Tea at Trianon: Parisian Decorating Secrets

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Saturday, February 15, 2014

Parisian Decorating Secrets

From Hip Paris:

Something old, something new. I’m a diehard fan of Paris flea markets and brocantes. For a California girl raised on sitcoms and takeout, the idea that you could buy 19th century candlesticks for the price of lunch is still unimaginably wonderful. Whether you’re outfitting a whole apartment or looking for a decorative souvenir, a weekend visit to les puces at Porte de Vanves or Saint-Ouen (Clignancourt) is a must. (Read more.)

The North Coast said...: No one has quite the sense of style the French do. The room pictured is perfectly elegant, and never out of style, serene yet lively and interesting.; February 15, 2014 at 6:24:00 PM EST
elena maria vidal said...: I so agree!; February 15, 2014 at 6:29:00 PM EST
julygirl said...: It could be 1930, 1950 or 2014.
Elegant yet relaxing. I know a lady who built and decorated her home in 1970...(one can tell by the 30 year old appliances, which are still functioning since they were the best money could by at the time...)yet it is elegant but still inviting even though one is awed by the Chippendale furniture, marble from Italy, etc.,etc.; February 16, 2014 at 3:00:00 PM EST