Wednesday, December 23, 2020

Chinoiserie Gone Wrong

Instagram

I have not posted a "Chinoiserie Gone Wrong" in months, but this showed up in my Instagram feed yesterday and I couldn't resist. I'm not even going to begin to outline all I hate about this kitchen; it would take all day. But these are my fave Ballard Designs (now discontinued) Chinese Chippendale stools in this ghastly kitchen. They even left the original ugly fabric cushions on them.

Here are mine in Brunschwig & Fils Xian. The fabric was plasticized and I have been using them daily for years and years and they look like they are brand new.

CCC

OK, what is the story with those hideous floral arrangements?
 

29 comments:

  1. That is the home of James Farmer, jamesfarmer.com. While I'm not a fan of open shelving in a kitchen personally, I am a fan of his design aesthetic. As a gardener yourself, I think you might enjoy his gardens at his home, Farmdale, in southern Georgia.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm not of fan of Farmhouse Style, either. It looks like a high school shop project gone wrong. I've even seen houses with their exteriors built in the style here. I think it's a fad that will fade soon.

    ReplyDelete
  3. This looks like one of those dreadful HGTV rustic farmhouse kitchens with those Chinese Chippendale stools accidentally dragged in. I'll bet that just off camera there's a sliding barn door somewhere. I want to go rescue those poor stools and give them a good home.

    ReplyDelete
  4. There are elements of the kitchen that I DO like. I AM a fan of board walls. To me, it is not a trend, but a looking back. My grandmother's farmhouse had board walls and I always loved them. When we built a house on our farm we used board walls downstairs. This was WAY before you started seeing it in magazines. For us, it is a memory from my childhood and I like the way they look. I do think that these particular bar stools are out of place here and I am not a fan of these particular open shelves or the fussy flowers in this kitchen.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I love James Farmers’s work!I have both of this books and they are wonderful! In addition to being an interior designer, he has a degree in landscape design, which might explain the profusion of flowers. And while I’m not a fan of open shelving for myself personally, I would hardly characterize this kitchen as “ghastly”.

    ReplyDelete
  6. James Farmer is the best in my book. I also have many of his books. I LOVE this kitchen! He has so much design talent, a lot more than most!! Sure don’t agree with you on this one!

    ReplyDelete
  7. This is really awful. Those plywood looking boards under the island are the worst. It looks like the kitchen installer hasn't finished. This makes me cringe.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I'm not a fan of kitchen with all open shelving. Can't imagine how dusty all the dishes get and needing to wash them before using them. Most people don't have stacks and stack of dishes in one color to fill up the shelves - real life needs to be functional.

    ReplyDelete
  9. It is not only chinoiserie that has gone wrong here - everything has gone wrong.

    ReplyDelete
  10. My neighbor put 4 of the Ballard chairs in this design on the curb yesterday! I wanted them but just bought new dining chairs and couldn’t use them. A good find for somebody! Today’s trash day tho so I hope somebody got them before the truck came.
    Merry Christmas!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I like a high low mix but the genre mix here is just odd.

    ReplyDelete
  12. The flower arrangement is terrible, and so are the blocky, wooden legs on that island, however I don't think the kitchen quite rises to the level of ghastly. I'm not a fan of kitchens with open shelves, and I don't understand how they ever got to be a trend. They are made to look attractive in photos, but they just seem horribly impractical to me. I can only think of grease and dust that would accumulate, not to mention the fact that one loses virtually half of their kitchen storage.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I like this kitchen. Maybe not your style but many love it!!

    ReplyDelete
  14. I absolutely love his kitchen. My taste runs the gammit from but I would need several homes to be able to express it. I am sure this is not his only home - his kitchen has beautiful layed out open shelves. As it is not my first choice, I am sure I would do the same open shelves in one home if I had more!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My sentiments exactly re. needing different homes in order to successfully pull off everything I liked--open shelves being one of those things. For that look I envision a beach shack with weathered white shiplap walls, SMEG appliances and open shelves with a few things I use (and clean) every day--easy and accessible. The rest can be placed in lower cabinets or a pantry.

      Delete
  15. On a different note, saw this article about a Slim Aarons Christmas photo and thought you might enjoy it. https://www.vogue.com/article/slim-aarons-christmas-photo-hidden-story

    ReplyDelete
  16. I like that kitchen. Not my style, but I appreciate the look and feel. Actually OK with the chairs there--a little twist to the farmhouse vibe but still in harmony with thee rest.

    Not a fan of the florals. Too dense, too tight. Remove the 2 urns and the bowl from the window. It'll feel airier and give that wreath more room to breathe Place the bowl with citrus(?) on the island instead of that long and entirely too large magnolia arrangement. That would pretty much do it for me,

    ReplyDelete
  17. From realtor.com regarding open shelving in the kitchen - "Heat from appliances cases dirt and dust to stick to exposed surfaces, including your cups, glasses, dishware, and the actual shelves."

    ReplyDelete
  18. It looks like the hosts are preparing for a party, thus the urns and the citrus and the sink full of plants. If you remove those, it isa very pleasant kitchen.

    Another scenario is that it may not be a residential kitchen at all; nobody owns so many dinner or soup plates. It may be a butler’s pantry or a kitchen in a commercial facility.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Joining in the club that does not favor open shelving; at least not this much. Perhaps one for items on display though not for the dishes/plates/bowls used daily. You would certainly keep the swiffer busy. As for the fabric on the stools, manufacturers tend to put on a very neutral and inexpensive fabric with the thought that the owner will reupholster in a fabric of their choice, as it seems you have done. The extremely large and over the top floral arrangements appear to have been added (staged) for the "photo op" including the bowl of eggs/oranges? Do you think the countertops are made of wood???

    ReplyDelete
  20. Can you imagine people coughing and sneezing and their germs landing on the dishes, especially in these days of Covid? I'm not going to their house to eat.

    ReplyDelete
  21. It would be a decent version of what it is if you ditched the urns, changed the light fixtures and swapped out those stools. The stools are an incongruous style and too fine in scale for the space. I can only think that it was the color that drove that. I would rather have seen an upholstered stool in linen or pale gray maybe. Something with heft. I am not a fan of open shelving either, but I suppose it at least looks of a piece with the style.

    ReplyDelete
  22. I don’t think he is trying to do chinoiserie at all. Ok, there are the Ballard chairs but nothing else screams chinoiserie.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. T'was my thought as well. This isn't his own kitchen btw, this is a client's kitchen which can be seen featuring various displays on those shelves across IG. Oh dear, those supporting uprights on the island are troublesome.

      Delete
  23. I am so not a fan of open shelves. I do like the bar stools but needs another material to cover them.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Not a fan of anything farmhouse period. Guess each to his own but this pic is truly scary.

    ReplyDelete