Friday, July 17, 2009

Phoebe Howard

If your taste in interior design is understated, elegant, pretty, traditional, and classic, you will love the work of Southern designer Phoebe Howard. In looking through her extensive portfolio, it is hard to find a room without Chinoiserie elements, including Fromental wallpaper, garden stools, blue and white Chinese porcelains, orchids, Blanc de Chine, lacquer coffee tables, and Chinoiserie fabrics. It is of course fitting that a designer whose style is timeless and classic use Chinoiserie as it has been a constant theme in artistic design since the 17th century in the decorative arts and interior design. Her color palette of soft blues, greens, and beige is lovely and so easy to live with and works perfectly with Chinoiserie. I was delighted to hear that D.C. is on her radar screen for a future store-she has eight home furnishings stores now in four Southern cities. Her look would fit in perfectly in my neighborhood of 1920s Georgian colonials.

















16 comments:

  1. Phoebe is one of my favorite designers and you picked some lovely shots to show off her work. I'm still hoping she'll open up a shop in Houston one of these days!

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  2. Averill-I'm glad you like her. I would have thought her color palette was a bit too soft for you. I would love her to open here. It is very similar to the Kellogg Collection here which are wonderful stores.

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  3. That first blue and white dining room is wonderfully airy and informal. I like all of those, but especially her more casual uses of chinoiserie - it looks so comfortable.

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  4. She is fantastically gifted! Everything is so well balanced, calm & peaceful without sparing any excitement. A very talented designer! Thank you for sharing!

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  5. Ms. Howard's work is stunning. I have a split personality; I adore modern & traditional. Would be fabulous to have multiple houses to fill all my design desires. Happy Weekend!

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  6. Her work is beautiful! The space and chair in image 03 - wow! I love that chair. Also, there is something so inviting about the dining rooms in photos 04 and 05 - I love the cozy, striped curtains and the way they tend to envelope the entire room.

    I'm so glad you shared her work~

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  7. Sanity Fair-I agree, my favorite rooms of hers are the more casual. I should do a post on Chinoiserie at the beach-some of these would be perfect.

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  8. Scott-Very well put-it demonstrates that calm and serene need not make you comatose like white rooms do me.

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  9. Dumbwit Tellher-I agree-I love modern and traditional and I like to mix the two in my home which I think I do quite well.

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  10. Sarah-I love the ones you focused on especially. She is a real talent.

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  11. Some of Phoebe's work is very bold -- she just keeps it monochromatic. Her Johns Island home is one of my all-time favorites.

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  12. The Consummate Hostess-Thanks for stopping by.

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  13. Shes such a genius. A fav in my designers list. I always loved how her effort looks like life not styled to look like life.

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  14. Alicia-Such an excellent point. Her rooms look real.

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  15. I had a great time on your site. It just goes to show there are so many creative ways to do up a place chinoiserie style.

    Here are some great contemporary Chinese art pieces for your viewing pleasure.

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