by a copper chandelier above the English billiards table. 

There were enormous wine cellars to assist the Emperor, who loved to drink and play cards, in entertaining his male friends and guests. The second floor held a number of suites, incorporated into the building at the request of Alexander himself: each apartment consisted of a sitting room, bedroom, dressing room, wardrobe, and bathroom, and all were finished in varying styles.  The walls of the imperial suite, on the southern side of the lodge overlooking the lake, were hung in English chintz patterned with flowers. Another room was decorated, idiosyncratically, entirely in postage stamps. There was a bakery, a pantry, extensive kitchens in the western wing, attics, and a telegraph room to keep the family in touch with the outside world. Until this time, the village of Białowieża had had no telegraph at all. The heir to the throne had his own suite, and there was a sitting room for him and for other family members.The cost of building and furnishing this extraordinary complex came to 708,000 rubles.

The Grand Ducal sitting room, and the grand palace dining room