Setting the Chinoiserie Table

Beth Connolly Interiors

I will be cooking at home this Thanksgiving, so today I started planning my table. Here are a few vignettes from my dining room. I decided to use these Dransfield and Ross Greek key placemats paired with my wedding china - Wedgwood Chinese Tigers. I will post pictures when I put it all together.

Scalamandre Chinoiserie China

This is too good to be true - Scalamandre china at $70 a four piece place setting. Adapted from the 18th-century artwork of Jean Baptiste Pillemont, a charming scene composed of oversized flowers, fretwork fences, pagodas and parasols decorates this fine dining collection from Scalamandre by Lenox.

The colors are wonderful - amethyst (purple), sienna (orange), teal (blue), and chocolate (brown). If you are not in the market for a new set of china, buy the dinner plates or accent plates by themselves to mix and match with your existing white china.

This china would be amazing in my own dining room. I think the purple is calling my name. Here is my dining room wallpaper. I love mixing orange and purple with Chinoiserie - so modern.

Check out what I found this week at my thrift store - a set of four brand new Dransfield and Ross Greek key place mats with their original $90 a piece price tags. I got them for $12 for the set of 4!!!

Pagoda Napkin Rings

These beaded pagoda napkin rings from Dransfield & Ross are quite spectacular. As you can see, they are available in a range of colors and can be purchased individually or as a set at vendors like Neiman Marcus, Horchow, and The Well Appointed House.

The Oversized Ginger Jar

Do you spot the large ginger jar on the skirted table in the living room of John Dransfield and Geoffrey Ross of Dransfield & Ross? The oversized ginger jar is a must in any Chinoiserie lover's home.

Latest Incredible Chinoiserie Find

Yesterday, with exactly 5 minutes to browse before another appointment, I popped into my favorite thrift store and immediately spotted four mirrored Chinoiserie "de Gournayesque" placemats. Each had a price tag of $150 from a local boutique-they are marked Dransfield & Ross and I have several of their pieces. I nonchalantly inquired as to their thrift store price and was told $35 each. Sold!!!!! For inquiring minds, I have shown them with my Lenox Morning Blossom china, Kirk Stieff Williamsburg Shell silver, Kate Spade Larabee Dot saucer champagne glass, and Kim Seybert linen napkin.