Wednesday, April 29, 2020

My Florida Inspiration Boards Circa 2013

The Living Room

Back in 2013, I did a series for The Glam Pad of fantasy inspiration boards for a wonderful historic Coral Gables, Florida home that was on the market at the time. I was married, living in Alexandria, Virginia, and the thought of living in Florida had never ever crossed my mind.

Fast forward, and here I am widowed, living in Sarasota, Florida in the middle of a pandemic. "May you live in interesting times." Interestingly, that expression has long been said to be a Chinese curse, but there is no truth to its origin being Chinese.

BTW, the house sold for $600,000 in 2014 and then was on and off the market since 2015, with an asking price of up to $1.85 million and finally sold in 2019 for $1.175 million. Chinese Village consists of eight homes built in 1923, designed by noted architect Henry Killam Murphy.

Chinese Village House in Coral Gables

I  thought it might be fun to repost my Florida Inspiration Boards. I still really like them!

The Entryway

The Dining Room

The Kitchen

The Home Office

The Porch

The Master Bedroom

The Guest Bedroom

It's quite interesting to me that all of my things from my previous home have worked perfectly here in Florida. My only purchase was a navy blue velvet sofa for the living room because the sofa I had was too large, but I repurposed it for the sitting area in the master bedroom. I think my decorating style was always a bit more Palm Beach than Virginia, but then I think Chinoiserie Chic style is a classic that works anywhere!

I'd love to hear what part of the county you live in, what type of home (condo, townhouse, single family), and how you've used Chinoiserie elements in your own home.

For example, I live in a single family home in a gated community in Sarasota, Florida. I have a large collection of Chinoiserie, especially blue and white Chinese porcelain, art, Chinese Chippendale chairs, and pagodas that I use in every room of my home, including outdoors. My absolute favorite Chinoiserie element is blue and white ginger jars.

12 comments:

  1. I live in Grosse Pointe Farms in a small house built 80 years ago in the Federal Colonial style. Since Chinoiserie was wildly popular in the 18th century I use it as accents throughout the house to compliment my 18th century antique and reproduction furniture. My favorite things include blue and white porcelain and Chinese Chippendale chairs.

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    1. Thanks so much for sharing! I love that area. I grew up in Lake Forest, Illinois. A close fried of mine is from Bloomfield Hills. Chinoiserie is of course perfect in a home like yours. Wonderful!

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  2. Gorgeous! In the home office, Where is the black and white wallpaper from? Also the eye fabric?
    Can you share sources?
    Love all the looks!

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    1. Thank you - in the home office, the wallpaper is Florence Broadhurst and the bench is Fornasetti.

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  3. I grew in the Gables... many, many years ago, for sure. The Merrick Villages were such unique homes there. I was never in the Chinese House though passed by this often. I was fortunate to visit the French home on Hardee Road and it was wonderful as I remember.

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    1. I would love to see that historic district in Coral Gables.

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  4. I live in Kendall in Miami-Dade County in a builder basic ranch that we built in 1976... However... I’ve transformed it into a cozy English/French cottage. The front garden (entered through a picket gate) and back yard are as English garden as our weather will allow. Interiors are painted in Farrow and Ball paints and full of French and English furniture and odds and ends sourced during years of travel.

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    1. Sounds wonderful - and I love Farrow and Ball. Such great paint and colors.

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  5. I live in Atlanta (but I am originally from Charleston SC where Chinoiserie has always been key in design) in a traditional brick front 2 story suburban home.I have a large collection of blue and white porcelain that I use in every room in my house. I have faux bamboo furniture painted in a variety of colors and natural bamboo pieces as well.I especially love all of my ferns and palms in blue and white chinoiserie fish bowl planters on my screened porch.

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    1. Sounds so pretty. I spent a lot of time in Atlanta a couple of years ago redoing a house near the new baseball stadium. Atlanta has great restaurants.

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  6. I live in a triplex in Los Angeles, and I feel like the only person in "boho chic"-obsessed SoCal who adores Chinoiserie and Palm Beach style! My house is full of lacquer, grasscloth, and bold-patterned wallpapers like Martinique Banana Leaf and Chiang Mai Dragon. My favorite Chinoiserie element is bamboo, and my interior designer pal had to beg me to stop adding it to my "Bamboo Bedroom," which features Cowtan & Tout bamboo wallpaper, multiple bamboo mirrors, gold bamboo cupboard hardware and door handles, bamboo window shades and a bamboo chandelier!

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  7. I love Chinoiserie! Even though I live in Phoenix I have a huge blue and white collection. My home is more global with old Persian rugs and a mix of Mexican,Moroccan and Asian.

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