I love Marie Antoinette, the movie if not the long-dead queen, and I think Sofia Coppola’s 2006 is vastly underrated — especially as a live-action lookbook for palace interiors. Who doesn’t want to live in a palace? Gilded moldings, tremendously ornate wallpaper, formal gardens? Oh, and your very own private palace in addition to the main one?
I got so into Marie Antoinette that I started visiting all the castles around Paris — and indeed, Versailles is amazing, but so are the Chateau de Champs-sur-Marne (where some of Marie Antoinette was filmed), the Chateau de Vincennes (in a more medieval way), and the Chateau de Maisons. (For even more castles near Paris that aren’t Versailles, see here.)
I also started collecting palace-type pieces — like gilt-framed mirrors and delicate little vases. Louis XVI furniture is mostly beyond my price range — but I’ve seen everything here (or variations thereof) for affordable prices at the Paris flea markets.
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For more on Marie Antoinette, see All the Best Flowers in Marie Antoinette and The Marie Antoinette Home Shopping List.
1. A chandelier is appropriate for all circumstances, including “random outdoor pavilion on the border of France” and….
2. Palace interiors! I just don’t know why I don’t already have a chandelier.
3. Gilded doors moldings are the best door moldings. (Here’s a slightly more modern take on the gilded door accent thing, from Lonny.)
4. File under: “Too much is never enough.” Why not do fabric panels on the walls? And gilded moldings? It’s not like gold paint costs much.
5. The more ornate the headboard, the more streamlined the bedding.
6. Upholstery can do wonders for a couch. There’s actually a moment in this movie when Marie Antoinette and her friends pick out upholstery fabric.
7. A superior way to have a bath. Look at all that gold on the walls!
8. Wallpaper has its place, especially when it’s sympathetic to your dress.
9. Every pastry deserves its plate. I have a plate like this and I have yet to live up to its standards, pastry-wise.
10. Get you a husband/king who doesn’t mind giving you your own private palace (a.k.a. le Petit Trianon).
11. Blue walls with white molding: It’s maybe the only thing I could love more than white walls with gold molding.
12. Who needs a castle when you can have a meadow?
13. Gauzy fabrics have their place.
14. Sigh. IDK, buy a house with a garden? Some things it’s hard to do on a budget.
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