The Blue and White Pergola

Mark Sikes - Veranda 

 

This pergola was an addition to Liz Lange's renovation of Grey Gardens in East Hampton, New York. I spent my summers during college in the Hamptons. I never understood why it is spelled Southampton and Westhampton but then spelled East Hampton. A mystery. At any rate, this blue and white patio is so pretty.

Blue & White Gingham

Mark Sikes - Architectural Digest

 

This beautiful dining room above belongs to Mark Sikes and features Brunschwig & Fils Carsten Check. I think blue and white gingham pairs so well with chinoiserie as shown here. Here are some wonderful ways to add blue and white gingham to your home and wardrobe.

Mark Sikes

Chinoiserie & Gingham

Mark Sikes

I love the classic combination of blue and white gingham and chinoiserie. Here is some inspiration and sources for including gingham in your home and wardrobe. My go-to source for gingham home furnishings is Serena & Lily BTW.

Red, White, and Blue Chinoiserie

Mark Sikes

 

I hope everyone is having a glorious Memorial Day weekend. There is a car parade through my community tomorrow. I hope there are lots of antique cars. This is me in front of Jayne Mansfield's Bentley at an auto show a couple of years ago in Hershey, Pennsylvania. I am a lot more blond and tan now. 

CC

A Chinoiserie Vignette

Mark Sikes

 Such a pretty vignette with its handpainted chinoiserie wallpaper, black and gold Chinese chest, a lovely floral arrangement, and that shell mirror. The mirror is sensational with its aged antique glass. I would love a beautiful antique shell piece for my home. Sanibel Island which is quite close by is known as one of the world's best shelling beaches.

The Chinoiserie Entryway

Mark Sikes

 In this lovely entrance, Mark Sikes combines his signature elements - blue and white Chinese porcelain, stripes, wicker, jute rug, plants, and pedestals with a beautiful spearmint green color and soft cream woodwork. The combination is so pretty and ethereal.

Blue and White

Mark Sikes

 A lovely blue and white room in the home of Mark Sikes. I of course love the wicker and the ginger jars and the framed chinoiserie panel. My favorite piece is the vintage Italian camel garden stool. I passed on one of these in Georgetown at a consignment shop a few years back and could kick myself. Oh well.... The only thing I do not love here are the checked walls. I think I would tire of those, but checks are definitely a signature of his - sort of like Miles Redd's ruffled curtains. 

Enjoy your Sunday. It will be gorgeous here with temps in the 70's all week. I should also have a very exciting delivery this week that has been tied up at the port in Tampa. 

Blue and White Outdoors

Mark D. Sikes

This beautiful blue and white outdoor living space belonging to Mark D. Sikes features lots of blue and white Chinese porcelain. Here are more shots below. Don't have any concern about using your blue and white Chinese porcelain outdoors - I have been using blue and white Chinese garden stools in my garden for decades with no deterioration at all. That stuff is made to last! I picked up a new piece of furniture for the lanai at Ballard Designs in Tampa yesterday, but after two wonderful rum distillery tours and tastings, I was not motivated to unpack it, so I will post about it tomorrow. I love Mark's use of blue and white Chinese porcelain containers for topiaries as well. Although English boxwood does not grow well in South Florida, Eugenia does beautifully here with the same look. I planted two huge Eugenia topiaries in the garden here and they are doing great.

Buffalo Checks and Chinoiserie

Manuel Canovas

 I have always loved combining stripes and Chinoiserie, but lately the notion of buffalo checks and Chinoiserie has been on my mind. It is fresh, graphic, modern, yet traditional. Interior designers love it too, as you can see.

I've even created a Buffalo Checks and Chinoiserie board on Pinterest you can follow.

Blue and white buffalo checks and Chinoiserie

Southern Living

Michael Smith

Bunny Williams

Gideon Mendelson

Gideon Mendelson

Meg Braff

Mark Sikes

CurtainsMade4U has a great selection of buffalo check fabrics - design your curtains online in 3 easy steps and they will be shipped to your door in 3 - 4 weeks.

Another Before and After

I am always fascinated when I find a picture of a room in a magazine and then run across the "real" room before it has been styled, staged, and photoshopped by the magazine. I will have to put together a post on all of the examples I have blogged about before.

Above is a beautiful Chinoiserie vignette from the home of interior designer Mark Sikes that appeared in House Beautiful and has been pinned and posted countless times. Look at all the changes they made - the orchids and clay pots are gone. They have added dramatic blue and white Chinese porcelain vases filled with palm fronds, seashells and coral, the mini pagodas I am always posting about, and have rearranged things in a much more symmetrical and pleasing way.

The close-up shot loses the rather unattractive rug and awkward sconce on the wall and makes the console table appear less heavy. The only thing I would have tweaked in the after shot above is to lose the electrical cords hanging below the console since the lamps are not on in the photo anyway. I have a close friend with exquisite taste who is a fanatic about exposed cords and will get a kick out of this. I was once in a show house where the interior designer had cut off all the lamp cords from all of the lamps in the entire house!

New Year's Chinoiserie DIY

Mark Sikes

Many lovers of Chinoiserie collect blue and white Chinese porcelain. I think it looks especially beautiful grouped together on a dining room sideboard. I have found that all of it works well together, regardless of the shape, shade of blue, design, age, or value. Here is some inspiration for you.

My Dining Room

My Dining Room

Carolyne Roehm

New Series for the New Year

Mark Sikes

To ring in the New Year, we are starting a new series on what's new in Chinoiserie. We will be looking at everything new under the Chinoiserie sun, including new Chinoiserie products, new Chinoiserie rooms, the hottest colors in Chinoiserie, and trends for 2012. One hot trend in Chinoiserie decor is beautifully illustrated here by Mark Sikes and Bunny Williams. Dining rooms with Chinoiserie wall treatments and blue and white Chinese porcelain can be quite formal. In the dining room above featured in the latest issue of House Beautiful, Mark Sikes tones down the glamour of the Gracie wallpaper, Venetian mirror, blue and white Chinese porcelain, and a grand chandelier, by combining it with gingham on the Cabriole chairs and a parchment finish on the Linwood armchairs. He even uses a very informal bamboo blind. So too, Bunny Williams tames this grand dining room in France below with its framed Chinoiserie, collection of antique blue and white Chinese porcelain, crystal chandelier, and massive antique table with twelve chairs by slipcovering the chairs in a very casual blue and white gingham. This trend of melding the formality of Chinoiserie with informal elements is a look we will see more of in 2012.

Bunny Williams