Shagreen

Aerin Shagreen Matchbox Sleeve

 

Do you recall back in the day when people smoked and restaurants would have free matches with their logo?

Nowadays there is no smoking in restaurants, so no more free matches for the most part, but decorative matchboxes are still popular for lighting candles and such. These by famous decoupage artist John Derian are $5 each.

John Derian Matchboxes

AERIN x Williams Sonoma

Confetti Vase

 

Aerin Lauder has the most beautiful collaboration with Williams Sonoma. Much of the collection is tabletop and perfect for setting the spring and Easter table. Here are some favorites -

A Cold Winter's Night

Living With Flowers by Aerin Lauder

 

Aerin Lauder's newest book will be released on February 25, 2025, and you can pre-order it here. Isn't the cover stunning?

AERIN Collaboration - Wicker Pagoda

AERIN Wicker Carousel Shelf

This stunning wicker piece is part of Aerin Lauder's collection for....Pottery Barn Kids! Some of my favorite pieces at CCC are designer collaborations for Pottery Barn Teen and Pottery Barn Kids. This gilded palm tree chandelier in my vestibule is Lily Pulitzer for Pottery Barn Kids from a few years ago.

CCC

Calamondin Oranges

Aerin Lauder

 

Such a beautiful dining room in Aerin Lauder's Hamptons home. 

The Blue and White Chinoiserie Dining Room

Aerin Lauder

 

This dining room in Aerin Lauder's Hamptons home remains such a favorite of mine. I love a skirted dining table and have one in my breakfast room and another in my lanai - in blue and white of course. 

More Palm Beach Style

Thibaut Palm Frond

 Without a doubt, my favorite thing about Florida visually is the palm trees. I can't get enough. My property is also filled with palm trees indoors and out. This Thibaut powder room is a great example of bringing palm decor indoors. I also love the wonderful mirror. It reminds me of these coveted Aerin Lauder raffia placemats.

I feel fabulous today - no side effects whatsoever from my second Moderna shot yesterday morning. Yesterday afternoon I played tennis, walked the dogs, and pruned shrubs. I feel like a million bucks today - not even a sore arm. 

Aerin Raffia Placemats

Blue and White

Aerin Lauder

 This room is absolute perfection and the epitome of the look I am going for in my home. A blue and white palette, wicker, rattan, coral, hurricanes, bare windows with views of outdoors, and this stunning bullion trimmed tablecloth. I would love to do a blue and white tablecloth like this for my breakfast room table when I feel like a change. These rattan and wicker chairs are to die for. 

The Tropical Christmas Tree

Aerin Lauder

 Tropical birds, fish, and seashells adorn this Christmas tree - perfect for tropical locations where a traditional tree might seem too formal. I wish I had a full size picture, but this closeup is wonderful. 

My daughter and I made a collection of seashell ornaments years ago - it may have been a Martha Stewart project. You take real seashells and glue gun on silver dragees and glue gun silver cord for hanging. They were wonderful and very easy.

Chinoiserie Gone Wrong

Aerin Lauder - House and Garden

Today's Chinoiserie Gone Wrong is about scale. Above is a photo of Aerin Lauder's East Hampton home's foyer from a 2007 House & Garden Christmas issue. The scale of that short and wide palm in a blue and white Chinese porcelain pot does not work at all in that space. Perhaps it was just pulled in for the photo shoot, who knows, it is just wrong. Not to mention that the poor thing would have perished in that dark corner. Here below is the same space more recently with furnishings in scale.

Harpers Bazaar Arabia

I love a potted palm in a home. But please use a large blue and white Chinese fish bowl with a big palm and add some drama! Here is a perfect example in a Ralph Lauren room. If in doubt, go larger, as opposed to small. Dinky does diddly-squat in a room. I am not a houseplant fan anyway, with a few notable exceptions. I love potted orchids. Trader Joe's are the best quality and price. Feed your orchid three ice cubes a week and it will last for months. I love a large potted palm or a large potted fiddle leaf fig. Put them in either a blue and white Chinese fish bowl or a beautiful big basket. But with both, go bold or go home.

Ralph Lauren

The Chinoiserie Kitchen

Bungalow 5

I love this kitchen. I will never ever tire of a beautiful white kitchen. I have dreams of a white kitchen with marble counters in my next house. In my last house in Virginia, I had Corian which was hot when we bought the home and is having a bit of a resurgence now. It is so easy to live with and I loved it. In this house I opted for quartz in a marble look-a-like - Silestone Calacatta. It is such a classic.

With my late husband who was a coffee drinker and red wine drinker, and then Golf Guy who is likewise a coffee and red wine drinker and messy as well, I was too nervous about marble. I have been really happy with how easy care the quartz is, but it's not marble.

This kitchen is gorgeous. I love the Bungalow 5 Frances Elkins style loop counter and breakfast table chairs, the white and brass pendants, and of course the blue and white Chinese porcelain filled with flowers.

I love the combination of Frances Elkins loop chairs and Chinoiserie and a bit of history. I grew up in Lake Forest, Illinois. My favorite store was Marsall Field's and most of my clothes as a child came from there. They opened their first branch in Lake Forest in 1928 because they lived there. Famous architect David Adler and sister Frances Elkins designed many of the great homes of Lake Forest and the first four loop chairs Frances designed in 1932 went to Mrs. Marsall Field's Long Island home.

I can't see what the counter material is, but I am not sure I like the visual of the black cooktop on the island. I think I might have chosen a white glass cooktop so as to not have that large rectangle of black in this white space.

Aerin Lauder - Elle Decor

Here is another wonderful white kitchen featuring Frances Elkins loop chairs. Also saving this for my new home file - I love the blue walls and pale blue ceiling and the lithograph by Ellsworth Kelly. This is in her East Hampton home.

Although you don't see a lot of blue walls in a kitchen, in a beach house I like this look a lot.

Did any of you choose marble countertops and are you happy with your decision?

Chinoiserie Entertaining Outdoors

Aerin Lauder

Blue and white is such a lovely choice for setting the table indoors or out. Bamboo flatware is my flatware choice - I have sets in black and natural that I love.

The Chinoiserie Living Room

Aerin Lauder

A lovely collection of blue and white Chinese porcelain displayed in unique fashion - on wall brackets and inset into the coffee table.

Happy New Year's Eve

Aerin Lauder - Williams-Sonoma

Whatever you have planned this evening, enjoy!

Aerin

Aerin Southampton

Chinoiserie wallpaper - now this is my idea of a store dressing room!

120 Items Every Beautiful Home Should Have - #7

House Beautiful

Next on our list of necessities for the beautiful home per House Beautiful is bamboo flatware. Bamboo flatware is a favorite of mine. I have a set in black and a set in natural and use it for casual dining like picnics and al fresco dining as well as fancy dinners and entertaining. It can be high end like the Juliska version featured above or had for a song - Horchow has a 20 piece service on sale right now for under $25.00.

Joe Nye

Aerin Lauder

Christmas with Aerin Lauder

Aerin Lauder

Setting the Holiday Table

Aerin Lauder - House & Garden

Blue and White

Aerin Lauder - Beach Magazine

The Chinese Chippendale Chair

Aerin Lauder

Don't miss the mint green table and the blue ceiling in this lovely dining space.