Eclectic Chinoiserie

My favorite rooms are always those that have been collected over time, mixing modern with vintage and antique pieces. De riguer for me as well is color, quirkiness, and Chinoiserie, of course.

These rooms in the Savannah home of Robyn Mizrach McClelland from Matchbook magazine are wonderful and perfect examples of what I am talking about. In the room above, I love the wall color, the Barcelona chair, the sheepskin, the gilded mirror, and the gorgeous collection of fan coral mixed with the Chinoiserie pillow, Chinese garden stool, and Imari plates and lamp.

Note the sheepskin draped over the antique chair below as well. Ikea has made a fortune selling those Rens sheepskins and it is a favorite trick of mine as well to keep an antique chair from looking too granny. The coral pink wall color is stunning with the turquoise blue Chinoiserie pieces. I love the stack of magazines topped with a ginger jar and flanked by a pair of red foo dogs in front of the fireplace.

OK you English majors, let's see who can name the guy in the portrait.

Happy Birthday Kate

I am off to pick up my darling daughter and best girlfriend Kate to celebrate her birthday today with lots of fun and frivolity aka eating and shopping.

Before I'm off I must of course leave you with your daily dose of Chinoiserie, for a day without Chinoiserie is like a day without sunshine. Isn't that a famous quote?

Aren't these Greek key candles from Z Gallerie available in silver or gold quite chic and they are only $14.95. I love that they have battery candles. I am a huge fan of battery candles - no burning down the house and no smoking up your wallpaper and paint. These would be great on the mantle, sideboard, or bedside table.

Cristin Carron - Luxe Report

Not everyone has dedicated office space at home but this little nook is certainly not short on style. A mini Parsons desk, Frances Elkins loop chair, Audubon flamingo print, and vintage brass Chinoiserie lamp with black shade make for a great work space that could go in a bedroom, living room, or even an entryway. This color combo of pink, black, white, and gold is so fresh, modern, and glamorous too.

The Pink Pagoda and a Trip Down Memory Lane

I thought everyone might enjoy a little history of how Jennifer of The Pink Pagoda and I first met. Jennifer opened her Etsy store selling her Chinoiserie giclees on October 13, 2010. It must have been fate, because I found her store that very first day and posted on it the following day. Here is that post. I followed it with a post on more of her prints two days later. Although some of her friends and family thought "Chinoiserie" was too narrow a niche to be successful, Jennifer intuitively sensed, as I did, that Chinoiserie has such a timeless appeal and that the marketplace was hungry for a modern and affordable source for Chinoiserie art. Likewise, I had SO many people tell me I would run out of post topics very quickly with a blog devoted to Chinoiserie. Well, today is post number 2,618!

 Now, over three years later, The Pink Pagoda's Chinoiserie prints continue to be a huge hit in the design world, loved by interior designers, bloggers, and interior design afficiandos.

Jennifer then opened her accessories store, selling a beautifully curated collection of blue and white porcelain. Her newest addition to her accessories store is a "Walls" section where she is selling original works of art created exclusively for The Pink Pagoda by artists like Kerry Steele, as well as beautiful sets of her own giclees.

Fast forward three years plus since Jennifer and I met. I am now approaching 3,000 posts and five years on Chinoiserie Chic with wonderful sponsors (The Pink Pagoda was my first) and a successful interior design business and Jennifer's Chinoiserie art and blue and white Chinese porcelelain businesses both continue to expand with great success. I guess we were both on to something great with our love for Chinoiserie.

Jennifer will be hosting her next Blue and White Bash this coming Monday, February 3 over at The Pink Pagoda. It is a wonderful chance to link up with other bloggers with a blue and white post you have done in the past or a new blue and white post created for the bash. Jennifer has a great tutorial here if you are new to linking parties.

You may have heard the exciting news that The Pink Pagoda has been nominated for the Design Bloggers Hall of Fame in the area of Best Design Graphics, Photography, and Presentation. The role of the Hall of Fame is to recognize excellence in blogging and new media in the field of interior design. The winners and runner ups will be determined through a combination of ratings by a panel of judges and a public vote. The awards will be presented live and the inductees recognized during the 2014 Design Bloggers conference in Atlanta in March.

I can't think of a more deserving blog in this category. I hope you will support Jennifer's very well deserved nomination by voting for The Pink Pagoda here. "Let's win one for the Gipper (Pagoda) !"

Spool Chairs & Chinoiserie

Phoebe Howard

The spool (aka bobbin or spindle) chair is such a wonderful style that has never been more popular than it is right now. It is a timeless classic that works well in so many settings and is stunning mixed with Chinoiserie. I think its turned, rounded styling is a great juxtaposition to the angular lines of Chinese Chippendale, Chinese fretwork, and Greek key. The spool chair gives a room a casual, elegant, and comfortable feel that never looks like it's trying too hard.

Charlotte & Ivy is a wonderful source for spool furniture as they have a real thing for this style, and with good reason. It looks as good from the back as it does the front and works beautifully with both modern and traditional fabric choices.

This pair of spool chairs in linen and down from Charlotte & Ivy is a designer favorite. They were designed from an antique chair from a Sea Island mansion. The standard finish is this lovely very light whitewash. The frame is solid oak and the cushions are in French linen -

It is also available in many custom finishes like French Cherry, Aged Charcoal Gray, Wrought Iron Black, and Parisian Gray. Here are a couple of the choices -

And a matching ottoman -

The spool chair can also be purchased singly -

Here are some great examples of rooms with spool chairs and Chinoiserie -

CR Laine

Ferguson and Shamamian

Amanda Nisbet

Martyn Lawrence Bullard

Jonathan Rosen

Lee Ann Thornton

Summerfield Design

Digs Design

Ralph Lauren

Ralph Lauren

Shea McGee Design

A Fab DIY Chinoiserie Dining Room

Self taught designer and TV guru Brian Patrick Flynn did such a wonderful job with this condo dining room, I wanted to share it with you. First off, he loves color. "Beige makes me want to stab myself in the face with a dull fork." A man after my own heart. He painted the walls teal and the ceiling in seafoam.

FLOR tiles were used for the beautiful flame stitch carpet. The table is a Craigslist find that was lacquered in coral. Antique dining chairs were painted gold. Perhaps my favorite is the art - he took Chinoiserie wallpaper samples and framed them. You can read more about this wonderful makeover here.

BTW, that tin bucket with a fern might be the worst centerpiece/table styling ever.

Sunday Inspiration - Tanzania and a DIY

Meredith Heron

We all know how beautifully animal prints like zebra, leopard, and antelope combine with Chinoiserie. Animal print rugs and fabrics and Chinoiserie are one of my favorite combinations. Now we can add animal print wallpaper to the mix. Thibaut's Tanzania animal spots wallpaper in black on cream has become a classic, adorning the walls of very chic homes and especially work spaces. Although Thibaut has released it in lots of colorways, I would stick with the classic black on cream shown here. Also check out the incredible DIY version below!

Tiffany Richey Design

Tiffany Richey Design

Tiffany Richey Design

Society Social Manalog

Tiffany Richey Design

Tiffany Richey Design

Lilly Bunn Weekes

Waiting on Martha

Waiting on Martha

Waiting on Martha

This is a wonderful stenciled DIY version in the foyer of The Julian Home with a Craigslist gold pagoda mirror find and the foyer table painted in Sherwin Williams Eros Pink. Isn't this fabulous!

Chinese Dragon High/Low

For a while I have wanted a white Chinese dragon. The Jonathan Adler version above is kind of fun and mod, but not for $350.00. Not quite my style either. In general I find Jonathan Adler a bit too Miami Beach as opposed to Palm Beach for my own home.

I love the vintage Fitz & Floyd one below, but it's VERY hard to find, especially in mint condition, and always pricey. I think the detail is wonderful.

I just snagged him on Etsy for $50.00. :-)  :-)  :-)  :-)

I think he's going to enjoy living in my Chinoiserie home. I know just the spot for him.

Vintage will continue to be a very hot trend this year and especially vintage Chinoiserie. Stalk eBay, Etsy, thrift stores, and auctions - there are amazing finds out there.

via Circa Who

The Perfect (Chinoiserie) Gray

Farrow & Ball Elephant's Breath

I have mentioned that my next big project in my own home is a Chinoiserie Man Cave for Mr. Chinoiserie Chic. I am in the planning stages right now. I have decided to paint it a pale gray. I'd love input from you on the perfect gray.

I have already used two of my favorite grays in my home. My garage is painted Farrow & Ball Elephant's Breath, the color shown in the room above. It is a wonderful warm gray - a greige. My powder room shown below is painted Benjamin Moore Stonington Gray that has decidedly blue undertones. I adore both these colors, but I need a neutral gray for the man cave. Not too dark, not too blue, not too green, not greige, just right. Finding a gray without undertones is harder than you think!

Benjamin Moore Stonington Gray

I have been considering all of these -

BM Stonington Gray - Too blue?

BM Gray Owl - looks perfect

BM Wickham Gray - too blue?

BM Coventry Gray - too dark?

BM Titanium - too green?

BM Classic Gray - looks perfect

They are all so pretty! Have you used a gray in your home that you love? Please share it with the class. ;-) Here are a few inspiration photos below of the gray I am going for -

This is Benjamin Moore Gray Owl

This is Benjamin Moore Classic Gray