Tea at Trianon: The Rules for Decorating with Leopard Print

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, March 20, 2024

The Rules for Decorating with Leopard Print

From House and Garden:

Perhaps the design world's most fearless and most famous leopard print fan was Madeleine Castaing herself, who once decorated the salon in her house in Paris, Maison de Lèves, in wall to wall leopard print carpet. She was undeniably one of the 20th century's greatest interior designers, and she is cited as an inspiration by many of our Top 100 designers to this day. In her own words, ‘a leopard print carpet is both attractive and forgiving, particularly in a room with doors that lead in and out of the garden.’ To this day you can still find a few of her printed carpets produced by Codimat. Later, in a project she worked on for Jean Cocteau, she chose the print instead for all four walls and the ceiling.

Then there's always the other end of the spectrum, and many other designers prefer a gentler approach. ‘If you’re nervous, one of the easiest ways to inject a dose of animal print into your home is to start with an accent before committing to whole walls or floors. A runner, cushions, a throw or smaller objets such as a trinket box in a leopard print will add an immediate sense of adventure,’ advises Natalia. (Read more.)