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.

The Chinoiserie Dining Room

Mary Watkins Wood

My Favorite Chinoiserie Bathroom

This wonderful bathroom by Mary Watkins Wood remains my favorite because of all the Chinoiserie elements she combines while still maintaining a fresh and modern look. I love the use of Scalamandre Feng Shui in fuchsia on the chair, the pair of red lacquer coat trees for towels and robes, the white garden stool, and the antique Chinese rug. I like her advice to use a rug instead of a bath mat in the bathroom. "It was made to withstand a lot more wear than the occasional wet foot."

The Chinoiserie Showhouse

Entryway-Mary McDonald

After all of the hundreds of posts I have done featuring gorgeous Chinoiserie rooms, there are some that remain my absolute favorites. I thought it would be fun to show you my fantasy Chinoiserie showhouse, putting together some of those.

Living Room-Alessandra Branca

Corner banquette in the same living room

Dining Room-Andrew Raquet

Another view

Kitchen-Windsor Smith

Hall-Michelle Nussbaumer

Bedroom-Miles Redd

Bedroom-Miles Redd

Bedroom-Kendall Wilkinson

Bathroom-de Gournay

Bathroom-Paolo Moschino

Bathroom-Mary Watkins Wood

Brackets of Chinoiserie

The current April issue of House Beautiful is quite spectacular, in no small part due to another wonderful apartment by Miles Redd (the top three photos) entitled Color Confidence. In contrast, perhaps we could start calling that whole Restoration Hardware/Belgian look Color Paranoia? I especially like the dining room in the top photo with its collection of celadon vases on plaster brackets. Below are other wonderful versions of Chinoiserie collections-Blanc de Chine and blue and white porcelain on brackets.

Kevin Sharkey

Robert Goodwin

Mary Watkins Wood

My files

Displaying Collections

Brackets are an incredibly effective way of displaying a collection of Chinoiserie porcelain. In the bedroom above, Mary Watkins Wood used brackets to bring order to a large collection of blue and white ginger jars. The three key points are that the collection needs to go together-all blanc de Chine, all celadon, or all blue and white, for example. Second, the brackets need to be all the same color-say all white or all gold if not all the same style. Third, play around with a pleasing layout-symmetrical seems to work best.

Jonathan Berger

Kevin Sharkey

Robert Goodwin

Phoebe Howard

The Top Chinoiserie Fabrics #6

Feng Shui by Scalamandre, Pattern #26621, is a more colorful and contemporary version of Scalamandre's Gator, a classic damask. One of the loveliest design features is the ogee framework encircling the figures and architectural motifs. It is ideally suited for pillows and chair seats. The understated but modern color palette of shrimp, lime, butter, turquoise, fuschia, and beige is very adaptable. The photo above shows Feng Shui in fuschia on the chair in this stunning bathroom by Mary Watkins Wood in the May 2010 issue of House Beautiful. I also love her advice to use a rug instead of a bath mat in the bathroom. "It was made to withstand a lot more wear than the occasional wet foot." In addition to the antique Chinese rug, the garden stool and red lacquer coat trees create a beautiful Chinoiserie bath. This elegant Chinoiserie fabric is a perfect choice for dining room chairs.