Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Is Chinoiserie Hereditary?


I grew up in a mid century modern home filled with teak and rosewood Danish modern furniture, Rya rugs and modern art. I felt like a stranger in a strange land. Chinoiserie was not part of my parents' vocabulary. Today while at my daughter's apartment in Georgetown I was struck by how similar our taste is. Her apartment is a younger urban version of my home. Her first apartment, it is filled with great finds from stores like Ikea, Target, Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, Crate and Barrel, and CB2. Today we take a peek at her living room. I have thrown in a couple pictures of her entry that we looked at in an earlier post. Click the pictures to enlarge. Is your taste in interior design like the home you grew up in or very different? Is your design aesthetic like your parents? An interesting topic.


















34 comments:

  1. Very cute! She's definitely got a chinoserie vibe to her home :)

    Love the modern foo dogs.

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  2. I was inspired by the sense of style that two of my uncles, from both my father's and my mother's side, had. I suppose one imbibes things from one's parents unconsciously, but learning from other relatives and friends is perhaps a more conscious process.

    I like the Japanese print showing a tea ceremony in process. As the tea ceremony is generally taken rather seriously, the two children look suspiciously cheerful - perhaps a comic observation on the difficulty of teaching kids to be refined!

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  3. Beautiful!! Your blog is so inspiring. Do you happen to know where your daughter found the tray painted with the pagoda next to the red shelf? I saw something similar in the Serena and Lily catalog and have been looking for it ever since... Would love to find it for my daughter's nursery.

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  4. What a stylish first apartment! I'm not sure my first one looked half as good. I love the bold prints and bright shots of red.

    As far as my style dna... my mom's home always showed a lot of dark and white contrast. I really like that look, but it is not the one I have chosen for my house.

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  5. Love the red and youthful vibrancy mixed with humor and style. Fascinating about whether style is in the DNA. It is at the heart and hearth of things the essential nature/nurture debate. I teasingly say I inherited my style from my mother-in-law...or is that what happens when you inherit the furniture? I think you need to dig deeper into your family tree. Sounds like your parents may have been the anomolies!

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  6. I have a mix of traditional, updated, with eclectic painted pieces and some Chinoiserie. Different from my parents traditional bent.

    Karena
    Art by Karena

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  7. Okay, I think the decorating gene is heriditary. My mom and I share a love of bird motifs, chinoiserie patterns and an unexplainable lamp addiction. Your daughter's apartment is adorable!

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  8. Such lovely things!!! This apple did not fall far from the tree! Very nicely done!

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  9. For THarris, I don't know where the red etagere was purchased in these photos but I remember Pier 1 used to have a shelving unit that looked very close to that one in red also. Don't know if its still available, though.

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  10. Your daughter inherited your love of design!

    My Mom's house was and is very colonial. I am definitely much more of a mix.

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  11. Love the African headdress over the "fireplace." Such an interesting idea of heredity. I most definitely share my mother's design aesthetic. Traditional eclectic, with some trendy undertones. Always evolving but rooted in the traditional. In the early 70's she papered our kitchen/family room in a black shiny vinyl covered with a white bamboo lattice pattern and giant bright yellow poppies every 10-12". It was spectacular with the white drapes trimmed in lemon yellow and a black sofa. At five years old I was awed by its Jonathan Adleresque crispness. From there she evolved to antiques, blue and white, pops of coral and rust. And lots of chinoiserie! I still wish I could get my hands on the giant screen she had hanging over or living room sofa. I expect my daughters' first apartments will have much of my influence. But maybe that's just wishful thinking.

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  12. I have absolutely been influenced by my parents' decorating style. We had many chinoiserie elements in our childhood home - and I have quite a few inherited pieces in my own home now.

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  13. I would definitely say yes! My mom and I have the same style and I am sure when I have my own home it is going to look identical to my moms!

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  14. Interesting question. I have never really thought about it but I think it's often a question of age difference - the greater the gap is between parents and children the more different styles and tastes will be I think. At least mine and the one of my parents could not be more different - although I had a very young mother - my father was the old school and determining everything.
    Today I love different styles and of course chinoiseries. I have been working on quite a few pieces in wood as well as "Chinoiseries" touched silk quilts as you can see in my blog.

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  15. What a great apt! My mom has amazing taste that has definitely rubbed off on me. But, I am also more contemporary in my taste....so it has been fun to express my own style while drawing on so many things I learned from her. And, I am always trying to "borrow" this or that from her. They've majorly downsized in recent years so she is usually more than happy to oblige.

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  16. so so so so so so BEAUTIFUL! wow i love the entire space.

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  17. It definitely is! Great taste is too, for the most part! This is a darling apartment, so chic and hip and colorful. I ADORE the painted fireplace! I've begged my son to let me help him with his place, to no avail...sigh...Maybe someday!

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  18. Dagny-The foo dogs are too cute-they are from West Elm a while back.

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  19. Emile-Very interesting thoughts. Her artwork is generally from her late grandfather and from me in the case of the Japanese woodblock prints.

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  20. THarris-The tray is from Random Harvest-DC based stores, but is three years old and I have not seen one there recently.

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  21. The Shiny Pebble-So glad you like it. The colors do work well in what is a shady room in the tree tops. Interesting about your mom's taste.

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  22. Home Before Dark-It is quite interesting where taste and style come from. I also adore gardening and my parents hated it-had everything done for them and didn't know a rose from a dandelion.

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  23. Karena-Sounds great, especially with the Chinoiserie!

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  24. Kim-Such a great mother/daughter thing to share.

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  25. Kim-This red etagere is from Crate and Barrel, but is no longer available as far as I know.

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  26. Vickie-Thanks-I think it's darling.

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  27. Debby Lee-Eclectic has definitely replaced traditional as the look today.

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  28. Alexandra Rae-Sounds like you learned a lot from your mother's style-sounds wonderful.

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  29. CC-That's so nice-I love that my daughter and I have the same taste.

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  30. Vyala-Arts-I stopped by your blog and your work is beautiful. Thanks for stopping by.

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  31. Susie-You're so lucky to be getting things from your mom.

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  32. Ashlina-Thanks so much for your sweet comment.

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  33. Kelly-So glad you like it. The fireplace is actually a sticker!

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