Friday, June 5, 2009

The Modern Chinoiserie Dining Room


My blogger friend Averill of Odi et Amo is building a beautiful custom home in Houston with her husband. Her post Wednesday featured pieces she is considering for their new dining room. She invited readers to give her alternative ideas, especially lower priced ones. Her dining room came in at a little over $10,000. This one I have come up with is a little under $5,000. The photo above shows the walls in Farrow & Ball Drawing Room Blue which are both of our starting point. Both of us like a modern Hollywood Chinoiserie style. Averill likes adding touches of green while I prefer to keep with the blue and white with black palette. I think white silk draperies would be stunning, but green silk could be a dramatic and unexpected touch. I hope Averill's approach and my version will be inspiration if you are interested in a dining room with a Mary McDonald modern Hollywood Chinoiserie flair.

1. I prefer no rug and to have the wood floors ebonized a rich black.

2. I love this antiqued beveled layered Geometric Mirror at Wisteria for only $379.


3. A dramatic and edgy Asian inspired Byron Buffet from Z Gallerie for $499. This open shelving would be great for building a collection of Blanc de Chine that both Averill and I like.


4. I love this Linear Strand Crystal Chandelier from Z Gallerie for only $349. A great copy of the Cellula which sells for about $2500.


5. I adore this Mercer Dining Table from Williams Sonoma Home priced at $1750 in clear or smoked glass and nickel. Very 1930s and very elegant. An investment piece.


6. One can never go wrong with these iconic Louis Ghost Chairs in black for $410 or priced even less for 4 or more. The opaque black is reminiscent of black Chinese lacquer.



7. A perfect modern Chinoiserie accessory for the buffet-a pair of these stunning tulipieres look great with or without flowers priced at $88 each at Bella Casa.


8. A stunning pair of Four Seasons Jars from the Source Collection at $225 for the pair. I would use these on the dining table to add a very elegant and traditional Chinoiserie touch. 


8 comments:

  1. I love it! I was SO close to including the Mercer dining table from WSH in my mood board actually -- too funny. I love it with the smoky glass...

    Ultimately, I'll definitely have to scale back the dining room, which will probably come at the expense of those Ava Chairs since they took up a huge chunk of the total cost, but I like the Louis Ghost Chair option. While not cheap, they're 1/2 the price of the Ava Chair and still have the interesting shape I'm looking for.

    One question though, are they comfortable/sturdy? I've actually never sat in one before.

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  2. I can speak from personal experience in my own home and design projects for others that they are both comfortable and durable. As for comfort, they are ergonomic and used most often as dining chairs and desk chairs. They are sturdy and durable. As for style, they have an iconic elegance that has and will stand the test of time.

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  3. Some fantastic choices - particularly the dining room table. xv

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  4. Vicki-Thanks and thanks for stopping by. I love that dining table in the smoked glass.

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  5. Very much like - especially the table/chairs layout.

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  6. SF-Thanks-both are timeless and elegant.

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  7. I love that chandelier from Z Gallerie. How can they sell it at that price?? It's like $3000 at DWR.. It's the same chandelier. Love the room!

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  8. Daine-It is a very good copy. I have seen both in person, and while not identical, for that price, it's fabulous.

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