Mark D. Sikes x J.McLaughlin

Mark Sikes has just launched a collaboration with J.McLaughlin. He brings his timeless all-American perspective to summer- crisp navy and white, touches of red, archival floral and his iconic stripes.

Setting the White Thanksgiving Table

Mark D. Sikes - Lonny

 

The Thanksgiving table can be any colors you like that work in your home. I have recently posted some blue and white examples. This white table by Mark Sikes is lovely.

Handbag Charms

Pineapple Bag Charm

Handbag charms are all the rage right now, available in a myriad of designs and materials. These are darling, handmade by artisans in Rwanda of raffia from locally sourced palm trees.

Mark D. Sikes X Pottery Barn

Mark Sikes for Pottery Barn

 

Did you know that Mark Sikes use to work for Pottery Barn and now he has just launched a line of 85 pieces of accessories and textiles for them? Talk about coming full circle. The collection features blue and white, citrus, and lilac.

Styling

CCC

 

The other day I posted about this wicker urn I had just found at HomeGoods. Yesterday I was looking at my feed on Instagram and I saw this photo below.

The Beach Fireplace

Amanda Lindroth

 

Whether you are lucky enough to have a fireplace at your beach house, or are looking for a summery approach to styling your fireplace, here is some wonderful inspiration.

Happy Father's Day

Mark D. Sikes

 

Happy Father's Day! I hope everyone has a lovely day celebrating the dads in your life and remembering fondly those you have lost. 

Feeling Blue

Mark D. Sikes

 

This wonderful breakfast room is in Liz Lange's beautiful restoration of the iconic East Hampton home Grey Gardens.

The Blue & White Powder Room

Mark D. Sikes

This chic little powder room is done in Clarence House Las Palmas. Note the blue crown molding. Do you say powder room or powder bath? 

Wicker Basket High/Low

Mark D. Sikes for Chaddock Home

I love large baskets - for faux or real trees and plants, logs, blankets, beach towels, dog toys - they are so multi-functional.

Chinoiserie for the Guest Bedroom

Faux Bamboo Luggage Rack

 

I have been looking for a nice folding luggage rack for the guest bedroom for ages and I finally found it.

The Chinoiserie Dining Room

Mark D. Sikes

A beautiful dining room by Mark D. Sikes featuring Madame de Pompadour wallpaper for Schumacher in Blush.

The Door Stop

Mark D. Sikes

 

I love the blue and white Chinese garden stool propping open the French door. Door stops are such a chic and functional and old school piece. An open door keeps everyone more comfortable on warm-weather days. It's also great for letting kids or pets roam freely, or providing a better flow for indoor-outdoor gatherings. Use for interior doors too for doors that close by themselves (often a  problem in historic homes) or as decor.

Styling the Chinoiserie Vignette

Mark D. Sikes

The same antique chinoiserie chest, styled in a myriad of ways in his Hollywood Hills home over time, by the extraordinary Mark D. Sikes. Do you tend to leave things once you are happy with the styling, or are you one to change things around all the time? 

Styling the Kitchen Island & More

Classic Style Home

My kitchen island is arriving in a few hours and I am quite excited. I have been thinking about how I will style it and was looking at some kitchens I have posted about for inspiration. Unfortunately, the vast majority are clearly staged just for the photo shoot. As you will see below, I will not be daily slicing bread, watermelon, buying a cart full of lemons, limes, apples, plantains, artichokes, or in the case of one photo below, the entire produce department. 

Gorgeous Faux Willow Tree

Mark Sikes

 

I saw this 7' Willow Tree below online a while back and it was sold out everywhere. It reminds me of the Mark Sikes tree above. I looked high and low and finally found one. It is in my living room in the World Market basket I posted on and I LOVE it. 

Wallpaper & Musings

Katie Ridder - Architectural Digest

 Now that I have found a wallpaper hanger, my thoughts have turned again to my darling little bathroom that is awaiting its paper. I came across this photo and love it. The turtle wallpaper is by Katie Ridder and note how they retrofitted the antique mirror with elephant sconces. This really has a British Colonial/Tropical/Island vibe that I adore. 

I was on a Zoom yesterday with Amanda Lindroth and Mark Sikes and I was thinking about how THE look in interior design today that they both do beautifully is the chinoiserie, blue and white, wicker, rattan, coastal, island, tropical vibe, that works regardless of where you live. Guess where this powder room above is? Hudson Valley in New York. I remember doing a post several years ago about a home in Norway completely filled with palms and chinoiserie.

I am off down the rabbit hole of my thousands of posts to find it - and voila! This stuck in my brain because the house is in Oslo, Norway where my maternal grandmother was from. So if this is your taste, you don't need to live in the tropics - go for it.

Nicolette Horn - House Beautiful

Nicolette Horn - House Beautiful

The wallpaper BTW is Turtle Bay by Katie Ridder available in several colorways. I like both of these.

Prussian Blue

Seafoam

This Basket is Having a Moment

Caroline Gidiere

This basket is having a moment for sure, but I think it's becoming a classic for beach house decor and beyond. I am thinking of getting one myself.

It can be used for anything you choose and never looks more chic to me than under a console table.

Use it for beach towels, media components, books, laundry, toys, blankets, shoes, pillows, in a mud room, dog toys - the list is endless. It is wonderful to add an organic and textural element to a spot. I love the way it pairs with Chinoiserie and with blue and white. Here are interior designers going mad over this "it" basket.

BTW, it looks like the Beachcomber from Pottery Barn. Other versions I have seen all look to me like cheap knockoffs.

Pottery Barn Beachcomber

A follower just emailed me that some of the baskets are from Mainly Baskets Home and are slightly different from the PB. They both come in various shapes and sizes.

Mainly Baskets Home

Mark Sikes

Shelley Johnstone Paschke

Summer Thornton

Wicker & Rattan Meet Chinoiserie

Amanda Lindroth

There is no question that wicker and rattan have returned to the interior design world full force. I think there are many reasons - for baby boomers it is a look we remember fondly from our pasts - my daughter's nursery was white wicker with Laura Ashley pink and white ticking stripe fabric. For grandmillenials, it represents a traditional and classic look. And for the coastal look that has been so popular in recent years, wicker and rattan are a perfect choice - organic and light and airy.

Wicker and rattan have always worked beautifully with Chinoiserie. Designers like Mark Sikes often included pieces. Today you can find wicker and rattan everywhere from Urban Outfitters and HomeGoods to designer collections like Sarah Bartholomew and Amanda Lindroth. And Amanda's collection includes wicker Chinoiserie like pagodas. I have been finding lots of wicker wrapped candles and hurricanes at HomeGoods that look just like hers for a fraction of the price.

Wicker in my home includes a vintage wicker elephant, a vintage wicker chaise in Mario Buatta fabric - Evelyn - still a great favorite of mine, and two new wicker S chairs that I will use with my Mercer table that is arriving today.

My handyman and I worked VERY hard yesterday and got everything off my punch list. So I was able to schedule the wallpaper hanger for next week. I had put in a new alarm system and the control panel from the old ADT system was on the main wall in the laundry room which will be wallpapered and removal required dismantling of the old system. But now it's done.

I can't believe I moved in July 29th and the house is almost finished. I still need to have my art hung, but I have four major pieces on order and am awaiting their arrival.

The Mercer table is scheduled for noonish, so this afternoon I get to start styling it. Very fun. I need to make a Trader Joe's run for orchids if I can squeeze that in. And restock my wine! (And Wednesday is Sushi Day at Publix - a must for me).

Can You Have Too Much Blue and White Porcelain?

Mark D. Sikes

My HomeGoods seems to be getting in more and more blue and white Chinese porcelain. Every time I see a nice piece I think to myself, can I really use another? And it makes me so happy to see rooms like this one and think, "Sure!" Luckily, it seems that all blue and white Chinese porcelain works well together. I think the only exception is perhaps those with background colors that are more celadon or gray that seem off combined with very white backgrounds. At any rate, this is a lovely space with blue and white, rattan, wicker, orchids, stripes, and Greek key - all favorites of mine. And a dozen pieces of blue and white Chinese porcelain.

I put in a bed of Foxtail Ferns yesterday. What a difference planting in this loamy sand as opposed to heavy clay in NOVA. The planting holes here dig themselves.

Foxtail Fern - Asparagus Meyeri

I was also looking at succulents for my topiary alligator. Luckily, succulents are very prevalent down here and very inexpensive as well. I especially like the way this topiary was done. I told you there is a limit on decorative objects in your garden here. This will drive them nuts - is this plant material or a decorative object? I would argue it's a plant.