Tea at Trianon: Painting Furniture

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

Thursday, May 5, 2022

Painting Furniture

From Confessions of a Serial DIYer:

I’ve reshared a couple of pieces recently that I originally redid at the height of the pandemic, and I was surprised at how many people missed them on the first go round. It was a super crazy time, so I totally get it! I decided to pull another of those makeovers out today as these ones were super fun to bring back to life!

I rarely take on other people’s projects as I don’t like not having the freedom to just do whatever I want with a makeover. The stars aligned for this one though.

My neighbors had asked me for advice about painting some furniture that belonged to their daughter. I was just finishing up the haul I’d been working on at the time, so I asked them to send me photos of what they wanted to paint. When I saw those gorgeous French Provincial curves, I knew I wanted to take this project on! (Read more.)