Monday, March 31, 2014

Chinoiserie Chic Children


I have just put up my April Houzz Ideabook with 40 of my favorite picks for the Chinoiserie Chic nursery and child's bedroom. It is all so cute! Below are some of my inspiration boards with Chinoiserie filled rooms for the little ones - I also have a Pinterest board here. You are never too young for Chinoiserie.

You won't want to miss any posts this week. I have a huge announcement on Tuesday, the launch of the One Room Challenge on Wednesday, an exclusive interview on Thursday, and the second edition of Chinoiserie Chic's Fabulous Friday Finds to end the week.

Here are the participants this time in the One Room Challenge -









Sunday, March 30, 2014

Sunday Inspiration - Zebrine

House Beautiful - Ashley Whittaker

One of my favorite wallpapers is Zebrine by Rose Cumming. Ashley Whittaker uses it beautifully in this kitchen combined with a red pagoda lantern and yellow accents. For more Zebrine, check out my Pinterest board here.

Saturday, March 29, 2014

Saturday Inspiration - Greek Key Stair Runner

Traditional Home

I've posted on a few Greek Key stair runners, but this one makes quite a statement. I especially love the boldness of the Greek key border.

Friday, March 28, 2014

Inaugural Edition of Chinoiserie Chic's Fabulous Friday Finds


Welcome to the first edition of Chinoiserie Chic's Fabulous Friday Finds.

First up, my friend Harrison Howard has collaborated with Caspari on a wonderful line of Chinoiserie paper products called Garden Follies. What can I say except WOW! and snatch these up before they are gone. Absolutely gorgeous stuff.

Caspari Garden Follies


Next up are this new giraffe and elephant from Anthropologie. These would be darling in a bathroom, play room, powder room, nursery, child's room, foyer, bedroom, kitchen, or mud room. Use them as decoration or to hang a scarf or hat just inside the door, necklaces, a kitchen towel, or hand towel. I'm going to use one for Izzy's dog leashes.

Raja Wall Bust Giraffe

Raja Wall Bust Elephant

A highly collectible Fitz & Floyd vintage ram candleholder for $9.95. Great on a bookshelf.

Fitz & Floyd Vintage Ram

A very Palm Beach Chic vintage Fitz & Floyd yellow daffodil candlestick for $13.00 - it looks like a little palm tree to me.

Fitz & Floyd Palm Beach Candlestick

Artist Marquin Campbell has these wonderful hand painted gilded oyster shell napkins rings in a set of 4 for $38.00. This is my idea of Coastal Chic. Wouldn't these be beautiful to set your Easter table?

Golden Oyster Shell Napkin Ring Set

Marquin Campbell is having a one day flash sale today on everything over $100.00 in her online store and storefront today only with code SPRING at checkout. The sale is up now online and will last until 11:59 PM ET. There are some stunning things - check it all out here.

Flash Sale

  Harbor Moment - 40% off today

A double roll of Schumacher's Chinois Fret wallpaper in Mineral for $85.00 - take off an additional 20% with code FINDS. Enough for the back of a bookcase, a powder room ceiling, or an accent wall.

Chinois Fret Wallpaper

A navy blue linen lumbar pillow with Kelly Wearstler Greek key trim - take an additional 20% off with code FINDS.

Lumbar Pillow

This Dana Gibson ikat vase is $40.00 and with code FINDS it is an additional 20% off. This retails for $125.00.

Ikat Vase

This next find is so great I would do anything to be able to use it myself. Four vintage bamboo chairs with one of my all time favorite and very rare Brunschwig & Fils Chinoiserie fabrics - a blue leopard toile for $245.00! And wait, the fabric has been laminated so they will last forever with no stains. I had my kitchen counter stools' fabric laminated and they look like new years later. If these were on 1st dibs, they would be listed for ten times as much. These are amazing. Use them in a dining room, breakfast room, or covered porch.

Set of Bamboo Chairs

Fabric Closeup

Last up is this gorgeous and VERY high end Clarence House toile "Chinoiserie Baroque" fabric. I used the wallpaper in this pattern in my dining room and needless to say I adore it. There are 24 yards available on Buy It Now on eBay at $19.95 a yard and it retails for something like ten times that. Imagine this in your dining room or master bedroom.

Clarence House Chinoiserie Baroque

I hope everyone has enjoyed this. I'll be collecting more goodies for next Friday's edition.

Thursday, March 27, 2014

New Feature - Chinoiserie Chic's Fabulous Friday Finds


One question I always get about the One Room Challenge is how and where I find all those great deals. Starting this Friday, I am starting a new weekly feature called Chinoiserie Chic's Fabulous Friday Finds. These will include my favorite Chinoiserie discoveries of the week on Etsy and eBay, as well as online stores and all my other go-to sources. I will focus on great deals in Chinoiserie fabric, wallpaper, decor, you name it. I will post at 9 AM Eastern time, so check in early before they get snatched up as some will be one-of-a-kind and vintage. My goal is to spread Chinoiserie near and far and everywhere.

I hope you will all enjoy this feature. I am always finding amazing deals that I can't use myself or for clients and have decided to start sharing them with you. And if you find Chinoiserie deals you'd like to share, shoot me an email. Let's spread those great Chinoiserie vibes.

There will also be special non Friday editions where there are One Day Sales or Flash Sales that won't wait until Friday. Here is an example = Horchow is having a 30% off one day sale today. Check out these Chinoiserie deals -

Pagoda Tower Lamp in Blue - $87.43 today

Lacquered Pagoda Lamp in Orange - $137.83 today - I just had a client order this and it is stunning!

Lacquered Pagoda Lamp in Navy - $137.83 today

20 Piece "Bamboo" Flatware Set - $17.43

Jonathan Adler Zebra Dish - $22.40 - a super hot item on sale

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

My Tips on Choosing Paint Colors

Farrow & Ball's colors

This week we are doing a preview of the next One Room Challenge that begins on April 2nd with questions I have been asked about the ORC and about the process of designing a room. I am very often asked how to go about choosing a paint color from the zillions of paint colors out there. The answer is actually simple.

NARROW YOUR CHOICES -

1. Choose a paint company - I personally love Farrow & Ball and Benjamin Moore. There are other high end paints out there, but these are my go-to paints. I'm sorry, but with cheap paint, the colors are horrible and the finish is even worse. Your walls will look like they are coated in plastic.

2. Choose a collection from the company you have selected - I love all of Farrow & Ball's colors and it has only one color card with a highly edited 132 colors. And they are all gorgeous! I am also a huge fan of Benjamin Moore's Historical Collection that has only 174 colors.

You will be overwhelmed looking at thousands of paint swatches. People go nuts with all the choices and they panic and they choose white. Benjamin Moore alone has 3,400 colors. Narrow it down to a collection you love and stick with it. They have already done the work for you.

Love Darryl Carter? He has a collection for Benjamin Moore.
Love Candice Olson? She has a collection for Benjamin Moore.
Love Ralph Lauren? He has his own paint line with gorgeous colors.

Find a palette that has your "world view" and use colors from that collection throughout your house. Your house will have a much better flow.

3. The reason that I choose high quality paint is that the colors are more pigmented, complex and sophisticated. You get far richer color on your walls that changes colors in different light and and the finish is far more elegant and rich. I love a flat finish and use it everywhere including kitchens and bathrooms. In Benjamin Moore, I always use their Aura line.

4. I hate white and beige, but I love soft and gentle paint colors. They are the perfect backdrop for all the color that I love in a room and they don't fight with it. Choose colors that are somewhat muddied or grayed for a more sophisticated palette. Colors that are too clear tend to look tacky once they go up. I was at a book signing for Farrow & Ball at my favorite local paint store Color Wheel in McLean a while back. I remember the speaker saying that Farrow & Ball does not do "pretty colors." If you look at their colors, you will understand what he meant. Colors that are pretty in a swatch tend to look cheesy on your walls.

Here are some of my top favorites I have used in my own home and clients' homes. I used Benjamin Moore Icy Morn in my One Room Challenge kitchen and I used Benjamin Moore Stonington Gray in my One Room Challenge powder room. I have decided on a Benjamin Moore paint color for my next One Room Challenge room as well.

Benjamin Moore Icy Morn

Benjamin Moore Glass Slipper

Benjamin Moore Stonington Gray

Farrow & Ball Middleton Pink

Farrow & Ball Borrowed Light

Benjamin Moore Early Frost


Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Great Finds

Pagoda Road Elsie Headboard

This Pagoda Road Elsie Headboard is on sale at World Market.

It is also available in this style and in an ottoman.

Pagoda Road Loran Headboard

Pagoda Road McKenzie Ottoman
This is a lot of look for the $$$.

If you prefer the fabric to do it yourself or for matching curtains, it is Pagoda Road in Azalaea available at Calico Corners.

I was jut looking at this fabric yesterday and it is quite lovely.


Where Do I Begin?


This week, in anticipation of the launch of the new One Room Challenge on April 2, I will be answering some frequently asked questions about the ORC and on designing a room. I received some great questions yesterday from followers. No Linda, I will not be doing a post for you on combining driftwood and Chinoiserie.

Today we look at where to begin with a room design. You can, of course, start anywhere - a paint color, a rug, a painting, a piece of furniture, an accessory - there are no rules. But I almost invariably start with a patterned fabric or wallpaper. By starting with a fabric or wallpaper that speaks to you, you will in one fell swoop have accomplished three major tasks for the room -

*Set the tone
*Establish the style
*Choose the color palette

Let's take my laundry room that I did for the last One Room Challenge. I had always wanted to use Brunschwig & Fils' Ironing Bored in my laundry room. This wallpaper has long been a favorite in the laundry rooms of the great mansions of Palm Beach. I found 18 rolls of it on eBay, about $2,000 worth, and won it for $150!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Brunschwig & Fils Ironing Bored

Tone - This wallpaper is very high end and dramatic. It sets the tone that this is going to be a very special and unique laundry room.

Style - Formal, traditional, classic, whimsical.

Color palette - Blue and white - I knew this wallpaper should take center stage with no other colors competing with it. And I knew that it would be perfection with blue and white Chinoiserie accessories.

And here is where I went with this great wallpaper as my starting point- my finished laundry room.