Tea at Trianon: White Chocolate Minimalism

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 12, 2023

White Chocolate Minimalism

From Architectural Digest:

Serenity is the goal. “Look, we live in a kind of chaotic world, right?” says Alabama architect and AD PRO Directory member Jeffrey Dungan, who aims to imbue the residences he creates with a sense of clarity and repose. “We need a little peace—and our homes are our respite.” This sentiment is echoed by Calla Cane, whose design practice spans both coasts (California and Connecticut): “I think we are receiving so much stimulation through our phones and computers that most people are looking to come home to a sanctuary.” Particularly following the enforced seclusion of COVID and the growth of remote work, she notes, “We find that there are more and more requests for clean lines, organization, and a spa-like feel.”

With restraint in mind, spaces aren’t be packed with too much stuff. Forms are kept uncomplicated, tones muted, furnishings few—avoiding any visual (or literal) clutter. In these interiors, says Keren Richter of New York’s White Arrow, also listed on the AD PRO Directory: “Color and pattern are no longer the focus, but materiality, scale, proportion, and the hand element are paramount.”

The preferred tonality of neutral-color rooms has varied over time, from yellow-tinged “magnolia blossom” whites in the 1980s to the sea of chilly grays that have inundated social media postings during the past decade. Most recently, however, such subdued-chic interiors have tended to come drenched in something like the hue of a freshly whipped up béchamel sauce. Call the aesthetic “white chocolate minimalism,” perhaps. (Read more.)