Tea at Trianon: Neutral Tones And Dynamic Patterns

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

Wednesday, August 14, 2019

Neutral Tones And Dynamic Patterns

From Haute Residence:

Once their sons were old enough to leave home to launch their respective college years and careers, these empty nesters were ready to make a move as well. Their previous home and all of its furnishings had served the family well, but it was time for a fresh start. First acquisitions for the two-story, 4,178-square-foot home, were a pair of one-of-kind Louis-XVI, stainless steel chairs with tempered glass seats, that were prominently placed in the formal living room. This set the mood for this vintage-meets-modern inspired home. Hand-scraped walnut wood floors are featured throughout the home. Dark wood shutters, curved archways, and walls accented with pillars are among the touches that tie-in with family home back in Columbia.

Fusing traditional components with plans for future, commissioned contemporary artworks, presents challenges, but introducing hand-selected, high-quality lighting, furnishings and accessories, contributes to a cohesiveness that helps blend the two worlds together, the old and the new. (Read more.)