Tea at Trianon: Interior Design Trends of 2023

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

Sunday, January 15, 2023

Interior Design Trends of 2023

From Architectural Digest:

“The market is finally veering away from more romantic styles like cottagecore and even the myriad variants of farmhouse,” says Tom Mirabile, founder of trend-forecasting agency Springboard Futures. “As we move past pandemic concerns and fears and toward newly complex realities, styles like these just feel too naïve and escapist.” So now that we’re headed back to real life, what’s in the cards instead? Here are the interior design trends for 2023 that Mirabile and other experts predict will dominate.
What’s more emblematic of a zest for life than a vibrant color palette? White and neutral interiors are falling out of favor for more cheerful hues, even if they just appear in accents.
“As society continues to glorify the individual, we see the minimalist ethos expand beyond simplicity and utility to the inclusion of more expressive elements,” Mirabile says. “In our shifting reality, minimalism is embracing a larger role as stylistic tabula rasa.”
“The all-white home decor is falling flat,” adds Lindsey Smecker, principal at ESP Trendlab. “It’s important to add contrast, warmth, and dimension to white spaces so as not to feel clinical.” To avoid any hospital-like vibes, Smecker says, people are opting for “warm chestnut or saturated ‘lived-in color’ in decor, rugs, and pillows to add elements of coziness and dimension.” (Read more.)