Saturday, February 18, 2023

The Blue and White Dining Room

Anna-Louise Wolfe

 
A stunning blue and white dining room in a beautiful blue and white palette. I love the bullion fringed skirted table. I have one on my breakfast room table. 

The trim is Loire Bullion Fringe by Samuel and Sons. The ruffled curtains are very Miles Redd. The wallpaper is Schumacher's Hydrangea Drape. Note the pretty blue ceiling - Haint blue ceilings are not just for porches. A pair of blue and white Chinese lamps on the sideboard. The candlesticks on the dining table are vintage brass potted palm trees. Darling. The beautiful flatweave rug mimics the wallpaper design. Really a lovely room.

If it's not already in your library, any lover of blue and white decorating should own Mark Sikes Beautiful. I look at it so often. It's truly a wonderful book. 


Beautiful by Mark D. Sikes


 And as much as I love his original book Beautiful, I am not as big a fan of his second book More Beautiful. His style is going in a more casual, gingham, less chinoiserie direction.

An interesting question. How many of you actually read all the narrative in interior design books? I rarely do. I suspect many people don't. I buy the books mainly for the visual inspiration. I have never found the text in interior design books to be worth my time.


8 comments:

  1. I always read the narrative.
    I have learned so many designers tricks this way, I really like to know their thought processes, creative solutions to problem solving and how a room comes together. I read everything once, then flip through tons of times just to study the pictures

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    1. Same with me! A wealth of information, tips and tricks are in those narratives.

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  2. I also read the narrative.

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  3. I, too, read the commentary…they often point out things I may have missed…similar to your comment on the photo today…I missed that the candlesticks were palm trees! I pour over my decor books often, best way to relax and enjoy!

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  4. John Saladino's book, Villa, is an exception to the visual only book. It is a magnificent recounting of how he took a California ruin & turned it & its gardens into a paradise. So worth reading & savoring. One of my all time favorite design books.

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  5. Very pretty blue dining room. I love the blue ceiling, wallpaper, and I didn't even pick up the drapery detail until you pointed it out. (I thought it was fringe, and not ruffles.) I have to say I am guilty of hardly ever reading the text in design books, but after reading the responses of your readers, I will. I just become so lost in the beautiful pictures!

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  6. First I look at the pictures without reading. Then I go back and read everything. As far as MS, I think he is now just phoning it in with his gingham upon gingham treatments. It's all beginning to look alike. I'll be curious to see when he decides to take a more daring and creative departure. Maybe with a big ticket client who asks for something beyond?

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  7. I loved MDS's first book. I was extremely disappointed in the second one. Like Delta said, I think he's just phoning it in now. I always read the narrative in design books, but I look at the pictures first and come back later to read the text.

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