A Tiny Bit of Normalcy

Danielle Rollins

 Yesterday, after the appropriate waiting period after my second Moderna shot, I got my hair colored, cut and blow dried, my eyebrows threaded, a manicure and pedicure. I am thrilled. I feel like me again. (BTW we were all masked).

On the way home, I ran into HomeGoods. I have been wanting to find a blue and white Suzani to cover my Warren Platner table in the breakfast room to change it up sometimes. I love a beautiful skirted table. So far, I have found the right size and color of Suzanis to be quite elusive. Here was my one of my inspiration photos below.

Miles Redd

I found something at HG that might just work. So today, I am going to have some fun and try to transform my breakfast room in one day. I will take some before and after photos of the breakfast room and try to do a one day makeover. Hopefully I will post tomorrow. Hopefully being the operative word. 

Here is a hint on my HomeGoods find. India Hicks has used a tablecloth on this bed as a duvet.

India Hicks

Vintage Miles Redd

Miles Redd

 This Miles Redd room is from many years back when he was first on everyone's radar screen. It was even pre his ruffled curtain fixation - LOL. I love emerald green silk curtains - I miss mine that were in my previous dining room. I can't tell if these have trim or a very small ruffle, but they are very pretty. I love the Chinese Chippendale chairs, leopard cushions, Chinoiserie wallpaper, and a vintage suzani used as a tablecloth. A lovely room.

I have been looking for a blue and white tablecloth for my breakfast room Platner table to use on and off. A vintage blue and white suzani would be perfect if I can find one in the right size. I'll see what I can find.

The Library Dining Table

Bunny Williams

Yesterday I planned a lovely day with delivery of my new dining table and styling it. Unfortunately, my day began at 8 am with a series of phone calls from the police, and after the table arrived around noon, I needed to get out and decompress. I will provide more details when I can but there is an ongoing issue. So table styling got "tabled" until today. The table size and style are perfect for the space and I will take photos today.

Here are more great examples of library/dining tables with Chinoiserie to inspire me and perhaps you as well.

McCann Design Group

William McClure

Lance Jackson and David Ecton - Traditional Home

Miles Redd - House Beautiful

What styling elements to do you like? The lamps with the hidden cords are too weird and aren't practical with a glass table anyway so I'll pass on that. I have plenty of light and don't need to go the battery lamp route. I love lots of coffee table books. An orchid is a must. Blue and white Chinese porcelain of course. And the palm fronds are so dramatic. We'll see what progress I make today hopefully.

Chinoiserie Gone Wrong

Miles Redd

This is the worst example of Chinoiserie Gone Wrong to date. I challenge anyone to offer a reasoned explanation for this classic hand painted silk Chinoiserie Fromental wallpaper with -

*This rug that does not belong anywhere but a Las Vegas casino
*His signature overdone silk ruffled curtains that I have never understood in a blue color from out in left field
*The dinky chandelier hung too high with dated itsy bitsy shades - I think he was trying to copy one of Alessandra Branca's signature touches (red chandelier shades) and missed
*That ugly clunky dining table with white columns - why white?
*A piece of modern art that looks like some sort of explosion
*A centerpiece of crystals that is so wrong
*Jarring black and white abstract chevron chairs that were so 15 minutes of fame
*The pedestals for the obelisks look like formica lecterns
*The sideboard looks like an office desk

If this were my dining room I would take that obelisk and impale myself on it. This absolutely falls under the category of "I can do whatever I want because I'm Miles Redd." Words cannot begin to describe my dislike for this room. It is mismatched, tacky, and downright ugly. As my mother would say, it was beaten with an ugly stick.

And you can be sure this room, featured in Architectural Digest, cost an absolute fortune. Here is the description from Architectural Digest:

"The most intense arena is the dining room. With its pale-silver wallpaper painted with exotic foliage, neo-Cubist sisal, peacock-blue taffeta curtains sparked by a John Fowler design, and chairs clad in a black-and-white velvet whose wavy motif vibrates like Op Art, it’s a dynamic space for making a grand sartorial impression. 'The great thing about Houston is that people come all decked out,' Redd notes. 'It’s a lot of stylish ladies in stunning clothes, and that works perfectly with the room.' "

"This Houston mansion’s dining room is lined with a Fromental silk wall covering; a Brunschwig & Fils silk taffeta was used for the curtains, the Oscar de la Renta Home for Century Furniture chairs are upholstered in a Turkish velvet, and Agustin Hurtado custom painted the Patterson Flynn Martin sisal."

More money than taste.

Ok, I'm game. Love it? Hate it? This should be interesting. I'm just waiting for, "As long as they love it, that's all that matters." Well you don't need to pay someone a fortune for a room that looks like it was the result of a bad acid trip.

Chinoiserie Gone Wrong

Miles Redd - House Beautiful

Can a room cause vertigo? I have a physical reaction to the wallpaper on the ceiling like the room is sideways or topsy-turvy. I feel nauseous. I literally can't look at it for very long.

But I also just don't get it visually. I like a room where the entire room in papered, including the ceiling, but with the same paper on the ceiling as the walls. White walls with a dark wallpapered ceiling is beyond me. The room is top heavy. Do you feel like interior designers sometimes try to be unique and it just doesn't work?

It really annoys me, because Quadrille China Seas Lyford Trellis is a favorite Chinoiserie wallpaper of mine.

And the staging is so funny. How do you get in and out of bed - crawl in between the table and chair?

I also must say that purple is my least favorite color in the world. I do not have a single purple item in my home or wardrobe. I love a soft lavender, but not this color. I also dislike the purple trim in the corners. Gimmicky.

So I guess I hate the white walls, the papered ceiling, the trim, the staging, and the color palette. And as for the art.....

I do love the Paule Marrot piece of art, but don't get it used here at all. Not sure how those colors work in this room. It seems out in left field.

I adore Paule Marrot art. I wish I had a place for her "Feathers," but I don't. I have so much art I love and with an open floor plan and tons of windows and sliders, wall space is at a premium here.

Update - I just found this photo of the same room - I dislike the door and the curtains as well. Yikes. And the photo on top appeared on the cover of House Beautiful - June 2016.

So guys, weigh in. Love it, hate it? What works for you, what doesn't? To me, Miles has missed by a mile.

The Library Dining Room

William McLure

From the Traditional Home Southern Style Now Showhouse in New Orleans. This room is confusing to me, but quite lovely. Is it a dining room or a study or both? It was described as the dining room in the show house, so how do you eat? On top of the books? I remember a NSO show house in D.C. years ago where there was a massive bed in the living room. That was really odd. It's sad that so many show houses have shuttered for good. I used to love attending them.

What are those lamps doing on the table and do they light? Are they cordless/battery? I believe someone asked the designer about the lamps and he said he drilled holes in the table. But that means holes in the tablecloth and rug as well. Seriously? I am very detail oriented - things like that puzzle/annoy me.

I guess it's the move to Florida, but I am really focusing now on Florida/Palm Beach/Tropical elements in rooms. Here, we have a beautiful piece of coral on the books and a Sago palm in the urn on the left. The Sago palm is ideal for containers indoors or out.

Here is a closeup - no cord?

I do like this room - the Chinese Chippendale chairs, the pair of blue and white ginger jars, yellow walls (an underused color IMO), a wonderful chandelier, and a great piece of art.  But those lamps still bug me. Do you remember the Miles Redd dining room turned study in his mother's home where he did the same thing with a  pair of lamps?

Miles Redd - House Beautiful

And a closeup - no cords?

The Chinoiserie Foyer

Amanda Lindroth - House Beautiful

I am in love with the foyer in this Bahamian beach house with a pair of massive blue and white ginger jars, rattan Chinese Chippendale chairs, and the faux palms flanking the doorway. I would love to find a pair of palms like those for my house.

Check out this hallway with plaster palm trees.

Miles Redd - Architectural Digest

The Blue and White Entryway

Miles Redd - Veranda

Lots of great ideas here - Chinoiserie includes a large blue and white ginger jar on a pedestal, a pair of blue and white Chinese garden stools, a blue and white Chinese porcelain vase, and grasscloth sheathed walls. These are mixed with an oversized lantern with hand painted blue and white stripes, a zig zag abaca rug, a navy blue door, and a fun blue and white settee. I love this modern and playful take on British Colonial in this Bahamian vacation house.

Outfitting The Lanai

Miles Redd - Ballard Designs

I am having so much fun decorating the lanai - it is home to a lot of my blue and white Chinese porcelain collection. Last week I posted about my love of hoof legged and paw footed furniture. I had been eyeing this outdoor coffee table by Miles Redd at Ballard Designs, but didn't previously have a spot for it and it was $999.00. But last week the price was down to well under $200 and I decided it would be great for the lanai. I even got free shipping having it delivered to the Tampa store.

Miles Redd Large Paw Footed Coffee Table

The puppies are checking it out.

Unpacked - Margot and Harper are inspecting

I really like how it is styled in the first photo with the Chinese Chippendale chaises. Chaises are also a great idea for poolside. I will start exploring ideas for a pair of chaises, I think. Stay tuned!

Thundering Hooves

Mark D. Sikes

I absolutely adore hoofed leg furniture and have several pieces myself. I am super excited to have a new one en route with great Florida style that I hope to share next week. They are so whimsical and unique and pair beautifully with Chinoiserie - of course!

Nick Olsen - Veranda

Lee W. Robinson

Blue and White

Architectural Digest

Rattan furniture and a garden stool are beautiful elements in this solarium by Miles Redd.

The Chinoiserie Foyer

Miles Redd - Ballard Design

A beautiful foyer featuring green Chinoiserie wallpaper and pieces from Miles Redd's collection for Ballard Designs.

Purple

Miles Redd - House Beautiful

Here Miles Redd uses Quadrille's Lyford Trellis on the ceiling and door - unexpected choices. The art is by Paule Marrot.

A Chinoiserie Vignette

Miles Redd Brighton Pavilion wallpaper in Peacock for Schumacher

A wonderful vignette featuring Miles Redd's Chinoiserie wallpaper, a Venetian mirror, a pair of Chinese garden stools, and a pair of very fun upholstered chairs.

Mixology - Miles Redd

Miles Redd - House Beautiful

So refreshing to find interior designers who use traditional Chinoiserie wallpaper like de Gournay and Gracie and Scalamandre with a fresh and modern approach like Miles Redd.

120 Items Every Beautiful Home Should Have - #2

House Beautiful

Yesterday I referenced a House Beautiful article on the 120 items every beautiful home should have and how a great number are Chinoiserie. Number 2 on their list is the gourd lamp. This is actually a modern version of the Chinese double gourd lamp made wildly popular by Christopher Spitzmiller. Although his are not for every budget, lovely versions can be found for very little at stores like Target and HomeGoods.

This lamp works everywhere from the foyer to the living room, dining room, bedroom, and workspace and is at home in a modern space as traditional. Below is a gorgeous Miles Redd bedroom from Domino several years back featuring a pair of double gourd lamps. This is the room that put the double gourd lamp on my radar screen and perhaps yours as well.

Miles Redd

The wallpaper is de Gournay, the lamps are Christopher Spitzmiller, the silk taffeta curtains feature Miles' signatures ruffles, the zig zag rug is Madeline Weinrib, the canopy bed is a an iron campaign style. A lovely version of this bed is available at Anthropologie.

So this wonderful room combines Chinoiserie wallpaper and the double gourd lamp.

Cordless Chinoiserie

Miles Redd - House Beautiful

 I was looking at my file of photos of skirted tables and came across these shots of this room by Miles Redd. It is a library in his mother's home in Bulkhead that he turned into an office for her. He used the dining room table that he thought too large for the dining room, having switched it out for a round table. It is covered in chintz called Althea by Lee Jofa and trimmed in Samuel & Sons fringe. The walls are glazed in emerald green. What caught my eye was the missing electrical cords on the two oversized Chinese lamps. I learned that he snaked the cords between the table leaves and under the rug. I assume he had slits made in the table skirt as well, right?

It reminded me of this iconic photo of Billy Haines at bottom with its cordless Blanc de Chine lamp. Haines had an obsession with cords and drilled a hole in the table so that the cord could run along the underside of the table and not be visible.

I too hate visible cords and do everything in my power so that none are visible. I rubber band them, or attach them to the backs of furniture, or run them behind curtains, or even position furniture to hide the cords. But Miles and Billy have one-upped me here.

Miles Redd - House Beautiful

Billy Haines

The Chinoiserie Bedroom - Miles Redd

Miles Redd

A simply stunning bedroom by Miles Redd incorporating so many of my decorating favorites -

*Chinoiserie wallpaper
*A canopy bed
*White linens
*Stripes
*A blue and white palette with pops of pink
*Mixing patterns
*His signature ruffled curtains
*A bench at the end of the bed
*Modern art
*A Chinese lamp
*A modern piece of art

Robin's Egg Blue

Phoebe Howard - Southern Accents

Robin's egg blue is a favorite color of mine and it combines so beautifully with Chinoiserie. Here Phoebe Howard uses it masterfully with blue and white Chinoiserie panels, chairs, and rug, but in deeper blues to really pop. Note too how she picked mirrored sconces to reflect the Chinoiserie panels and how she carried the robin's egg blue onto the moldings at the ceiling.

Here is another example of robin's egg blue I adore - Miles Redd's iconic NYC front door - I wish this were a paint color one could buy but he hand mixed it. This would be a great choice for so many houses.

Miles Redd

Sunday Inspiration

Miles Redd