Chinoiserie Wall Panel

Chelsea House Chinoiserie Wall Panel

 

This beautifully hand-painted wood panel features a large chinoiserie motif. The traditional design is made modern through metallic accents and soft colors. It is a fabulous statement piece that displays perfectly over a console table.

Framed Blue and White Tulipiere Find

Dana Gibson Framed Tulipiere

 

Blue and white tulipieres are so elegant. Dana Gibson has created watercolor art print tulipieres that I just love. 

The Chinoiserie Dining Room

Liz Caan

 

This is an intriguing dining room by Liz Caan featuring a favorite chinoiserie fabric of mine - Quadrille's Paradise Background in Black on Tint. A farmhouse dining table paired with cane wingback dining chairs is lit by a white and brass ring chandelier. I like the unexpected choice of the pink velvet on the chairs.

Surfer Girl

CCC

So, I bought myself a surfboard, but no, I won't be taking up surfing. Surfboard wall art is getting quite popular. I thought I was so unique when I got mine about 6 months ago, but now they are popping up. They come ready to hang either vertically or horizontally, but I much prefer it leaning against a wall. I think they are chic and great for a beach house. A beach house is a perfect opportunity to relax and have fun with decorating.

Fashion Photography

Charlotte Moss

 

The framed photo is from Vogue 1959 by famed photographer Louise Dahl-Wolfe. It features models on the beach at the Dorado Hotel in Puerto Rico and is entitled - "Models on the Beach." LOL.

Wicker Elephant Wall Art

Jonathan Adler

 

Wicker elephant tables have become extremely popular, but here is a fun alternative - wicker elephant wall art. Wonderful for a child's room, a family room, a beach house, or a modern home. I am an avid animal lover and not a fan of real mounts of any kind, so this is such a fun and cruelty free alternative that I love.

Jonathan Adler

The Chinoiserie Bedroom

Melissa Smrekar

 

I so love this feminine and eclectic bedroom in a wonderful color palette of coral pink and green. The coral chest is vintage. I adore the wicker pagoda canopy - it was a Round Top find originally in a Florida department store window display in the 1960's. Most accessories are vintage finds. The magnolia wallpaper is Thibaut found on eBay.

Happy Easter

Hunt Slonem

 

I hope each and every one of you has a wonderful day today however you will be celebrating.

If anyone is looking for a little Easter related diversion, here you go. 

Framing Textiles

Brunschwig & Fils Remnant

 

I especially like framing textiles. I have framed antique silk chinoiserie pieces and a silk scarf - people frame baby clothes, athletic jerseys, flags, Hermès scarves, doilies, coasters, all sorts of things. When framing textiles the piece is lightly sewn to the mat before framing.

A Slim Aarons Christmas

Slim Aarons Christmas Swim 1954

 

I especially like my growing collection of vintage photography art - I think it suits the Palm Springs/Palm Beach vibe of CCC perfectly. With Christmas this week, I thought it would be fun to look at Slim Aarons' unique take on Christmas - generally with a resort vacation vibe. The photo above features his wife Rita BTW.

Chinoiserie Art

Urban Garden Prints

For lovers of chinoiserie, large framed chinoiserie panels are highly coveted, but can be very expensive. I was just introduced to Charleston based Urban Garden Prints, a company (two Southern sisters) that specializes in timeless yet contemporary prints. The museum quality giclees are printed on heavy acid free paper with archival inks. They have been featured in Southern Living, Garden & Gun, and Cottages & Bungalows.

Greek Key

Greek Key Barbie via Worthpoint

You may recall that I recently posted that I discovered on Ancestry by researching my family tree that my father was Greek and from Santorini. He had kept this a secret for fifty years. You can read the post here. 

On my to do list and wish list since learning this has been to do a DNA test to learn more. I just received an email from Ancestry that their DNA testing normally priced at $99 is on a summer sale for $59. Click here to link to learn more.

Photography & Chinoiserie

Norman Parkinson

 This photo is by famed fashion photographer Norman Parkinson of French model Katherine Pastrie in a Bernard Devaux hat, circa 1960, in Queen magazine. I love everything about this. I collect vintage and antique hats and have a wonderful collection of Schiaparelli, Christian Dior, Bes-Ben, and many others. They really are works of art. 

But I digress. I have really gotten into decorating my home with framed photographs. I am finding more interior designers are combining chinoiserie and photographs by iconic photographers. It's a perfect juxtaposition and can add whatever look you are going for - glamorous, whimsical, sophisticated, playful, modern, or vintage. 

The Florida Dining Room

Shelley Johnstone - Frederic Magazine

 

This dining room is in the Naples condo of interior designer Shelley Johnstone. She is a favorite of mine and is based in Lake Forest, Illinois where I grew up. 

I found this dining room intriguing because she uses a lot of the same elements I have in my Venice, Florida dining room. BTW, Naples is about an hour south of here. It occurred to me that there are fundamental differences in decorating in northern versus tropical climates. I have neighbors here who have used their furniture from their former northern homes and it looks so wrong.

Let's look at some examples.

Porcelain tiles used here that look like marble. My floors are limestone. I know several of you go nuts about no rugs, but bare tile floors in Florida are THE way to go IMHO - they keep the house cooler and cleaner. If you want some area rugs go with seagrass, sisal, or jute. And please - no carpet anywhere.

HomeGoods for the Score

Danielle Rollins

 

Some of you may recall my earlier post on this stunning dressing room in Danielle Rollins' former Buckhead Atlanta home. I especially loved the Louise Dahl-Wolfe "Models at the Beach" piece of art. I was in HomeGoods in Sarasota while the puppies were at their spa day this week and spotted a gorgeous, huge, beautifully framed version by Soicher Marin who happens to be based right up the road.

It's going to be perfect in my great room - I just need to get my art installer over here because it is quite large. I luckily had two electricians over yesterday who kindly brought it into the house for me. I am really getting into framed photographic art and this will go beautifully with my growing collection.

Models at the Beach by Louise Dahl-Wolfe

Art Inspiration

Suzanne Kasler

 

OK, I officially have art envy - a gallery wall of Slim Aarons. The coral pink is a stunning wall color and so Palm Beach. I love the idea of art ledges so the art can be moved around and switched out at will. Note the white frames - I have started framing everything in white - so fresh, clean, modern and perfect for a Florida beach house. The mini bar is so fun - I always find myself trying to see what booze bottles are on bars. LOL. The only hard pass is the potted "plants" that I find downright creepy. 

Stripes

Slim Aarons

 

This is a Slim Aarons I am thinking about adding to my collection - Bathers at La Concha Beach Club in Acapulco. My mother adored Acapulco and would often escape our long Chicago winters with a junket there.

I am drawn to all the stripes as I am stripe crazy. I especially love the way stripes pair with chinoiserie, a perfect juxtaposition to the soft lines of chinoiserie.

Eclectic Mix

Melissa Morgan

 In this entry, a large collection of Goya etchings mix with a dramatic pair of antique blue and white ginger jars. Lots of texture with the exposed brick wall and tile floors. If you hang a collection of art with minimal space in between, visually it becomes one large pice of art.

Online Framing

Willa Heart on Etsy

My daughter Kate surprised me with these darling prints for the new house from one of her favorite Etsy shops Willa Heart. I think they will be wonderful in the kitchen or breakfast room.

Willa Heart on Etsy

 I think I will have them framed in gold bamboo. Has anyone used Framebridge? It sounds so easy - included in the price, they send you a mailer, you mail them back, and they ship you your framed art. Framebridge gets rave reviews and their prices are great. Tons of bloggers recommend them highly, so I am going to give them a try. Especially now, online is the way to go.

Framebridge

Framebridge

Technology Day @ CCC

Etsy - CooperModern

 So today is modern technology day at CCC. If all goes as planned (and it rarely does), Amazon will be delivering the Samsung Frame TV this morning along with a new receiver for my surround sound system. Then the TV is getting installed in the master bedroom and the surround sound that is all over the house including the lanai gets hooked up to the TVs and sound system. The new Frame TV has Alexa built in as well. And my internet and streaming is all wireless so everything needs to sync. As for the art on the Frame TV, it comes with a trial subscription to works of art from museums and galleries, but you can also download tons of art from places like Etsy and Juniper Home or upload your own art or photographs. So this will be a whole new learning curve with all of this for me. It will be a long day.... Cocktails @ 5.

Update - the TV was to arrive between 9 AM and noon and they were here at 9:05. Good start.