The 1770s witnessed a fashion for garden theory in France, with a number of important treatises being published within a short period. These works, which discussed the landscape garden typology that had been imported from England to France during the previous decade, dealt not only with the arrangement of natural features, but also with pavilions to be set within the landscape. These ‘fabriques’ were examined with regard to their exterior appearance and their connexion with the surrounding scene, but also in terms of their interior decoration and its relation to the exterior. It was here that the greatest divergences emerged between authors: some argued in favour of an exterior-interior coherence, others advocated convenience, while others still described striking contrasts designed to surprise the visitor. This article argues that these positions reflected the authors’ distinct social identities, and the types of individual or collective engagement with the garden that they favoured. It explores a notion of the expected interior suggested by the exterior appearance of a building, as well as transitions between different spaces, and the significant divergences between architectural and garden theory on these issues.