New Series - Chinoiserie Gone Wrong

Tree Root Coffee Table

Lots of people seemed to have enjoyed reading and weighing in on my post on Saturday on the Miles Redd living room.

I thought it might be fun to start a weekly series called Chinoiserie Gone Wrong - rooms done by interior designers with Chinoiserie elements that just don't work for a variety of reasons which we will explore. If you have a photo of an interior designer's room you think would fit, please send it to me at Bethaconnolly@aol.com. I am purposely not posting the interior designer's name as a general rule (although there may be a few exceptions).

I like much about this room above, but simply do not get the massive tree root coffee table - either the scale or the look. IMHO the blue and white Chinese porcelain looks bizarre on top of it. I don't get at all the velvet sofa, silk curtains, gilded mirror, and Chinese porcelain combined with a tree root. It looks to me like a tree might have fallen through the roof in a storm and they kept it. It is also so large it takes over the room. The scale is seriously off.

Love it? Hate it? Thoughts?

The Blue and White Dining Room

Jonathan Adler - ELLE Decor

Here is another lovely room from Liz Lange's wonderful Palm Beach home. The table is skirted with a Kravet fabric with Jonathan Adler fringe topped with an Indian block - printed tablecloth. The chairs are Bungalow 5. The wallpaper is by Peter Durham and the ceiling is tented in a Cole & Son wallpaper. The rug is Serena & Lily.

The sideboard has blue and white Chinese lamps and a collection of blue and white Chinese porcelain. My fave piece is the Mario Lopez Torres vintage wicker monkey chandelier from Circa Who. Torres' pieces have become highly collectable and quite pricey, but so charming! I love that Adler has used things throughout the house that are readily available.

Do Designers Get A Pass?

Mile Redd - Architectural Digest

This post covers a slightly different topic. I have read so many articles from home magazines on what is dated, what you should not have in your home anymore, and the like. I was on Miles Redd's Facebook page and he has this photo above of a room he had designed as his page banner.

I swear that if any magazine saw this room and it belonged to you or me they would go crazy over how bad it is by their standards of what is no longer in style.

I have put together a list of decorating faux pas in this room according to several shelter mags -

1. Floral couch and chair
2. Persian rug
3. A blanket folded on the sofa
4. Too many pairs - pairs of table lamps, brass floor lamps, 2 pairs of pillows, Chinese garden stools, Chinese porcelain - I count 8 pairs and we can't even see the whole room
5. Skirted chairs
6. Antiques
7. Fussy curtains
8. A blanket draped over the back of the couch

BTW, the stag head, although ugly, is thankfully made out of wood and is not real. Dead animas are NEVER in good taste.

I am not suggesting that you should not have in your home what you love. This is a different point entirely. How can magazines justify having articles about what you should get rid of in your home and then feature rooms that break all their own rules?

I must admit that I pretty much dislike this room - does he get a pass and have it featured in AD because he is Miles Redd? Apparently so.

PS - I just found another photo and it just got worse. Lots and lots more pairs - I count 5 more and a built in bar with a window awning. Haven't built in bars been out of fashion since the sixties? My aunt and uncle had one in their basement with an aquarium behind it. Their sons were named Ronald and Donald. I wonder if they know alcohol bottles should not be in direct sunlight? OK, I do actually hate this room.... Thoughts????

The Blue and White Laundry Room

Dina Bandman - San Francisco Decorator Showcase

Such a wonderful room - this laundry room has de Gournay wallpaper (in a decorator show house where it is being donated). Love the dog wash station. My two puppies are so tiny that it is more convenient for me to use the laundry sink. BTW, there is nothing keeping me more grounded right now that my two puppy angels Harper and Margot. They are so happy, hanging out with me 24/7 and just enjoying life.

You might have seen this shot above before, but here are more photos to really see all the detailing in this fabulous room with custom cabinetry, navy subway tiles, and so much more.

I think this has motivated me to do some more styling in my own laundry room today.

My pups practicing social distancing.