Saturday Inspiration - Elephants

Here is a wonderful home by M. Design Interiors with elephants. Have you checked out my October Houzz Ideabook with ideas for elephant decor? Click on the Houzz link in my sidebar.

New Series Announced

Aerin Lauder Dressing Room

I have had many requests for a series on Chinoiserie dressing rooms, so we will start on Monday. We will look at beautiful dressing rooms by interior designers and of celebrities that include Chinoiserie, we will tour my own dressing room, and we will take a little peek at the Chinoiserie dressing room I am working on for my dollhouse.

Great Chinoiserie Rooms That Break the Rules in Style

Have you heard that modern design and Chinoiserie don't mix?  In fact, Chinoiserie mixes perfectly with every decorating style. These rooms that combine Chinoiserie with modern pieces are great examples.

I'm A Giant Challenge

As I delve deeper into the wonderful world of dollhouse miniatures, I am amazed at what is out there. Everything pictured here is a miniature. Incredible!

Great Chinoiserie Rooms That Break the Rules in Style

Let's see how many rules Joe Nye broke here and ended up with a stunning Chinoiserie room:

1. You'll get tired of a busy wallpaper.
2. Don't use a large scale wallpaper in a small room.
3. Don't use a patterned carpet when there are other patterns in a room.
4. Don't use matching wallpaper and fabric.
5. Don't use a large scale fabric on a chair.

Great Chinoiserie Rooms That Break the Rules in Style

Katie Rosenfeld

I love the drama the ginger jars add to these dining rooms, ignoring the rule not to use tall centerpieces on your dining table. Just invite tall guests.

Katie Rosenfeld

Steve Jobs - He Was "Insanely Great"

I learned of the passing of Steve Jobs last evening on my iPhone. I read tributes to him until late last night on my iPad. I am typing this on my iMac. My husband, daughter, and I have never owned a PC, so the question "Mac or PC?" was an easy one for us. He made technology cool, hip, fun, easy, and beautiful, with gorgeous design down to the boxes and styrofoam packaging. I still have my neon raspberry pink original iMac as shown above that I couldn't bear to part with. I always wanted one of the original iBooks shown bottom with a handle you could carry like a purse. Remember Carrie had one on "Sex and the City?"

He made computers that were, in his own words, "insanely great." I didn't live in the days of Thomas Edison or Henry Ford, but I did live the last couple decades as this visionary changed my life and transformed the world. I will leave you with some of his words from his 2005 Stanford University commencement address:

"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary."

Fabric Answer

In response to all the questions I received about this gorgeous Chinoiserie fabric from yesterday's post, it is Chinese Garden by Hazelton House. The colorway above is Tobacco. See all the colorways here.

Great Chinoiserie Rooms That Break the Rules in Style

Elle Decor

Don't scribble on your de Gournay wallpaper.

I'm A Giant Challenge

I am learning that dollhouse furniture can be crazy expensive. This faux ivory dollhouse screen that I was watching sold on eBay yesterday for $976.00. Wow! Suffice it to say you will not be seeing it in my dollhouse.