Monday, April 20, 2020

Chinoiserie Gone Wrong

Alessandra Branca - Architectural Digest

I guess they are supposed to be whimsical and retro, but I am not into the mounted fish in these Chinoiserie rooms. These are two of my favorite designers, but I think they were trying too hard to be fun or kitschy, and IMHO, the fish just look stupid. I am guessing the ones above are faux, and the one below is a real fish, I am not an expert, but make them go away and I will like both rooms. It said in the description of the room below that the fish mount is a throwback to 70s beach decor, but some past trends should stay buried. In the Meg Braff rooms below, I feel that the fish take over the rooms visually, and I find something very unappealing about dining or sleeping with a massive dead fish above me.

Love the fish, hate them? Your thoughts?

Meg Braff - Coastal Living

And it is clearly not just a one-off with Meg, because here is a fish mount in her sons' bedroom.

Meg Braff - House Beautiful

30 comments:

  1. I'm with you. The fish need to go. And while they're at it, they can remove that horned thing on the wall in the first photo. Dead fish. Dead animal heads. None of these things belong on walls.

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    1. Thank you. I have a great post coming up on that subject. Horrible!

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  2. I love this series. You have such a great eye. Please keep them coming!

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  3. In Meg’s case, maybe it’s a family hobby ? But still. I’m with you.

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    1. I find it hard to believe that a well known interior designer would put these up in such prominent spots if she thought they were ugly and creepy as I do because it's a family hobby. Stick them in a basement or a man cave or wherever.


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  4. "Amen"???? Def the fish suck.... The dining room is attractive but too noisy, replace the buffet with a solid lacquer piece so the chairs show up & it will calm the room the heck down. That poor child..... talk about inducing nightmare on Elm Street dreams; YIKES. Good finds for my cranky a** state of mind.

    Do love Meg! Have her Sampan wallpaper in my powder room & its my fav room in my home.

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    1. You are hysterical! I think the dining room is pretty bad in general - I would lose the buffet, the lanterns on the buffet, the patio chairs next to the buffet, the rug, the messy looking flowers, the chandelier, change out the grasscloth color - I think it's a dated looking mishmash. I do like some of her wallpapers like Up A Tree.

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  5. Thank you for all your work on these blogs! They brighten my world every morning. As for the Three Rooms and the Sea, I wouldn't have minded a single fake fish in the Branca room, as long as the aardvark was also 86ed. Three fish plus the aardvark is too much kitsch, at least for me. In the other rooms, not only does the taxidermy ruin all the other hard work, it's going to make many guests, especially vegetarians, super uncomfortable. Yuck. Also, while I love everything else in these three rooms, I think the stylist should have replaced the blue and white painting in the Branca room with something else for the photo shoot. Thanks again for these posts!

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    1. I appreciate your comment very much. With the Chinoiserie Gone Wrong series, I think most people like the fun distraction and I think it is also refreshing for people to see that interior designers are not decorating gods but screw up too. And I completely agree on the aardvark and the art. I personally find taxidermy extremely upsetting.

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  6. No one has mentioned the flooring in the first photo. What is that?? And I guess they are counting on the light fixture for "warmth"??? Agree, too, about the photo and fish in the boys' room. I like the color palette, but that is reaching pretty far for accessories!

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    1. Agree that the floor is strange, I would love a Mario Lopez Torres chandelier, but they are crazy $$$$. I can't quite make out the photo in the boys' room - is there a weapon in the photo?

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  7. Honestly it is the worse design I've seen in a long time.

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  8. All of these rooms are horrible! I can't imagine what they were thinking!

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    1. I think they get worse the more you look at them too. LOL

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  9. The Allesandra Branca room should be called, "Don't drink and decorate." I agree take that animal head and the fish off the wall. Maybe a blue and white striped dhurrie would help with the unfortunate looking floor.
    I give the other two rooms a C+. The mounted sail fish are kind of fun but are a close cousin of fishing nets and plastic crabs above a tiki bar.
    Keep it coming Beth. Love your blog.

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    1. I enjoy your comments so much. Always pithy and spot on. And a blue and white striped rug would be perfect in that room. It is very cold. And yes, all that stuff would be better in a tiki bar but I have seen chic tiki bars that would not take it.

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    2. I wish I had thought of calling this series "Don't Drink and Decorate." Fabulous!!!!!!

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  10. EEK! What in the world were they thinking?! I couldn't believe it when I saw that Alessandra Branca had done the room in the first photo. Nothing even works together. What's with the fish, and what is that crazy thing mounted on the wall that looks like an anteater with horns? She's a designer whose style I have long admired. (Are you sure someone didn't post this pretending to be Alessandra?)

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    1. Not only is it Alessandra Branca, it is in her own home so you can't say she was accommodating a client's taste.

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  11. With respect to the first Meg Braff room above, I just LOVE it and think it's so so pretty and festive and happy----BUT the fish totally ruins it and makes it overall ugly. Ugh. Even the colors of the fish are jarring and ruin the look. Her sons' room is cute, although too sterile for a boy's room imo, but again the fish ruins it. What was she thinking?? As for the first room, I agree with you about the fish...they seem silly...but I don't think the room without them would be great because I think that clunky metal light fixture, as well as the metal thing on the left wall, don't go with the crisp blue and whtie decor and drag the room down. Also that little plant on the table is off--I think a great centerpiece would have been better.








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  12. After reading the comments above, I looked more carefully at that dining room. I agree that the buffet and side chairs and chandelier should go. I do love the white chairs and the yellow wallpaper. As for that 'aardvark', is that an aardvark or something more ominous? And I also add my thanks to Beth for such a fun series, and such a great blog!

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    1. Thank you so much. I am happy people are enjoying it so much. I think it's fun but also instructive to look at a designer's work and discuss why something doesn't work. I am having fun writing this too.

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  13. I have been reading your blog for years but have never enjoyed it as much as I do now. This series is a delightful, uplifting treat every day. Just what we all need during these difficult times.

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    1. I appreciate your comment very much, thank you. Interestingly, my readership is huge for these Chinoiserie Gone Wrong posts, so everyone seems to be enjoying them. Hopefully, it is a fun distraction to focus on design for a bit.

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  14. If you Had to have a fish .... make it a Goldfish! lol

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  15. I was shocked to see the first room was Alexandra Branca! Even if you take away the fish, not her best work.

    I think the Meg Braff rooms are a case of making the husband happy. Give him the one thing he really wants. In this case his fish. Then the wife can make every other decision.

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