Living with Dogs

Carolyne Roehm with her dogs

My pups have their annual physicals today, so it seemed like a great day to post about living with dogs.

Purple & Chinoiserie

Mary McDonald - Elle Decor

 Purple rooms are still on the rare side, and even rarer mixed with chinoiserie like in this study. Custom de Gournay peacock wallpaper mixes with modern and mid century elements like the Karl Springer mirror, acrylic sputnik chandelier, Italian stools, and chairs in Scalamandre silk check. 

Purple is a color I don't really have in my home, although I love it where it goes more lavender like it does here. I don't use a lot of red either, but I really like lavender mixed with red. My study in Alexandria was lavender with red and pink and I loved it.

Saturday Inspiration

Mary McDonald For Chaddock

 I had to laugh - in my feed just now on Pinterest was this Georgia Star Back carved chair at Chairish for $2,967 plus $399 shipping that I got at HomeGoods in perfect condition for $59.99 and stuck it in my Audi shipping. So for my totally obnoxious Anonymous commenter that complains about all the knock off junk at HomeGoods, what is Mary McDonald a knock off of?

And here it is happily ensconced in my master bedroom.

CCC

If any of you are John Derian fans (the decoupage guru), his Halloween collection for Target launched at 3 am and I was online ordering things in the middle of the night. A great piece that my daughter grabbed is this bones table that he designed to looked like faux bamboo and you get up close and realize it is bones.

I have a thing for black plants and ordered this black faux weeping willow -

Some items sell out fast with these Target designer launches, so Kate and I always order when the sales start which is always in the middle of the night.

We all love Scalamandre Zebras and I just saw these pajamas sets in this zebra pattern and lots more colors and patterns that would be great for sleep and lounging around the house. I like it in this pink colorway. Especially during this pandemic, it's great to have chic lounging outfits.

Happy Saturday - my handyman is due over shortly.

Hiding the Television and HomeGoods Score

Japanese Silver Leaf Folding Screen

Yesterday was a great day. I swung by the new house to make sure my garden is being attended to and everything looked wonderful. I decided to stop by HomeGoods on the way home and snagged a signed Mary McDonald for Chaddock Home black wood and brass end table for my study. The retail price - $5,100.00. At HomeGoods $129.00. I have now purchased three such pieces at HG adding up to a retail value of over $20,000.00 for under $500.00. Am I a lucky girl or what???? It will look amazing next to the blush pink velvet sofa.

I just found a picture online of the red leather MM campaign chair I snagged at HG last week. Look at that detailing.

Now to the issue of televisions.........
I'm sure you have noticed that in shelter magazines, we rarely see a TV, unless it is a home theater. Big black boxes are not great aesthetically.

I am debating where I want TVs in my new house. I decided not to have one in the master bedroom here, because in my previous home in Alexandria, Golf Guy would eat popcorn, chips, ice cream, and drink various beverages in bed creating a complete mess. And fall asleep doing a crossword puzzle and drop a black felt tip pen onto my pristine white and very high thread count sheets. Complete and total nightmare. But I would like a TV in my master bedroom in my new home I think. I do not eat in bed.

I would also like a TV in my study where there will be a sofa and chairs.

One idea in the bedroom is to hide the TV when not in use behind my antique Japanese screen that is silver leaf on one side and gold leaf on the other. For those of you who remember Evangeline Bruce, she had a very expensive and beautiful home in Georgetown in DC. She had an artificial Christmas tree fully decorated on a dolly hidden behind a massive antique Chinese Coromandel screen that was rolled out for the holidays. So why not hide a wall mounted TV behind a screen? And my screen is very lightweight.

But now I have fallen in love with the Samsung Frame TV and am debating getting one of those for the great room. I have never ever had a TV in the living room, but they are so gorgeous I could be convinced. These TVs are hiding in plain sight. Reviews call it the most beautiful television in the world.

For those unfamiliar, you choose a frame in various colors, and it sits up flush against the wall, less than 2 inches thick, and there is an art mode when the TV is not in use for your favorite art (from galleries and museums) or your own photos or art.

I would have Asian art or modern art. As you can see, it looks like a piece of art on the wall.

I would love to hear if any of you have a Samsung Frame TV and do you love it? I enjoy watching news, sports (if they ever return), and movies. In the great room, the TV could be seen from the dining area, living area, and breakfast bar. Then I would use the TV and console I already own in the study, and a smaller TV I have mounted on the wall in the master bedroom, hidden by my lovely antique screen. It was one of my first purchases after graduating law school. Perhaps the Samsung Frame TV will be on a Fourth of July sale for me. My luck has been good of late.

My Pink and Red Study To Be

Pink and Red Chinoiserie Chic Inspiration Board

Thanks to everyone who played the home edition of the game show Chinoiserie Chic yesterday with "let's pick a dining table for Beth." And the winner is .......

The Williams Sonoma Home Mercer Table. Thank you for all your comments. So many great points were made - especially that it won't clash with my gorgeous stone floors, it is a classic, its clean lines; I am sold. For those who thought it too modern, the original it is based on is from the 1930s.

Yesterday I returned to HomeGoods and found another even more fabulous Mary McDonald piece - a red leather Chaddock House Grant Campaign Chair. I can't find the retail price online but I bet it was/is a fortune. If anyone can find the retail price for me, I would appreciate it. I got it for $230. It is stunning.

Mary McDonald for Chaddock House

Here is it above in white leather - mine is red leather and white painted wood and brass.

I love the combination of red and pink. The inspiration board I did a while back above combines these colors. FYI, I am not doing this for my study - I wish! Below is a shot from my former library/office in Alexandria.

So, a few hints about my study in the new home. A pink velvet couch. The Mary McDonald red leather chair. Favorite art in reds and pinks. Beautiful built-in desks and bookcases. A pink marble coffee table.

Pink Velvet Sofa

Inigo Jones

Dana Gibson Pink Leopard Pillow

The study is going to be a show stopper. Very chic and girly. The Mary McDonald chair yesterday made it all come together. Funny how that happens.

Pink and red..........

Another HomeGoods Find

Mary McDonald for Chaddock

I decided to buzz into HomeGoods yesterday after getting my Audi serviced, and almost immediately spotted this Mary McDonald for Chaddock Georgia Star side chair. With its gray finish and navy blue wool seat, it will be perfect in the new house. I found it for sale online for $3,000.

Guess what it was at HomeGoods in pristine condition? $59.99. And do you know what my daughter found in a consignment shop in Virginia yesterday in perfect condition? A silk Missoni sofa for $60.00 A good day for the Connolly girls.

Red, White, and Blue Chinoiserie

Mary McDonald

In honor of Memorial Day weekend, I thought it might be fun to show some red, white, and blue Chinoiserie rooms that are elegant and not kitschy which is indeed a delicate balance. You don't want your house to end up looking like the Star Spangled Banner.

The Mary McDonald hall above is gorgeous with its blue and white Chinese fish bowls filled with lemon topiaries. The billowy red linen curtains are lovely and not fussy. No Miles Redd ruffles here.

I think the key is to keep the red as pops of color, not dominant.

My Inspiration Board

Ashley Whitakker - House Beautiful

My Inspiration Board

Mary Watkins Wood - House Beautiful 

A spindle settee in blue and white Greek key piped in red

Lonny

One Kings Lane

I hope everyone enjoys their holiday weekend as much as possible. Another pandemic change - I carried out a Costco pizza last night and only cheese or pepperoni - "everything" on it not available. But the pepperoni one was still great.

Dated?

Mary McDonald - Schumacher

Personally, I love curtains with a floral design and an elaborate trim but rarely use it. It seems too chintz/eighties/Mario Buatta for today's homes and tastes. I tend much more towards silk, linen, or velvet in a solid with a simpler trim like Greek key. What are your thoughts?

The Chinoiserie Fireplace

Mary McDonald - House Beautiful

A lovely vignette in Mary McDonald's bedroom featuring Gracie wallpaper and Chinese porcelain.

A Chinoiserie Christmas - Day 18

Mary McDonald - Cottages & Gardens

Scale

Mary McDonald - Veranda

One of my favorite things about Mary McDonald's style is her sense of scale. In this beautiful dining room,  traditional furniture, rug, chandelier, and art are made much more modern and dynamic by the use of very oversized ginger jars on the skirted table, massive blue and white Chinese porcelain lamps and blue and white Chinese planter on the sideboard,  and a huge potted palm.

The Gray Chinoiserie Bedroom

Mary McDonald

Mary McDonald

The Chinoiserie Fireplace

Mary McDonald

A stunning example of a Chinoiserie fireplace by Mary McDonald with lovely attention to detail. I love the unexpected twist in this rather formal vignette of hand painted Chinoiserie wallpaper and marble fireplace surround and hearth of the asymmetrical arrangement of the wall shelves and vases.

Celebration Week - New Inspiration Boards and a Mary McDonald Dollhouse

My four year blogiversary is this coming Saturday. This week I will be creating a new fantasy inspiration board each day, with the announcement of my giveaway on Friday.

Today I have created a really chic and glamorous unisex nursery. The wallpaper is Scalamandre Zebras in a beautiful purple, great for either a boy or a girl. The crib is the first ever entirely acrylic crib available at The Well Appointed House as is the Dorothy Draper style changing table and dresser. The dragon lamp is Jonathan Adler. The chandelier is by Marjorie Skouras. The Crate and Barrel Tess chair is in a deep purple called grape. A large abstract by artist Kerry Steele is the perfect finishing touch. I love the idea of original art in the nursery. This room can easily become a guest bedroom or an office down the road it is so ultra sophisticated.

If you missed yesterday's post, below is my fantasy dining room and my virtual makeover of the backyard at the Chinese Village House.

Have you seen that twenty interior designers including Mary McDonald decorated dollhouses for a charitable event? Here are her three rooms via A Lovely Being. You can see all the dollhouses here.

For those of you new to Chinoiserie Chic who missed my Chinoiserie Chic I'm a Giant Challenge Dollhouse and my Dragon Dollhouse, here are the links to my reveals - click on the captions for the links. I created two Chinoiserie dollhouses and twelve rooms all filled with Chinoiserie!

The I'm a Giant Challenge Dollhouse

The Dragon Dollhouse

Mary McDonald, Your Votes, Elegant Business Cards

Pet Sitter, Dog Walker, Dog Groomer, Doggie Day Care, Pet Boarding

Thanks so much to those of you who gave me a head's up that Mary McDonald mentioned Chinoiserie Chic last night on Facebook. Very fun. Thanks also to everyone who joined in the fun yesterday and voted for my Raw Meat entry in the ugliest fabric contest. Things are looking good - I have received every vote but 1 so far. If you missed yesterday's post, you can read all about it here and vote here.

Today I am featuring the wonderful business cards at Charming Elizabeth. I love the idea of business cards with an illustration suggesting the type of business you have. I really like the new Chinese Chippendale garden folly with the dachshund above for someone who cares for pets. This is my business card below from Charming Elizabeth. I have chosen my favorite Chinoiserie cards with ideas on businesses they would be perfect for, but there are many more here with lots of other illustrations if Chinoiserie is not your thing.

My card

Travel Writer, Travel Agent, Rare Book Seller, Cruise Director, Tour Director

Art Dealer, Antiques Dealer, Upholsterer, Vintage Furniture Seller, Consignment Store, Furniture Maker

Book Seller, Rare Book Seller, Home Stager

Artist, Faux Finish Artist, Art Supplies, Art Therapy

Party Planner, Caterer, Party Store

Asian Antiques Dealer, Art Consultant, Interior Designer, Interior Decorator

Asian Antiques Dealer, Interior Decorator, Interior Designer

Landscape Designer, Carpenter, Asian Antiques Dealer, Auction House