Palm Beach Style & Yellow

Cathy Kincaid Interiors

This Palm Beach inspired dining room is from a Kips Bay Dallas Show House. I think it is a wonderful example of how well yellow works with blue and white Chinese porcelain. The millwork is beautiful as are the gorgeous plaster palm trees. The palm trees were created by one of Dallas' oldest plasterwork companies. The walls are stenciled.

The Blue and White Bedroom

Alessandra Branca

This wonderful blue and white bedroom is from the 2020 Kips Bay Show House Palm Beach done by Alessandra Branca.

Dining Room Inspiration

Alessandra Branca - Architectural Digest

 

I posted this a few years ago, but happened upon it again and there are so many great ideas here. The Chinese Chippendale chairs are vintage in her signature red, the cushions are Quadrille, the table is RH, and those cool wicker pendants are Ikea. Ikea is a great source for lighting BTW.  I love the shells and hurricanes as table centerpieces. All in all, a wonderful eclectic mix.

I can't say I love the curtains blocking the view of the gorgeous Chinese Chippendale railing and palm trees. I would lose them. I wonder what it's like walking on those floors barefoot? They look more like pool decking to me. I would have used limestone/shellstone tiles myself.

Summery Blue and White

Alessandra Branca

 This lovely space is from last year's Kips Bay Decorator Showhouse Palm Beach. It includes so many of my favorites - a blue and white palette, seagrass matting, faux bamboo furniture, a rattan bar cart, a wicker hurricane, palm fronds, stripes, wicker lampshades, and a pair of very unique garden stools. The navy piping on the white cushions is a lovely detail. I may attend this year, but I believe one also has the choice of a virtual ticket. 

Blue and White

Alessandra Branca

A lovely blue and white room by Alessandra Branca with a modern Ming coffee table, a blue and white Chinese garden stool, wicker, blue velvet, and a wonderful large framed photograph by Italian photographer Massimo Listri. I really like the button tufted back on the wicker settee. I also love that tray.

Alessandra almost always uses lampshades in colors, most often her signature red. Here in blue. It always strikes me as more suited to a child's room - I am more of a purist with white or ivory personally, unless it is wicker or raffia or the like. Just a personal preference. What do you think?

Red Tropical Chinoiserie

Alessandra Branca - Architectural Digest

 This dining room in the Bahamian retreat of interior designer Alessandra Branca is a great example of what I call Tropical Chinoiserie. She mixes vintage Chinese Chippendale chairs, a RH dining table and rattan pendants from Ikea. Her signature red is especially nice at Christmas.

Do you see the red Chinese Chippendale railing? - here is the view. Who needs outdoor Christmas decorations with this red and green? And note the orchids on the palms that I have posted on. What a stunning view.

Alessandra Branca

Caftans and Chinoiserie

WSJ

Caftans, also spelled kaftans, were originally worn by men. Cut from airy material to sit off the body, it is one of the most comfortable things you can don in tropical climates. Long associated with Palm Beach and Florida, the caftan is as comfortable as sweat pants, but with elegance and sophistication.

Caftans are thought to have originated in ancient Mesopotamia and were worn in India, Africa, and Iran by sultans and high ranking officials (men) from the 14th to 18th century. Caftans became the rage in the sixties worn by women like Jackie Kennedy, Elizabeth Taylor, Grace Kelly, and Vogue editor Diana Vreeland.

Jackie Kennedy

Elizabeth Taylor

Grace Kelly

Since moving to Florida and especially now with quarantining, I have embraced this style full throttle. I have always worn dresses - I don't own a pair of jeans. You can get out of the pool and throw on a caftan, thrown on some statement jewelry and a pair of Jack Rogers, and go to the most stylish dinner party or restaurant - someday again.

And, how does this relate to Chinoiserie? Many of our favorite interior designers have espoused this attire in their tropical abodes.

Meg Braff - matching her Kips Bay room

Meg Braff

Amanda Lindroth

Amanda Lindroth

Tory Burch - a fashion designer, but she uses Chinoiserie throughout her gorgeous homes

Alessandra Branca

Alessandra Branca

Such a great look - comfortable, effortless, sophisticated, timeless, and looks great in the Chinoiserie home.

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

The Chinoiserie Beach House

Alessandra Branca - Architectural Digest

This Bahamian beach house living room includes a stunning red Chinese Chippendale bannister and a Chinese coffee table.

Chinese Chippendale

Alessandra Branca - Architectural Digest

Alessandra Branca's Bahamas getaway - check out the Chinese Chippendale staircase in her signature red and the coral pink front door.

Pink and Red

Alessandra Branca

I love combining pink, red, and Chinoiserie.

Beth Connolly Interiors

Beth Connolly Interiors

Green Chinoiserie

Alessandra Branca

Alessandra Branca shared this yesterday via Instagram and Facebook and I had to share it with you. Green is a hot color trend this year and combining green and Chinoiserie is such a favorite of mine. The wallpaper is perfection as are the pagoda cornice and curtains trimmed in green. Hope we get to see the rest of this space.

The Chinoiserie Dining Room

Alessandra Branca - Architectural Digest

I admit that I am not a huge fan of red and have very little of it in my own home. My office is lavender with pops of pink and red but that is about it.

My office

But Alessandra Branca is a master of using red and mixing it with Chinoiserie. When Alessandra uses red, it never dominates the room and is often toned down with liberal doses of white and black. She tends to use "dabs" of red.

This room could be easily copied by painting a set of new or vintage Chinese Chippendale chairs red, finding a wood trestle table, trimming off-white curtains in red, and I love the triple wicker pendants.

Yes - this is me with Alessandra!

Styling the Chinoiserie Bar

Lonny

A vintage Chinoiserie cabinet is perfect to convert to a bar. Here are some other great examples.

Alessandra Branca

Laura Cattano

The Chinoiserie Dining Room

Alessandra Branca

Christmas is over, but many of us will be entertaining over the next week especially for New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. This is Alessandra Branca's dining room decorated for the holidays.

The Chinoiserie Dining Room at Christmas

Alessandra Branca

The Chinoiserie Powder Room

Alessandra Branca - Veranda

The wallpaper is Fromental.

Red, White, and Blue

Alessandra Branca

A wonderful red, white, and blue room by Alessandra Branca with a corner banquette. A Chinese garden stool makes a great little coffee table. Note how her use of black adds subtle sophistication to the space.

Alessandra Branca

Alessandra Branca - Kips Bay 2015

Coastal Chinese Chippendale

Alessandra Branca - Architectural Digest