cap 8: Welcome to the Villa von Trapp!

I think her first impression would be "WOW!". I think eventually she would wonder "Who lives like this - do they really need EVERYTHING?" but not right then - or it would be at the very back of her mind.
Interesting thought about whether there are any similarities between the villa and the Abbey. I think, for her, the similarities would be the rules, which she would see as confining and unreasonable. But I do not think she would know about that at the time of this screencap (she has not yet met Georg).
As for the chairs...I've got nothing.
People are sitting in the party scene (and I hate that I had to check that on the website and don't know it by heart), but as to why they're there the rest of the time, I do not know.
AARGH!

to connect with what gothicbutterfly95 said about the rules being a similarity... when I look at this scene, I see just really large walls. And the Abbey was all about walls, too. Not to keep out problems. These walls held all sorts of problems. Maria felt stifled by the walls at the Abbey and would need to escape to the mountain. The rules of marching and studying probably felt stifling, too, and what did she do? She took the children on a picnic to the mountains.

I agree with indigoblue, too, about being awed by the opulence and finery. I can only imagine when she got a look at the bed she was going to sleep in that she thought she was living a life like a princess. As for the chairs, you make a good point. She was supposed to park herself there until the Captain showed up to inspect her, lol. oops, oh well...

One thing I have always loved about this scene (beside the obvious fact that this is her experiencing a world of opulence she has had no ounce of experience in) is the striking colour contrast between the abbey and the house. When I first remember watching this film as a child I remember finding it difficult to see some of the scenes in the abbey properly, because they were so dark often with many shadows (you know the good old days before DVDs and High Definition).

The house is so light in colour and full of beauty. We know from the first scene of the film that Maria is a great admirer of beauty in nature but I feel she's the kind of person that could appreciate beauty anywhere, manmade things included.

So I think to some degree she just took such absolute delight in the beauty surrounding her, I think it almost overwhelmed her in this first scene entering the house. Her natural curiosity aside, that's why she couldn't help but walk into the ballroom. She was drawn in by its beauty. We've discussed before how Maria so clearly was too vibrant and full of life for a place like the abbey and I think to a degree the dark, cold brick walls of the abbey only accentuated her awkwardness there. Yet here in the house so full of light and beauty she fits right in as though she was always meant to be there- and more, I'd argue she restores the house to its most beautiful through her absolute zest for life and pure enjoyment of all the beauty surrounding her.

I am also thinking that it must have seemed terribly deserted when she arrived in that hall, especially if she was expecting 7 noisy and boisterous children! I'm not sure whether you can say the Abbey was exactly 'sociable', but there were probably always people around (unless, of course, you found yourself in a solitary cell for some reason), even if they didn't say much. So it must have been even quieter than what she was used to.

Have you ever noticed how many times Franz gives Maria the once over when she first arrives? Not in an admiring way of course, he looks to be both confused and appalled by her. I know, I know, her dress is ugly, but how many times can you look at someone's ugly dress while they are trying to make eye contact with you to tell you who they are and why they are there without being rude?