Tea at Trianon: How to Create a Formal Interior

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, April 20, 2022

How to Create a Formal Interior

From House and Garden:

This amazing apartment was a love gift for a wife whose dream is to live in the greatest refinement and sophistication. We indulged her desire for all things formal and pushed that idea right to the brink. The result: palace perfection with a modern twist. This place is proper with a capital P, just the way she likes it. Most of the apartments in this landmarked Art Deco building were remodelled to be contemporary, but we took things in a different direction. We started by adding architectural touches like crown moldings and wall mouldings, cornice details, and built-in cabinetry. Everything had to be impeccable. If we’re going to go formal, let’s be excessively formal. Start by silver-leafing everything. Roll out the silk carpets and panel every wall imaginable. Polish the dark brown floors in the living room to a high sheen. You will know right away that you are some-where dressy—a place where delicate, light-reflecting silk velvet fabrics don’t seem impractical at all! A place where you can head to bed in silk pyjamas and wake up to breakfast served on fine china in an exquisite kitchen.

I like clients who are brave enough to fully own who they are and go for it. I like to pull out all the stops and let them live like royalty. But I am always going to be fearless in my approach and my use of colour. For this apartment, we chose a watery palette with shades of periwinkle and aqua that blend into one another rather than pop. It sparks newness because it’s a pale wash of hues. This home is all about light and reflection. The living room is an airy, cloudlike fantasy...if clouds were made of silver leaf, that is! (Read more.)