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.
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