I came across this delightful sketch by Elizabeth 'Beegle' Duquette of the Queen's theater at the Petit Trianon recently while reading More is More. Both talented artists, I'm amazed at the fascinating life they led. Click on the photos to enlarge and see the details. Have you read the 2 books on Duquette? Enjoy them?
Photograph of the Queen's theater by myself while the drawing is from the book More is More
Arguably, the most important room to the mistress of a 18th century house is her boudoir. The derivation of the word is from the French word Bouder or 'to pout' . Here she can unwind in her own personal space, far from the worries of her household (simliar to a 'mancave' today I think)! Technically, the boudoir is a private sitting or dressing area off of a bedroom. In the case of the Petit Trianon, this little room has some big impact, impressive features!
The room lies in the northeast corner of the first floor, in between the Salon (to which there is a jib or secret door) and Marie Antoinette's bedroom, marked in blue above.
Here in her private sanctuary, Marie Antoinette would entertain her closest friends (the bedroom was still a semi-public space at the time) and nap. Rather than draperies which posed a security risk, the room was lined with very simple boiseries with inset mirrors that at the turn of a crank in the room below, recede into the wall exposing the window on the east wall and the french doors to the terrace on the north wall.
Many of the details match that of the adjacent bedroom, including the pale blue color scheme. However, as this is a less public space, the boiseries are even simpler than in the bedroom. They saved the most showy spaces for the public, much as we do today in our own homes. The level of ornateness often would correspond to the level of privacy held by the space.
Above you can see the mirror half covering the window. While in the full height position, the mirrors act as part of the paneling and you can't even tell they are covering anything. A daybed (for naps or lounging) as well as a tea table with comfortable chairs furnish the room.
I wish I had a better photograph of the fireplace than the one above, but the drawing below shows it in detail. Beautiful white marble, delicate carvings and the diminutive scale emphasize the femininity of the small space.
Here you can see the mirror from above which is half covering the above window and starting to be visable in the servants quarters. 
Marie Antoinette's bedroom at the Petit Trianon is a perfect reflection of the young queen. Recently restored, the bedroom is one of the most elegant rooms in the house. You can see it located below on the plan in blue.
The placement of the bedroom would become important even with the planning of the Petit Trianon's gardens: the Temple of Love is on direct axis from the daybed out the window, seen below. Who says Marie Antoinette wasn't a romantic?
Below you see the Petit Trianon from the Temple of Love, the bedroom highlighted in blue.
The room features an exquisite bedroom suite by Georges Jacob made for Marie Antoinette that is probably the most famous furniture in the small palace. The furniture and embroidered upholstery all display her love of flowers.
The bedroom breaks from the pale green color scheme found throughout the main floor of the Petit Trianon and is instead an icy blue. Seen below to the right is a clock featuring 2 eagles which represent the house of Austria. Marie Antoinette always discretely remained loyal to her roots. She must have felt at home at the Petit Trianon surrounded by the things which were important to her: a love of nature and her Austrian roots.
Even the boiseries are adorned with flowers. Below is a sketch from the 1913 Petit Trianon book that shows the carving in detail.
The hardware, which I have been admiring throughout the tour, is extremely organic in form: again harking back to nature and details of flowers.
I can't discuss Marie Antoinette's bedroom without including a picture of her as played so excellently by Kirsten Dunst in Sofia Coppola's movie.
The main salon at the Petit Trianon is probably the most often seen space and the largest: You can see it in the floor plan below in blue.
The room is outfitted with a suite of musical instruments from the time period. If you've seen Sofia Coppola's movie, Marie Antoinette, you may recognize them.
The elegant gilded bronze work continues as do the Parquet de Versailles flooring. You can see the beautiful light the room receives, I took these pictures in the late afternoon.
Oops, a burnt out bulb! I guess this wouldn't have been a problem back in Marie Antoinette's time! Maybe on a windy day a blown out candle or two....
You'll notice the literal use of lily in the boiseries. I've never seen a fleur de lis depiected with actual lilys before! It is of course the symbol of the French Monarchy and makes perfect sense here.
These elegant armchairs are stylishly upholstered with sumptuously embroidered silk. I hope you enjoyed exploring this beautiful room!
A small but none the less charming room at the Petit Trianon is next on our tour: The small salon. The room was also used as an informal dining room and occasionally a gaming room. It lies in the northwest corner of the PT, seen in blue on the plan below, so would get excellent late afternoon light.
One of the reasons it is believed to have been used as a dining room is the crystal chandelier (seen from the dining room picture post linked above and also in the top picture of this post). Like I mentioned in the dining room, all other rooms in the PT have neoclassically appropriate lanterns. The room also features beautiful gilded bronze sconces which have been electrified and add soft lighting.
The room features a beautifully colorful mantelpiece of red Italian Griotte marble with a matching hearth which is featured elsewhere in the room (in the floor at the window surrounds). The red curtains play up the use of this red stone. The elevation below shows the wall as it is featured in the Boston Architectural Club Yearbook from 1913.
The moldings include an acanthus leaf crown molding which was a popular motif in neoclassical design, originating with ancient Greek architecture. I love the way the red curtains contrast the soft green painted boiseries. This red and green color pattern will follow us through the entire PT.
Much like it's neighbor, Versailles (which it is said to have had the first room dedicated entirely to private dining, setting the fashion), the Petit Trianon has a devoted dining room. The room is one of two with a crystal chandelier instead of the more typical lantern.
The dining room, seen here in blue, lies just above the anteroom, the first room in the set of apartments.
One of the most famous stories about the PT is that the dining room had a mechanical dining table which rose out of the floor from the kitchen below. This way, dinner guests did not need to be waited on by servants and could eat in private. Unfortunately, the table was never completed but the foundation for the device was built and can still be seen in the basement.
The dining room is set on direct axis with the French Pavilion, seen through the windows above. French houses always seem to have the view as an important end goal: whether seen through an enfilade of rooms or at the end of an allee of trees. I think this is one of the reasons that the French style of architecture remains so popular: great views make for great spaces.
The dining room features some handsome dark wood chairs. Out of all of the rooms, the dining room felt the most masculine and the most strongly neoclassical, despite the red silk curtains!
A beautiful bust of Marie Antoinette rests above the fireplace in front of a large mirror. Directly across the room, between the french doors is an identical mirror. As meals would be eaten here by candelight, magnifying the light from the precious candles was of utmost importance. I suppose that is the practical reason for the crystal and the mirrors, but the glamour factor must have been part of the decision as well! To this day, dining rooms tend to be the most glamorous room in any house.
I just couldn't get over how beautiful all of the door hardware was and even the doors themselves so I'll end here with another great door shot! Also notice the beautiful Parquet de Versailles styled floors.
I thought I would begin the tour of Marie Antoinette's personal rooms with her monogram. This metalwork of her initials are the doorknobs (modern) of the tour entrance to the Petit Trianon, where the gift shop is. You are then led through the service courtyard, along the rough stone corridor, through the guards chamber, up the grand staircase and arrive at the Antechamber or anteroom (follow all that without getting lost?).
This is a small room which seperates the 'public' grand stairhall from the dining room. The room continues the beautiful soft green seen in the billiards room but with more highly finished boiseries. As this building is done in the neoclassical style (and for me is the epitome of it), the boiseries are delicate: narrow stiles and rails with restrained ornamentation. 
The room is lit by a traditional french lantern befitting the style. Under the lantern you see the top of the famous Portrait of MA, 'Marie Antoinette a la rose' by Elizabeth Vigee-Lebrun.
The portrait was hurriedly comissioned in 1783 after the first portrait of Marie Antoinette by Lebrun created a scandal for the informal way in which she was depicted. So in this portrait, she is shown in high 'court' style in full makeup and satin gown.
The room has 2 beautiful white marble busts on columns flanking the window with the garden view, but unfortuantely I can't remember who they are!
The doors leading into the dining room have a more ornate boiserie and again, beautiful gilded bronze hardware. Imagine carving all of this by hand!
In my second in-depth look at the Petit Trianon, we'll continue to explore the ground floor.
The billiard's room is adjacent to the grand stairhall and in the time when the trianon was first built, was intended for the male guests of Madame de Pompadour. King Louis XV himself supplied an ornate billiards table for the use of his guests: You see the room on the floorplan below in blue.
However, when Marie Antoinette was given the PT for her own private use, she had Louis XV's pool table moved up to the main level (1784). She then gave the billiards room over to the officers of the guard (who were stationed across the stairhall) with a more ordinary billiards table, probably similiar to the one found there now. A kind gesture on her part in my opinion, as it gave additional space to her guards that also occupied a prime corner room with views of the garden.
The room has a bust of Marie Antoinette on the mantel, beautiful herringbone floors and 'high' painted paneling. The jib door connects to the warming room, a sort of butler's pantry, where some of Marie Antoinette's personal china is displayed today.
This detail shot of a door shows how beautiful the gilded bronze hardware is. I especially love this shade of green paint.
Across the stairhall from the billiards room is the guards room, seen on the floor plan above in the darker green shade. It was inexpensively finished with plaster walls fauxed to look like stone and wood cabinets with fauxed-marble tops. The window and door in this room look out into the main entry court. The room would have been filled with cots, tables and chairs for the guards as they would spend most of their time here; I can only imagine how boring that would be!
On the opposite side of the guards room from the grand stairhall (seen in the light green on the floorplan) is an unfinished stone passageway. This sits under the main terrace off the dining room on the floor above. It provided passage from the service courtyard, servants lodgings and carriage house with the kitchens behind the grand stair.
Through this roughly finished space, servants could pass un-detected from the kitchens to their own dwellings without disturbing Marie Antoinette and her guests in the gardens. The guards would also use this space and could patrol who was coming in and out of the kitchens.
I love these hewn limestone walls and exposed timber beams. This unfinished roughness was the complete opposite look of the very finished spaces found elsewhere in the Petit Trianon, but one that is very popular and copied today. Join me next week when we explore the main level occupied by Marie Antoinette.
